Priority 1 Emergency: Sweet Potato Stroke!

Happy Turkey Day! I hope all of you are spending the day in the company of your families - and finding yourself appreciative for many things to be thankful for. I, for one, am incredibly grateful for my family, friends, my always interesting yet incredibly rewarding job, Alpine and Pepper - the infinite love and loyalty of furry best friends, but most of all for Vincent. I'm not sure that anyone can be as phenomenal as he has been today, and for that I am ever so thankful.

Working in EMS is a minute by minute mystery - something a little different than the well thought out plans I usually arrange. For example, this morning when I woke up and took a shower, I barely made it to the kitchen to pour myself a piping hot cup of coffee when the dreaded "beep beep beep" sounded to page me out on an MVA (motor vehicle accident). When we arrived on scene, there was a pickup truck turned on its side in a moderately deep ditch and another truck that appeared to have been side swiped - both passengers only endured minor injuries due to glass from the wreckage. Little to my knowledge, a mexican fella was sitting in the back seat of the police car in hand cuffs. He decided that it would be a good idea to drive really fast when he saw the police squad car at the Exxon station because of what was later determined as - invalid drivers license, stolen license plates x 2, outstanding tickets x 3... etc. Not to mention that his alcohol level was measured at 2x legally intoxicated. 7 am, people - and still dressed to the nines! If you're going to party with the mexicans, get ready to party hard.

Later, we saw a stroke in a patient that was entirely too young - early 30s, and a baby with severe pneumonia and pulmonary distress needed transport to a specialized children's hospital - a 3.5 hour round trip. These, among other job duties, are the reason that I alone was not able to carry out the delicious Thanksgiving menu that I planned on cooking at the station. Vincent, however, had other plans. I left some of the recipes up on my computer - but he managed to pull off the whole menu of immensely flavorful sides, served hot next to a moist and tasty turkey breast. Thank you baby :)

Thankfully (how appropriate!) I had previously done some prep work in the dessert department. A classic pecan pie - a dessert that I have been in charge of providing my family since I understood the concept of stirring ingredients and pouring them into a pie crust, was of course necessary!  Unfortunately, because of a lack in time, I opted to go for my elementary version of pecan pie - which was still delicious. It's a shame, though, because I really like making pastry from scratch and a homemade crust steps any pie up a notch! Oh well, settling for delicious has to work right now! Well - don't you know pie crusts are sold in packs of two! Not to mention, Thanksgiving isn't the same without pumpkin pie. This experience was a little less fortunate in the way of emergency calls. I made it yesterday and we had 3 calls during my attempt to cook it - and for each call I was forced to turn off the oven for fear that I'd set the whole station on fire if we were gone too long. Fear not! The pie finally cooked through and turned out to be a tasty treat. This one's for you, Fram!

Aside from dessert, which is naturally my favorite, here is the Turkey Day Menu:

Simple Roasted Turkey Breast 

Rosemary Herb Gravy

Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Topping

Creamed Spinach (thanks Ellie K. for making this more healthy)

Sister Schuberts Whole Wheat Rolls :)

Creamed Spinach!

This is the first time that I have brined a turkey. Well, shit, it's the first time I've cooked one period the end! (Vincent did the cooking). Water, salt, honey, and a stick of butter melted together until smooth and once cooled to room temperature, the 4 LB turkey breast soaked in this brine in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. This method is said to keep the turkey moist during the roasting process, and I'll have to say that I think it works! Once I had a few minutes to spare in between saving lives, I took the turkey out of the brine and patted it dry. At this point, I rubbed it with half of a stick of softened butter and we seasoned it generously with salt and pepper. Into the oven at 325 for a few hours - this was Vincent's expertise!!! I'm not sure how long he actually cooked it for, but when it hit my plate it was perfectly done. A meat thermometer would have helped... had I have been watching it cook!

Thanksgiving Meal

The sweet potato stroke - oh my goodness! My grandma originally made this recipe for Thanksgiving many years ago and it has been a hit ever since. It's a creamy blend of whipped sweet potatoes with cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and pepper - plus this year I spiced it extra with a hint of ginger and nutmeg. The topping is a crunchy rave of the original Corn Flake cereal, chopped pecans, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter (Vincent left the butter out and it was equally astronomical in taste :) If I hadn't been running calls all day, perhaps I could describe the utter magnificence of these sweet potatoes, but just trust me this time... they are the shit!

I hope you have concluded your Thanksgiving as a happy camper! Thank you for all that you do!

Ps. Speaking of camper - Vincent, Alpine, Pepper and I are embarking on a climbing trip/camp out for the weekend in the cold Arkansas valley of Mt. Judea where we will be at Sam's Throne. A fun place to be, but also a time to remember my sweet girl Emma. This will be Alpine and Pepper's first camping trip - a very cautious one at that. I think it will be great!!!