>> Oh sorry. >> Excuse me!

>> I'm sorry. This is my best friend Lynne -- >> Thank you.

>> and she hosted Thanksgiving this year. So, in this video you're going to see a spread

of food like I've never seen before. And also, we'll study a little pronunciation along the way.

In this video, there are many different things

about American English pronunciation to notice. I will point out three. They are all occurrences

of the phrase "I have got to." This phrase will never be pronounced with that much time

because there are words in here that are function words that need to reduce and link. I will

say this phrase once, and I notice that I reduce it to "I've gotta." [x2] My friend

Lynne will say this phrase twice. She reduces it to "I gotta" [x2]. When I say the phrase,

I make "I have" a contraction: I've. "Got" and "to" reduce to "gotta" [x2]. The T here

pronounced as a flap T, or D, because it comes between two vowels. I've gotta, I've gotta.

Lynne reduces it further, dropping the word "have" altogether. I gotta [x3]. Make sure

when you reduce that you link everything so there are no gaps between the words. For example,

"I've got to say," or, "I've got to see that movie." We'll stop and take a look at these

phrases when they happen in the video.

This year we had some great side dishes: collard

greens with bacon and maple, a wild rice and quinoa pilaf, a green salad with beets and

pine nuts, some bread, which I made, a corn soufflé, and bacon-wrapped dates as an appetizer.

But the star of any Thanksgiving meal is the bird: the turkey.

>> That's a pretty bird, Beads. >> Thank you! Ok. 160 …

Here we're checking the temperature of the bird to make sure it's cooked.

>> 170. Ok, it's done. Yes! Oh my God! Now she'll make a gravy using turkey stock,

and the drippings from the pan that the turkey roasted in.

>> Now whisking the thickened roux. Then I'm going to add my homemade turkey stock to make

a gravy. Yum. It's a little chunky. Oh look at that! Look how it's, it's, it's happening.

>> It's becoming gravy. >> It's becoming gravy.

>> Oo, it's delicious-looking. >> I sh---you know what I should add?

White wine. >> Oh yeah!

>> See I'm cutting off right now the, the, what's that? It's the thigh and the ...

what's that called? Yeah. >> Thigh and the what?

>> What's this called? The leg. The leg and the thigh.

>> What's this called and the answer was leg? You couldn't remember the word leg??

>> You're making me nervous with your camera! >> She's been cooking all day long.

>> I know, she has been cooking all day. >> I gotta find the joint. Brian, help me.

OK, did you hear that? I gotta find the joint. Lynne reduced "I have got to" to "I gotta" [x2]

Listen again. >> I gotta find the joint [x3]. Brian, help me.

Next, Lynne carves the turkey, and we all

enjoy an amazing Thanksgiving meal. Pie is the traditional dessert at Thanksgiving.

>> We had three pies this year. We had pumpkin, which I just adore. We have pecan, which is

not my favorite, but I've got to say, this one was really good.

Did you notice? I just said "I've gotta." [x2] "I've gotta say." Listen again.

>> But I've gotta say [x3] this one was really good. But I've gotta say, this one was really

good. This was a good pecan pie. And then we have this apple, which is just gorgeous,

isn't it? Here, let me rotate it so you can get the inside. Gorgeous, gorgeous.

After everyone's eaten all the turkey and pie they can possibly eat, there's only one

thing left to do when you've hosted 16 people in a Brooklyn apartment.

>> Man, uh, I gotta clean my floor. And, for the third time, "I have got to" reduces.

I gotta [x2], I gotta clean my floor. Listen again.

>> I gotta clean my floor [x3]. >> So, would you say that the dinner was successful?

>> I would say so. >> Yeah. Tell me a little bit about the evening

from the Chef's perspective. >> Well, it started out a little rough because

the turkey was not ready, which was frustrating. >> It took longer than you thought.

>> It took longer than I thought. BUT, it was well worth the wait because it was awesome.

>> It was! >> And now I'm picking the carcass. But I

think everyone had fun. And everyone got along, which is good.

>> That's huge. >> There were a lot of people that didn't

know each other. A lot of randoms. But, um, food was good, and company was great, and

everyone laughed, and ate, and was merry, and grateful.

>> That's true. That's what Thanksgiving's all about.

>> It's all about being grateful and counting your blessings.

That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.