Good morning. There couldn’t be anything more symbolic of our trouncing yesterday than a little snow and freezing rain here in the Lou. With temps expected to stay well below 40 degrees today, the forecast is calling for snow throughout the day but little accumulation. Guess we should really get serious about cleaning out the garden shed to make way for firewood.
Hopefully the symbolism in the snow related to Auburn’s demise yesterday is that we’re closing the chapter on one of the most depressing football seasons in memory, and moving forward. It’s not that we lost the Iron Bowl; it’s that the team appeared to fold in the 2nd half as if they wanted to walk out into the twilight of 2008. That’s not characteristic of Tuberville teams.
Are we alarmed? Somewhat. Auburn has some talented junior players that may decide to opt out of a rebuild and enter the NFL draft early. We have some hot recruits in the hopper but there’s lots of time between now and national signing day. We still have no idea who and what kind of offensive coaching talent is out there and wanting to come to Auburn.
We wonder where our alarm bell on Thanksgiving was. We are placing blame on inferior charcoal. You see, I’ve been using all natural lump charcoal ever since attending the Chris Marks brisket class earlier this year. The problem was that I forgot to pick up charcoal at the BBQ store and I went with a brand in the super market. About two and a half hours into the smoking there was a black film with ash on the bird. So we removed it from the smoker, wiped it down, and finished in the oven.
It may not have been all charcoal. The other variable was the wood, which this past Thursday was apple wood instead of the wild cherry I usually smoke with. Perhaps it was the combination of the apple wood and charcoal? Regardless I had to switch things up in the process of cooking. I ended up over cooking the bird. At least it had a wonderful smoke ring!
On the bright side, the family says I made the best dressing that I’ve ever made. “Thanks” go out to Emeril Lagasse for that one. I used a simple andouille sausage cornbread dressing recipe I found online. Whole Foods has the sausage fresh at the meat counter which makes all the difference. Our other fixings turned out nicely too and we’ve gotten into a groove with those items. Our Thanksgiving menu didn’t look much different from years past.
And what about those crazy shoppers? We were out in the shopping madness on Friday for various reasons. Me, for routine errands. Tracey for legit holiday shopping. Traffic and crowds were maddening. I don’t think the St. Louis crowds stampeded anyone though. Did you see the story about the Wal-Mart employee being trampled? What are we coming to?
Where ever we go, we wish all a cherry holiday season. A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all. We hope you end the year surrounded by those you love and begin the year with renewed vigor to live your dreams.
Cheers!
