For thanksgiving this year we decided that we would cook a small dinner for just the two of us. Since we had other plans both Saturday and Sunday this week so I decided that I would take the afternoon off and cook on the thanksgiving day.

Instead of getting a whole turkey we got a stuffed turkey breast. We figured that a breast would suit the two of us. The decision to get the roast might also have had something to do with the fact that turkeys ring up at $5.18/lb!

Going into the day, I was worried that this would go horribly wrong. I tried to counter act this by developing a matrix detailing when to do what, how to manage the oven, and how to do it all with one oven timer. The matrix was working well, and everything was going to plan!

So while I was prepping the mac and cheese and draining the broccoli, the timer went off. The timer indicated that it was T-70 minutes to finish, the roast turkey had been in for 10 minutes and needed nothing, the candied sweet potatoes had been in for 30 minutes and needed to be basted, and the pumpkin pie had been in for 45 minutes and needed to be checked for burning crust and rotated. As I was rotating the pie, POP! Pop-pop-pop! The Pyrex pie plate containing the pumpkin pie on the shelf above the turkey and sweet potatoes exploded. I was shocked, surprised and finally disappointed. The turkey and sweet potatoes were showered with large and small glass shards, and the pie, well, it no longer had a container.

With a stiff upper lip, I cleaned up the mess and pressed forward with what was left. This year we’ll have to settle for a ’side-dish’ thanksgiving dinner. All that remained was mashed potatoes, stuffing, macaroni & cheese, broccoli casserole, cranberry sauce, and bread. We ate what was left (which all came out of the oven at the same time, a little late thanks to the matrix and a minor delay while picking shards of glass off the oven rack with tongs). For dessert, we had a lovely bag of marshmallows that was intended for the sweet potatoes.

Well, I’m off to go see if the oven has cooled enough to vacuum the bits of glass off the bottom. Here are some pictures of our meal.