Retreat, dinners, and holidays

We've been busy as usual here in Montero-land. I've just returned from a quick weekend retreat with the other women in our community. It was a beautiful place just on the north shore of Lake Ponchatrain. A state park with cabins that extend out over the water! They've been redone since Hurricane Katrina, so they were just wonderful. A much-needed break for a few quiet hours here and there, mixed with some great social time too! We even stumbled onto a Christmas parade in a small town near the state park, complete with marching bands, dance teams, and the Chick-Fil-A cows. Hilarious! Here are a few photos from the weekend...

Even though I worked at the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day, we still had a tasty dinner with our community and a few close friends. I was finally able to get an organic fresh turkey to brine and roast. It turned out very juicy! I try to roast the turkey breast-down for the first hour or so, hence the rack marks on the bird, but it really does help keep the whole bird cooking more evenly.

My brine this year was a combination of:

Kosher salt

Light brown sugar

Black peppercorns

Lemons

Oranges

Cloves

Crystal hot sauce (a Louisiana thing)

Tony's creole seasoning

pinches of dried thyme, rosemary, and oregano

But seriously, more important than the food were the great friends we shared the evening with. And of course, the Saints won!

We're ramping up for the Christmas holiday now (along with the rest of the country), so we're looking forward to moving into our permanent home in New Orleans this weekend. We'll put up the tree, bake cookies, and send out cards. And we're off to look for a bike for Isabella from Santa too. Lots of fun coming up in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for updates post-Christmas.