The Great Thanksgiving Turkey Saga

As I have for the past 9 years, since retiring to Grenada, I sent out the invitations for my annual American Thanksgiving dinner. About a week later, upon reflection, I realized that to pull off the dinner, was a virtual impossibility. There were just too many things needing my attention. Not least among them the fact that friends, a family of 5 were arriving the day before, a Grenada Green Group educational exhibit, of which I was in charge, happening 3 days before. No possible way to do a complete Thanksgiving dinner, so I reluctantly cancelled it.

My friends arrived and asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving. I told them I couldn’t do anything, no time. They suggested not to stress, we could go to a restaurant for a Thanksgiving dinner. I had to tell them that Grenada did not celebrate in the American tradition and we would not have the traditional meal in a restaurant. Friend Kate, ever helpful said, “no worries, we’ll help you prepare the   meal, let’s just buy the turkey”. Easier said than done. I have a source for fabulous local turkey, so I called the lady who had previously supplied me  with the turkey, apologized for yet again changing my mind and asked for a small bird. She graciously agreed to do so.

When the turkey arrived, I nearly fell over. She had sent me a 31lb TURKEY!!
We wrestled the beast home and then tried to figure out how to get it into the oven. No way was it going to fit, though my oven is large, nor could we have lifted it out, had it fit. We solved the problem by cutting off the back, the legs and thighs and the wings. We put the breast into one roasting bag, the legs and thighs into another and put the rest in the freezer.
 
My guests in the meantime had planned activities. The kids had to study, they needed to sleep in, one was not feeling well, so I did a simplified version of the whole dinner.
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In the end, there were 8 of us. We had a wonderful, relaxed meal but now we will have to eat turkey for the next 2 years, to finish the beast. As the saying goes, “When you’re handed lemons, make lemonade”