Thursday, November 22, 2012
For many years, the thought of cooking an entire
Thanksgiving meal was too overwhelming to consider seriously. That feat was something that my Mom,
Mother-in-Law, and my Grandmother could do, but not me. I avoided the Thanksgiving culinary challenge
for so many years that I got used to eating OUT on Thanksgiving more than
eating IN.
Until this year….
After cooking my running total of 45 Sunday dinners
in 2012, Thanksgiving was no longer that intimidating. So, I invited our friends the D. Family, along
with my in-laws, and cooked up a traditional meal.
Like millions of Americans, on Thanksgiving Day we ate:
Turkey
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Sweet Potato Casserole
Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Creamed Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Orange Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Pie
I can’t claim credit for all of these dishes. Mrs. D. made the cranberry sauce
and pumpkin pie. My mother-in-law made
her famous, melt-in-your-mouth orange rolls that I’ve tried unsuccessfully to
duplicate.
While the turkey cooked away in an electric roaster sitting
on top of my counter, I shoved all the side dishes into one oven, and baked the
orange rolls in the other oven. For
appetizers, we munched on baked brie with crackers and smoked oysters with Boursin
herbed cheese.
I didn’t worry too much about the décor. For one minute, I dusted off my grandmother’s
china, reconsidered, and packed it away for some unknown future special
occasion. I settled on the ‘ole white
Corelle dishes placed on top of gold chargers.
We ate and talked and ate until our stomachs hurt. Then, like millions of Americans, we ate
leftovers for the next four days. I made
turkey soup, turkey burritos, and pasta with turkey alfredo sauce.
To summarize my Thanksgiving experience, I would say:
Yes, I spent hours at three different grocery stores buying the
ingredients.
Yes, I spent two days cooking.
Yes, I was exhausted.
Yes, the meal only lasted about 20 minutes for the kids and
45 minutes for the adults.
BUT, it was wonderful and I
would do it again!
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