The day after misfit thanksgiving (see the leftover pie on the counter?), an epic thanksgiving, I spent a good hour+ cleaning out the bottom of the oven. Bill thought it would be funny to take a picture to document my cleaning mishap. At the time I was not amused. Today, I’m glad I have this memory.

This is how it went down.

Scene: Me cooking my first thanksgiving away from home in my first apartment in Tulsa, OK. I had cooked thanksgiving dinners at home since I was 10, which was the year I accidentally put the turkey in the oven upside down. We’ve cooked it that way ever since. Talk about moist. Anyways. Turkey is in, pies were done the night before, working on sides…hanging out with Bill (we had just started dating).

Sitting in the living room I say, “I smell burning.”

Smoke is in the kitchen.

I fly to the oven, fling open the door and flames pour out.

In about 1.269 seconds this is what I notice…

The $1 store tin turkey pan is not holding up to the extreme delicious juiciness of my turkey. Turkey juices are flowing over the edge of the pan like a tidal wave, hitting the heating element of the oven and igniting into massive flames.

My first reaction: Save the turkey!

So I grab it.

Bare handed.

Insert screams.

Maybe a few words I’d like not to mention again.

And I run onto our 2nd story balcony and throw my burning hands on the freezing railing, still screaming, and yell to Bill for help.

He stumbles onto the balcony completely unaware of what had just happened (he was watching football).

I gather myself.

For the next few hours we leave the door to the balcony open and use the turkey baster to suck up the juices off the oven floor, all the while trying to avoid the flames.

The turkey ended up being delicious. My hands were not.

The next day a good two inches of congealed turkey grease and juices needed to be cleaned out of the oven. Go me!

I’m still not sure why I ran out on the balcony. It wasn’t a concious decision. It just happened.

Did I mention that this was a brand new oven that the apartment had installed just days before? I think I may have left that part out.

Epic.

Posted in Cooking & Food, The Photography Chronicles and tagged , , ,