Turkey for Two

Image via Guidespot

I've come to terms with the fact that Thanksgiving is going to be a party of two. It seems that everyone else around here has family in one of the adjacent states and it's just too darn expensive (and equally time consuming) to fly back west for a larger gathering. 

After a trip to TJ's today, I got pretty pumped for turkey day. It's going to be low key in the kitchen but downright delicious. We've got gravy, potatoes, a pumpkin cheesecake, and a festive bottle of wine. Over the next 12 days I'll track down a turkey breast to pop in the oven (there is NO way I'm going to attempt an entire bird, gizzards and all) and cranberries for some homemade cranberry sauce. 

One thing I will definitely miss this year is making buttery pan rolls with my family. Imagine rolls made with butter then rolled in butter before baking. A few years ago we doubled the recipe and made 80 rolls(!). Like the rest of my family,  as a (former) Newton I'm a carb-lover at heart. Unfortunately, if you don't make the rolls just right they turn out like buttery hockey pucks---still delicious but not a chance I'm willing to take this year especially because the prep takes hours.

The more I think about it, the greater this day is sounding. Macy's parade in the morning, just-enough-but-not-too-much effort in the kitchen, football in the afternoon, and a satisfied stomach by evening. And the pumpkin cheesecake. Oh the pumpkin cheesecake is going to be highlight of the holiday.