About a dozen of us experienced the best turkey of our lives yesterday...and yes I cooked it. This isn't a brag on myself though...credit for this delicious bird has to go to the Pioneer Woman and Alton Brown. Wow...those two made my Thanksgiving much easier.

I made a 15-pound turkey and I expected to have about 5 pounds left over. In fact, we only had about 5 ounces left over. It was that good. I'm so glad I took the leap and brined the turkey this year. If you're cooking the turkey next year for Thanksgiving...you simply must try this.

Grandma has held the Thanksgiving Dinner feather in her hat for over 50 years and she decided to hand it over to me this year. I was honored and at some point I was pooping my pants obsessing about it. I wanted everything to be perfect. I like to tell other people that perfection isn't possible, but that doesn't count for me. Everything didn't go perfectly, but it was great. Family members who normally complain about everything didn't have anything negative to say at all. They were too busy stuffing turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, roasted butternut squash, clover rolls, corn on the cob, and cranberry sauce into their gills.

I've been receiving thank you calls and praise reports all day. I absolutely love to cook and entertain. If I wasn't married to a smokin' hot trophy wife even I would think I'm gay.