This year, on a whim, Joy and I bought a capon for Thanksgiving.

I have always liked Thanksgiving (as a very food-centered holiday) despite a certain ambivalence towards the underlying colonialism of the holiday. Some years I have written a diary focusing on the ambivalence of Thanksgiving (and Columbus Day) for those of us who know how bloody colonialism was in Amreica but also know that our own families may well have been saved from bloody pogroms and holocausts in Europe by the existence of America.

But as a food holiday, I gotta like Thanksgiving. My holiday fare has varied over the years, from chicken to Turkey breast to Turducken. The Turducken was not as wonderful as we expected...though only tried it from one company. Seldom to we have enough guests for a full turkey. Although I have made a huge variety of stuffings in my life (Kasha-based, corn meal based, with every kind of nut or fruit, you name it) my holiday oriented stuffing is always my grandmother's famous concoction which is basically challah, butter (only real, unsalted butter), walnuts, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Nothing else. My grandmother was a simple cook and this is one of the few recipes where I keep to that simplicity. A touch of nutmeg or Greek seasoning is about all I do...or substituting pecans when a friend who is allergic to walnuts is joining us.

This year I will probably keep to the challah stuffing, though haven't yet gotten the ingredients. I have bought the basics for the side dishes: potatoes to go in the pan beneath the bird to soak up all the good juices, string beans (another of my grandmother's favorites to be prepared simply), mushrooms (not sure what I will do with them yet...). Keeping it pretty simple overall this year.

Except for the bird. That is where my technique tends to get more and more elaborate over the years. A few years ago I was introduced to the technique of brining, which I modified to what I call "brothing." Brining is soaking a bird in a salt solution to make it moister and more flavorful. I soak it in a salty soup, in essence, to do the same. I found it works really well to improve the taste and moistness of the white meat. So now, when I remember to do it the day before I am cooking it, "brothing" is what I do to birds.

Glazes are something I have done for a long time. Sometimes honey based. Sometimes fruit based. Sometimes based on some kind of interesting preserves we have around (we've got blood orange preserves right now...not sure if I'll use it or not this year...glazes are something I usually make last minute on a whim).

Last year was a new, as a far as I know, completely novel addition to my elaborate bird routine: teaing. Before I even soak the bird in broth, I soak it in a strong tea. It darkens the meat, makes it moister and adds a subtle rich flavor. Last year I used a cherry/black tea blend that worked really well and I might do the same this year. People loved the result of the 24-hour tea then 24-hour broth treatment, telling me the turkey breast (that year) was the moistest they'd ever tried. It was a tad salty, but it worked.

This year we bought a capon, which is a rooster that was castrated when young. The meat is supposed to be ample, rich and fatty enough to be "self-basting." I'll let you know what we think. My main regret, in retrospect, is in our interest in trying capon I forgot my strict rule to only buy birds that say "grown without antibiotics" on it. Well, most of the meat we buy is antibiotic free and often organic. To me the antibiotic free is the most important factor.

So I am defrosting the capon now. Tuesday I will soak it in tea. Wednesday I will soak it in broth (vegetable based? mushroom based?). Then will cook it with more seasoning and/or glazing Thursday. Grandmother's Challah stuffing, potatoes, mushrooms, string beans...and we'll see what else.

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