Thanksgiving Tradition

Our Thanksgiving (TG) menu has become a tradition and is essentially the same every year: salad, roast turkey, sausage and rice stuffing, mashed potatoes (w/garlic OR sour cream), steamed green beans, yams w/marshmallows, cranberry sauce (or a 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. It became my-inlaws family tradition when my wife and I were 19 (we weren't married yet). Just before TG my mother-in-law had surgery that left her incapacitated. My GF and her 3 sisters panicked at the thought of cooking TG dinner. I told them not to worry; I could do it, 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 beating tomato soup out of a can). But I'd 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 their house so I could do that and then get an early start cooking TG morning. After dinner I went to the fridge to get the turkey. It wasn’t there. I asked my wife where it was. “Oh, it’s downstairs in the freezer.” *cringe* I thought they knew the bird had to thaw 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??? LOL!

I’ll spare you the details on all of the other prep work and skip to the results. The turkey was a little dry. The mashed potatoes were a little lumpy. The marshmallows on top of the yams were a little scorched (really, just a little). I used Minute Rice for the sausage stuffing (it was good anyway). 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 didn't make a great meal for them. But the quality didn't matter. Somehow it was one of their favorites and the menu became their new family tradition. I guess because they were feeling especially thankful that year—that my mother-in-law survived her surgery.

So why am I sharing this? Well, just to show that there’s no need to stress if you're faced with cooking your first meal or maybe the first for a new sweetie or his/her family. The real joy in sharing a meal is not about the food, 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 cook!!! Call early if you’re more than a 2 hour drive from DC. LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving—whether you celebrate or not (or have celebrated it already in Canada)!

If you don't mind sharing, what are you thankful for today? Just the first thing that pops into your mind. As always, I know I’m thankful for the great people I’ve met through blogging. If you're reading this, that includes YOU! =)