The Open Door

Is there anything quite as wonderful as hearing your grandchildren call out your name? I think not. God has blessed Janice and me with six precious grandchildren ages six and younger. When we all get together at our house the noise level raises by several decibels and I love it.

It’s not unusual to hear the grandchildren call out, “Granddaddy, come play with us.” What follows is usually a game with the wooden blocks that we have had since our girls were small, throwing the ball, or playing restaurant. Restaurant is the “made-up” game where I sit at the small table in the playroom and the children either join me for the imaginary dinner or play the role of the waiter.

I think I am still a kid at heart because I thoroughly enjoy this creative play with my grandchildren. I love to hold them, when they slow down enough to be held. I love to get down on the floor with them and play whatever game they want to play. We color. We play with Play Dough. We build things with blocks. It’s always fun.

This Christmas will be special. The children are growing and every year during this age is exciting. There will be wonderful things to eat. Janice will see to that. She is a fabulous cook. Her cornbread dressing is famous in our family.

Who knows, maybe I will even smoke another turkey for the Christmas dinner? I have already cooked two for the past two Thanksgivings. Both of them were terribly dry and overcooked. I went on the Internet to try to find out how to smoke a turkey. I read that you are supposed to smoke the turkey for thirty minutes per pound. You are also supposed to use a meat thermometer to be sure you attain at least 180 degrees, at least that is what I read. Some have told me I should take the turkey off the grill at 165 degrees.

After I had been cooking my twelve-pound turkey for about four and one-half hours, Janice said, “How long are you going to cook that turkey?” I said, repeating what I had read on the Internet, “You have to cook it for thirty minutes per pound. So, I have to cook it for another hour and a half.”

She said, “That’s too much time. You’re going to cook it till it’s dry.” I decided I had better go check it out. When I opened the top of the grill, the turkey was completely black and I could see where the meat had pulled away from the breastbone. I slid in the meat thermometer and it went over 180 degrees immediately. Then I checked at the thigh. It registered at about 172. I kept it in a while longer and then pulled it out. It sure was dry. It was plenty smoked, but very dry.

I’ve done that twice now and I’m afraid I am going to have to turn in my barbequing equipment if I don’t get some help. If any of you reading this know how to smoke a turkey and have done so successfully, I surely would appreciate it if you would write to me and tell me how to do it. I have a barrel-type smoker that has a separate fire chamber at one end.

We will be home for Christmas and our house will be filled with our three daughters and their husbands along with our six grandchildren. I just have to say, they are the brightest, the best looking, the finest children I have ever seen!

From our home to yours, we sincerely wish for you and your family the finest Christmas you have ever had.