In a few days, we head off into our maiden voyage, but before that, we spent Thanksgiving with our favorite people and longtime friends on GRUBB STREET. This year I splurged for a heritage turkey from Windy Acre Farms. A heritage turkey comes from one of several strains of domestic turkey which retains historic characteristics that are no longer present in the majority of mass-consumption turkeys. Heritage turkeys are biologically capable of being raised in a manner that more closely matches the natural behavior and life cycle of wild turkeys. Heritage turkeys have a relatively long lifespan and a much slower growth rate than turkeys bred for industrial agriculture, and unlike industrially-bred turkeys, can reproduce. Since their breast isn’t overly malformed as in regular mass-production turkeys, the males can actually mount females.

The white meat from a heritage tastes leaner than regular turkeys due to their lean lifestyle. The dark meat on a heritage bird, on the other hand, is superior. They also tend to run smaller. This particular bird is 12.7 pounds. Our bird chef, Jeff, said he was used to roasting 20+ pound birds.

Aside from the turkey, there were marvelous side dishes brought by our other friends: corn souffle, mint peas, yams with walnut streusel, stuffing, mashed potatoes, three kinds of pie, sauteed mushrooms, and homemade rolls. And lots of wine.

Overall, a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m glad we decided to stay until the end of November before heading out, it was a fun gathering and I’ll miss everyone.