ShawnDo

Just got back from 2 weeks in Texas.  I went early for Thanksgiving and tried to surprise my mother.  She actually didn’t recognize me, and was in shock for about 2 full seconds, wondering why a stranger was in my old room!  The first week I was there, I drove around TX with Ace.
We visited Austin and stayed with Daniel.  Austin isn’t as great as it used to be.  I can’t decide if the memories got better over time, or if it just pales in comparison to NYC.  I know I’ve ranted on this topic before, but it just bugs me when I go back.  We were in Austin for a couple days, then went to San Antonio briefly to visit family.  We stayed there for the afternoon, then drove to Houston to stay with Shannon for 2 nights.  Didn’t do much except talked a lot, ate, and went to the mall.  We had a good time, but it sounds sad when I actually articulate it! We debated going back to Austin for the weekend, but Ace and I were both tired of the visiting and wanted to get back to Brownsville, for some reason.
Back in Brownsville, I did the normal Brownsville stuff.  Ate Mexican food, went to some movies, hung out at a friend’s pub Shenanigans (The only Irish Pub in Brownsville, I think).  Kept running into people I kind of recognized, but not enough to actually start a conversation.  They’ll probably think I’m some kind of snob, but whatever.
Thanksgiving came around, and the idea was to make 2 turkeys.  Dad was making one in his traditional style, with stuffing and roasted in the oven.  I wanted to brine and roast one, but they wanted to try out my Turkey Fryer I sent down to store there.  So I brined and fried my turkey.  Which is, coincidentally, what Alton Brown did in his Turkey episode this year!  It came out perfect.  Every bit was seasoned and juicy.  Even the deepest part of the breast had just the right amount of salt.  That was the best one yet.  The only problem is that the turkey doesn’t seem near as good once it hits the fridge.  It just turns into an everyday, leftover turkey, which is still pretty good, but still a let down.
My dad’s stuffing was a mashed potato, turkey infused concoction which I’ve had before, but never really paid attention to until this year.  Definitely one of my favorites, although when some of the oil separated in it, it reminded me that they probably didn’t pay attention to “saturated fats” back when the recipe was probably created!  Definitely, a once-a-year only thing.