Stressed by Cooking?

My wife has Thanksgiving (TG) pretty much down to a science now. The menu has become a tradition and is essentially the same every year: salad, roast turkey, sausage and rice stuffing, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, yams w/marshmallows, cranberry sauce (or some cranberry creation), rolls, and homemade butternut squash pie…with a different appetizer (or two) each year.

The menu came from my side of the family--except the salad, my family didn’t waste room with salad on TG! But this menu also became my-inlaws family tradition when my wife and I were 19 (we were not married yet, but I refer to her as my wife in this story anyway). Just before TG my mother-in-law had surgery that left her incapacitated. While my wife had been cooking family meals during the week for several years at that point, she and her 3 sisters panicked at the thought of cooking a TG meal. I told them not to worry; I could take care of it with no problem. They doubted me, but I showed confidence. We agreed they would buy the turkey and I would take care of everything else.

In truth, my show of confidence was just that—a show. The only cooking I had ever done was flipping burgers at Hardee’s (and wrestling tomato soup out of a can). But I had watched my mom and grandma in the kitchen. Plus, I couldn’t count the number of times I had changed the water when one of them was soaking a turkey. How much harder could it be to cook one? Haha!

Speaking of soaking a turkey, I decided to spend the night at my wife's parent's house so I could do that and then get an early start cooking the next day. After dinner I went to the fridge to get out the turkey. It wasn’t there. I asked my wife where it was. “Oh, it’s downstairs in the freezer.” I thought they knew the bird had to be thawed before it could be cooked…they didn’t. That was my fault, I should have asked about it several days earlier. No problem! I stayed up all night changing the water every 30 minutes and the bird was ready to cook by 8:00 the next morning. But what was that stuff hidden in the neck cavity??? (I know now!)

I’ll spare you the details on all of the other prep work and skip to the results. The turkey was really dry. The mashed potatoes were lumpy. The marshmallows on top of the yams were a little scorched (really, just a little). I used Minute Rice for the sausage stuffing. The green beans were canned. But the brown ‘n serve rolls and the canned cranberry sauce were great…and the pie was perfect—my mom made it.

As you can see, I made a lousy meal for them. But the poor quality of the food didn't matter. Somehow it was one of their favorites and the menu became their new family tradition. I think that’s because they were feeling especially thankful that year—since my mother-in-law had survived her surgery. So why am I sharing this? Well, one reason is just that it’s on my mind—so out it came! But the other reason is just to show that there’s no need to stress if you are faced with cooking your first meal or maybe the first for a new sweetie or his/her family. The biggest joy in sharing a meal is not about the food (although the food can bring a LOT of joy!), it’s about the time spent together. If your family/friends don’t appreciate you cooking for them, then invite me over. I ALWAYS appreciate it when someone else is willing to do it!!! Call early if you’re more than a 2 hour drive from DC. LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving—whether you celebrate it or not!!! I know I’m thankful for the great people I’ve met through blogging. As I've said before, if you are reading this, I'm talking about you! =)

If you don't mind sharing, what are you thankful for today? Just the first thing that pops into your mind!