Not Thanksgiving Turkey

From Bobby Flay's book, Boy Gets Grill (page 184) this is Herb-Rubbed Grilled Turkey. The actual recipe if for a "whole" turkey but that would have been too much food for a weeknight! So instead, I grilled a turkey roast. I used all the same ingredients for the Herb-Rub as I would have over the entire bird: parsley, garlic, thyme, rosemary, ancho chili power, jalapeno chilies, kosher salt and ground black pepper. We added brown rice and steamed beans and it became a Thanksgiving treat without the production and without the relatives.

Wisdom of the Grill. To roast anything on the grill, you must turn the grill into an oven using indirect heat. On a gas grill this means turning on the burners on just one side. Using charcoal you would stack the coals on just one side - this forms a hot side and a cool side of the grill. I placed this turkey roast on the cool side, closed the grill cover and let the grill do its work. Unlike an oven, you don't have a thermostat to set an exact temperature, like 350 degrees. So instead you keep an eye on the roast, trying not to open the grill cover but only a few times, and using a meat thermometer. I was going for an internal temperature of 165, but using indirect heat it took almost two hours. Now, I have always thought that patience, as a virtue, was way overrated. I do things fast, I switch interests fast, I make decisions fast - but sometimes (although I hate to admit it) slowing down is a good thing. That is where the grill comes in. The grill teaches patience. The grill - especially using indirect heat - forces you to slow down, relax, enjoy the moment. This is one of the reasons we love to grill in the first place. When you think of grilling you remember lazy summer afternoons with your family. You remember celebrations, Fourth of July, backyard birthday parties - grilling is the opposite of work. When you grill you must shift gears. The grill's time schedule, not your schedule, takes over. When you grill you are forced to let go of life's other time pressures and let the grill do its work on the food and on your soul.

Weather Report. Finally a break in the clouds. From the courtyard the moon could be seen through hazy clouds for the first time in about a week.

What was on? We needed some long-playing, smooth, calming music to match the long roasting time of the turkey. If that is the kind of music you need, you can't so much better than Alicia Keys. Her third album, As I Am, is made of 14 songs that all set the mood. When this album came out about two years ago it started as the number 1 album and ultimately won three grammy awards. This is some very good stuff - and even if you have not been a fan, you will still recognize many of the songs. Check her out at http://www.aliciakeys.com/us/home. Here is some little known Alicia Keys trivia (and for the life of me I don't know why or how I know this). You saw her for the first time on the Cosby Show when she was about eight years old. She was one of Rudy's friends who spent one afternoon with Dr. Huxtable.

More grilling and more lessons from the grill to come - but only if you slow down and listen.
Paul