11.26.14: Spatchcocking 101, Saving A Dying Language, & Good Gig

For many, Thanksgiving is a time to pull out those tried-and-true family recipes, but why not try something new this year? On today’s show,  new approaches to thanksgiving dinner, from dry brining your turkey to spatchcocking 101. And our series Good Gig, conversations with people who have landed their dream job, continues with a professional photographer who has captured the live performances of everyone from Herbie Hancock to Tony Bennett. Plus, a look at efforts to bring an endangered Native American language back from the brink.

Listen to the full show and click Read more for individual segments.

J.M. Hirsch Talks Turkey

• Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we’ve got a few ideas for how you can simplify the process of preparing your feast just a bit. J.M. Hirsch is a food editor for the associated press and author of Beating the Lunch Box Blues.
• We've got links to his recipes and ideas plus a video on how to spatchcock at this link.

Buffalo Turkey Butt

• If you’re growing weary of the traditional Thanskgiving menu, you can easily find inspiration through new cookbooks, foodie blogs, or sometimes through a chance encounter with a complete stranger. In this next story Andy Raskin follows Hollister, a San Francisco panhandler, on his quest to find an elusive delicacy known as “Buffalo Turkey Butt”.
• You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.

Penobscot Project

• Conor McDonough Quinn is adjunct professor in the University of Maine’s Linguistics Department. He is leading the Penobscot Dictionary Project.

Wild Man Night

• Thanksgiving is a time for turkey, pumpkin pie, and family traditions, but our next story veers off the beaten path. Jessica Gould brings us this story of one family’s unusual weekly dinner ritual.
• You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.

Good Gig: David Murray

• Photographer David Murray came to his dream job after he retired from his first career in Silicon Valley. He joined Virginia in studio to talk about what it's like to be the principal house photographer at The Music Hall in Portsmouth.
• You can see photos and more from David Murray at this link: Good Gig: Photographer David Murray.