Wow. I'm full.

I am emerging from the haze of yesterday's calorie overdose. I made way too much food. It was absurd. But almost everything turned out just exactly as I planned it. And now we have a refrigerator full of leftover-stuffed tupperware.

Judd took the entire day off and was very helpful in the kitchen. In fact, he made the very tasty pear, onion, and dry jack cheese hors d'oeuvres we nibbled on while the turkey was in the oven. I had actually tried that recipe when Ann and Brian came over last weekend, but used sheets of phyllo instead of the cups, which was a big mess. I definitely recommend using phyllo cups if you are going to try this recipe.

Since my refrigerator is so small, our raw turkey had been awaiting its destiny in my mother's refrigerator across town. But my mom and sister brought it west when they came over around 1pm, and it went right into the oven. We roasted our 12 lb turkey for just under 3 hours with nothing more than butter, salt, and pepper on the outside and an onion and a bunch of fresh thyme on the inside and it turned out beautifully. Though you'll have to trust me on that, since I forgot to take its picture in all of the excitement.

Without further ado, here are some photos of our massive spread.

I certainly straddled the line of a lot of a good thing and too much of a good thing. If you'd asked me last night, I probably would have chosen the latter of those two. But that's what Thanksgiving is all about. Overeating. And family, too. And then eating pie.

One pound of unsalted butter: ~$3.50

One quart of cream: ~$6

2 lbs of challah: ~$9

One 12 lb organic turkey from Lobel's: $100 (thanks, Kristy!)

Spending my favorite holiday with my new husband and old mom and sister: priceless.