Thanksgiving at Palmer was celebrated on Friday instead of Thursday. This was done so the support staff could enjoy a two-day weekend. Usually the staff works Saturday and has Sunday off. Our holiday feast was planned for Friday's dinner and would serve as a tasty prelude to a long, restful weekend for the Palmer staff (to digest all the good food consumed!). Science for our group however, continued on without the luxury of time off.

All the support staff looked forward to their two-day break, but probably none more than head cook Wendy and her assistant Jennifer (see Jim's entry to meet Jennifer). These wonder women certainly deserved a break from their kitchen responsibilities after planning and preparing our wonderful Thanksgiving meals.

The day began with a special continental breakfast, which included sweet breads, Danish, bagels and smoked salmon. Brunch merged in by mid-morning adding several Mexican-style casseroles, a huge pot of vegetable beef soup, a fruit stuffed watermelon carved into a whale-shaped bowl, and a giant urn of hot mulled cider to the offerings. It would be tough working up an appetite for a big dinner with such an assortment of food available almost all day long. Everyone on station though was aware of all the effort Wendy and Jennifer were putting into making our un-Thanksgiving Day a special one, and we did our best to sample the fruits of their labors!

The crowning glory of the cooks' gastronomic achievement du jour was the evening meal. The menu was the traditional turkey and trimmings, which on our buffet included mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, sausage and apple cranberry walnut stuffings, baked pumpkin, peas, creamed onions, broccoli/cauliflower casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, cranberry orange ginger relish, gravy, and multigrain fresh baked bread. Oh yes, the dessert table featured apple, pumpkin, pecan, peach and pumpkin chiffon pies and panettone (Italian sweet bread), and to top it of, truffles. The variety alone is mouthwateringly overwhelming!

Can you imagine the quantities of these delectable dishes needed for 36 polar appetites! To list a few statistics: three (yes, previously frozen) turkeys (totaling 57 lbs.) plus a 10-pound turkey roll were golden roasted; 117 potatoes were peeled and mashed to perfection; four heads of almost still fresh broccoli and two heads of cauliflower were scrubbed pretty for the casserole. A baker's dozen, 13 pies were baked and over 100 divinely rich truffles were rolled with care.

How did our two super cooks manage all this??? It is called being a professional — being very well organized and planning ahead. It is also called being smart and overtly and covertly enlisting the help of other "family members."

Professionally, the cooks knew to prepare a pound of turkey (bone included) per person. Thirty-six people thus meant 36 pounds of turkey would be needed for the banquet meal. The additional turkey would then serve as leftovers. Given limited oven space, one of the turkeys was roasted Thursday night. A second turkey was ready for Jim to expertly carve Friday afternoon.

Wendy and Jennifer had charted out the entire menu and assigned priority timing to the various side dishes. Being smart women (unnecessarily redundant!) they had offered to include any special favorites into the spread. The individuals who had requested a family favorite, then offered to prepare them as well.

The potatoes were scrubbed and peeled by volunteer assistants. Thursday night, Jennifer hosted Pie Crust 101: the art and science. Her hands-on seminar resulted in 13 neophyte bakers producing the pies for the dessert table. Two other station folks offered to prepare the truffles. The electrician donated the Italian sweet bread his mother had sent from home. Our feast, like yours probably was a team effort and all the contributions make such a meal even sweeter.

To extend the family feeling, the dining room tables were arranged into two long banquet-style tables. Chuck helped dress the tables with maroon linens and napkins — even candles. Water and wine glasses, and silverware were put at each place. Miss Manners would have been impressed with the civilized approach in this remote banquet hall.

The meal was that wonderful holiday medley of flavorful food and pleasant conversation amongst family/friends. Content in my surroundings, I reflected on all I am thankful for. I also found myself musing about my next holiday on ice and how a Christmas dinner could top this. Put your appetite on standby — if you can.

Post script: Sunday noon, Jim and I enjoyed the last turkey scraps on our sandwiches! But at least five of the pies still had a slice or two yet! Gobble, gobble....