Thanksgiving leftovers

Generally, I'm not a big fan of leftovers. For me, most meals don't hold up as well as the first time. There are exceptions to every rule, but in my book, there are few. Chili actually gets better, and Thanksgiving turkey leftovers are certainly as good the second time.

I'm especially fortunate that my work colleague Tracy is nice enough to share leftovers with me. Her boyfriend Mac makes a mean turkey, plans for it a week in advance and he's always changing it up year after year. This time round, the 23lb bird cooked in the barbeque for about 15 hours using a Weber Smoker, infused with maple sausage, bacon and real maple syrup. (Oh, yeah. It IS as good as it sounds.)

Starting at 1:00 am Sunday, the bird watch began in two hour intervals as there was a narrow escape from disaster: the door to the cooker came off around 3:00 am, causing the charcoal to burn hotter. Tracy psychically sensed the bird's cooking integrity was compromised. Come to think of it, I awoke from a deep sleep around that time with a feeling of anxiety.

And lo and behold, on Tuesday morning, much to my delight, Tracy brought in some leftovers which I enjoyed thoroughly. The sweet smokey aroma was with me all day. Thank you very much Mac and Tracy! If I never wake from my turkey coma, you can be sure I died happy.