Last week, on the morning of Thanksgiving Day, I checked the New York Times home page just to see what was going on around the world.  I was surprised to see that the video window at the top of the page was devoted to a series of 5 short pieces about roasting a turkey, an activity that I was about to attempt just hours later.  A woman chef was dispensing advice on every stage of the process, from defrosting and unwrapping it, to letting it rest after it was cooked.

I had already printed out a recipe to try on my own bird this year, but watched the videos anyway, just out of curiosity.  And I learned a number of small tricks that helped me to successfully produce a beautiful roasted turkey (my first).  Keeping the oven closed, and forgoing the basting were among the bits of advice that she offered.  And so I did as she suggested.

Then, in the Dining section, there was another video, where a professional butcher discusses the best way to carve the turkey once it’s cooled down a bit.  I’d seen this one a couple of years ago, so it’s a “repeat”, but I watched it anyway, just to remind me of how it’s done (not at the table, is his advice).

So, to re-cap:  they provided me with short, concise content, that I found interesting and useful, especially because it was temporally relevant, even welcoming the re-published existing content, and I was grateful for the chance to watch the videos and learn something, which I promptly put to use in my own kitchen.

Damn, this web video stuff works well when it’s done right.