Thanksgiving in the Woods

I think I’ve found a new tradition. One that is all manner of fun. Thanksgiving in the woods.

Failing to find a spot indoors for our Thanksgiving feast this year, we opted to put together our own little feast — one cooked up over the campfire. I really can’t take too much credit here, as my traveling companion did most of the food prep and cooking work, but hey, I payed for the food, so I get some appreciation, yeah?

It was Wednesday night we had our feast, instead of the usual Thursday, as we wanted to spend that whole day soaking in some hot springs near where we were camped out in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. We grabbed some turkey legs from a little food co-op in Dixon the night before, but they weren’t quite thawed out by midday. So, we popped them on the manifold of my car’s engine to defrost over the remainder of the drive (some 100 miles or so).

Nicely thawed, and even slightly roasted on the manifold, the turkey legs were ready for cooking just as soon as we got a campfire going. With some sourdough bread, there was to be a most delicious stuffing (not that we could really stuff it in the turkey legs, but that matters not). And we had an assortment of other sides: mashed potatoes, asparagus and applesauce. All (excepting the applesauce) cooked over the campfire you see here.

I popped open a Dolcetto from Black Mesa Winery (Velarde, NM) to go with the feast and a feast it was. Just look at that spread. We even had the requisite leftovers for munching over the next couple of days. Actually, we only had turkey left over. The stuffing was just too delicious to leave any of it behind, and we were modest enough in cooking the portions of potatoes and asparagus that there were none left over. Of course, killing off a single bottle of wine between two people is hardly ever a challenge.

This was so much fun, that I think this is going to be my Thanksgiving tradition from now on. In the future, I will find a good spot in the forests of Oregon or Washington or somesuchwhere, invite a whole crew of people, and have a big camp-out Thanksgiving feast. More than just turkey legs, I intend to learn how to roast a whole bird in the campfire. Who’s in?

In other traveling news, we have departed the Land of Enchantment for the great state of Texas. First order of business: hike up the highest point in Texas. Here’s some video from the top of Guadalupe Peak. Enjoy…