May is a month of many milestones for our family. Our first two daughters were born in May, the first one arriving precisely on Mother’s Day! How did I get so lucky?! Our third daughter was due in May. Smart girl waited to make her debut on the first of June so she gets a special month to herself! We’ve celebrated three high school graduates in May and our first two college grads in May (June baby is graduating a semester early in December!) We eat a lot of cake in May, hooray!

We’ve added a new milestone to the month and I’m calling it Day of Thanksgiving, celebrating my daughter’s miracle. Two years ago on the fourth of May, Reilly Hamilton survived the unthinkable: an accidental seven story fall from the roof of her apartment in New York. When doctors and police are sharing this information over the phone, there is no believing it and two years later it sometimes still feels like a recurring nightmare. It’s real and the unexpected detour that has rattled us all has also made us stronger and forever grateful!

There’s a long list of love letters to write, really thank you notes from the bottom of my heart! We’ve been showered with gifts galore and had scores of visitors to various hospitals and our home. We have an unparalleled team of medical professionals who have reassembled Reilly and continue to shower her with praise. Then there’s a tiny pile of hate mail that could go out to nameless villains who have thrown barbed wire hurdles in our path. We forge ahead with our emotions skipping around like a scratched up vinyl record: Fear, joy, hope, frustration, patience. So much gratitude, occasional heart stopping despair. Repeat.

The first year milestone came just days after Reilly had an incapacitating revision surgery, her twentieth trip to the O. R. She was motionless and emotional, choosing to cry it out in her dark bedroom rather than wheelchair anywhere. Now that we have arrived at the second year mark of this life-altering incident, things are looking a whole lot brighter!! When I brainstormed this concept of thanksgiving and shared it with Chuck, he didn’t skip a beat in asking, “Can we have turkey?”

Turkey it is! We made a quick version of a traditional Thanksgiving feast and it’s one I’ll file away any time the craving strikes! (Note: keep a turkey breast in your freezer for just such an occasion). Our rescuer neighbor friends Canette and Chris joined us to feast and toast. We have a lot to celebrate! I shared our plans with my friend Laura who had a turkey breast in her freezer. She said she’d join us from afar. Learning that my friend Pam had defrosted a turkey breast to grill the same day as my feast reminded me of the power of this universe and the forever friendships that have helped see us through this chapter I call trauma timeout. We are ready to close this door behind us, letting new light shine through to illuminate a sunnier path ahead.

Welcome to our new family tradition: Day of Thanksgiving in May! This one is start to finish in a couple of hours with a tiny prep step the day before. Read ahead for perfect turkey any time the craving strikes

Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast

From the exceptional cooking teacher and cookbook author Samin Nosrat via New York Times. Sharing her recipe with tremendous thanks for decoding the way to a super juicy turkey breast! I followed her steps almost to the letter (my boneless turkey was a pound larger than she suggests. It was cooked to perfection in one hour). While it roasted, I worked on my mashed potatoes and roasted some halved Brussels sprouts the last 20 minutes of the turkey time.

2 cups buttermilk
33 grams (2 Tablespoons) fine sea salt
1 half turkey breast (about 2 1/2 pounds), on or off the bone

One to two days before you plan to cook, place buttermilk and salt in a gallon-size resealable bag and stir to dissolve the salt. Place the turkey breast in the bag and seal, carefully expelling the air. Squish the bag to distribute buttermilk all around the turkey, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Samin says “if you’re inclined, you can turn the bag periodically so every part of the turkey gets marinated, but that’s not essential.” My turkey did not get this much attention.

Two hours before you plan to start cooking, remove the turkey from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Discard buttermilk, set the breast on a rimmed plate and bring it to cool room temperature.

Position rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 425. Place breast skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper.

Place baking sheet on the oven rack and roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast without touching bone registers 160 degrees (Samin suggests 150, I went with 160 on my 3 1/2 pounder which took an hour and it was juicy!), about 40 minutes for a boneless breast or 50 minutes for a bone-in breast. (You may want to tent the breast with aluminum foil if it’s darkening too quickly).

Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 15 minutes before carving. Serve with your favorite giving thanks sides and celebrate life. Happy cooking!