Mise en place

There is really nothing like the aroma of mirepoix wafting through the house. Something about the onions, carrots and celery all cooking down together just smells like home and the holidays. Of course, what I could also be smelling right now is the 17-pound bacon-topped turkey beginning to brown in the oven. Yep, that's right. We bought a 17-pounder. Just for the three of us. The bird is from Diestel Farms in Sonora, Calif., where Roth grew up. His family has eaten Diestel brand free-range turkeys for years. When we saw them at Central Market all the way up here in Seattle, we had to splurge. And 17 pounds was the smallest we could find. Yep, we'll be eating turkey for eons here on out. Sierra is certainly enjoying all the T-giving Day preparations as well. Just as Roth was about to pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling into the graham cracker crust, she stealthily got up on her hind legs and chomped down on the butter-drenched crumbs, leaving a sizeable gap in the crust. Of course, Roth was able to salvage the crust, and what we ended up with was two traditional pumpkin pies and one tall pumpkin cheescake. Sierra discovered the pie cooling area atop the dryer in the laundry room, too. And then Roth got mad at me for encouraging Sierra to "check out the pies" for the sake of a great picture. Oops. But then, Sierra was relegated to her crate where I snapped this shot. Honestly, she's sorry. Truly, she is. I'm sure as the day goes on, there will be plenty more opportunities for her to bogart more food. We'll be making creamy mashed potatoes (my absolute fave), green beans with bacon and shallots, italian sausage and mushroom stuffing, crescent rolls and cranberries. Fairly traditional fare for our first Thanksgiving in Seattle. I can't wait. Mmm. Wish you were here, too!