and Christmas. Thanksgiving I acknowledge slightly and without much fanfare. Yes, I am a grateful person. I am thankful for the Pilgrims who made the long and dangerous voyage to America. They struggled through that first winter with very little to sustain them. They planted crops in the spring and managed to nurture them into harvest time. I am sure they were excited to celebrate their survival and a bounteous harvest. After all, there had been very little reason to have a party. Whoopee for them. They enjoyed cooking for large crowds. Every Native American in the neighborhood was invited.
Here I step aside and separate myself from them. I have cooked many Thanksgiving meals in my 42 years of marriage, which entailed, peeling and boiling potatoes, rolling pie crusts for pumpkin pies, which were always less than flaky, made dressing and rolls from scratch. I did great disservice to the turkey before I discovered disposable cooking bags. My kids were pretty much grown by the time I figured out how to cook a turkey that wasn't dry. By that time stove top stuffing had also appeared and the precious little darlings informed me that they preferred stove top rather than my homemade dressing. I had already turned to canned turkey gravy so the addition of short cut dressing was no problem.
I once invited my in laws to Thanksgiving dinner and served a beautiful, brown, crispy, dry turkey with the sack of organs still inside the cavity of the bird. I will chalk that one up to first turkey attempt and to the fact that I had no idea you were suppose to reach inside the turkey and explore. I did improve as the years went on. My rolls were excellent almost from the get go. I love making anything that involves dough. Perhaps, it is the hands on--the feel of the dough as you shape and mold it. There is much more satisfaction in bread making than from slinging a dead bird around.
This Thanksgiving I am cooking with my new Australian daughter in law. Poor girl! She has suggested a turkey breast. I think she is already more astute about Thanksgiving than I was as a newly wed. I watched my mother cook the dry bird for 21 years. Everything I learned, I learned from her. (sorry Mom) I think Briana has an advantage--she is starting fresh on her own turf which she can create in her own way. Besides she can consult the net---sometimes much better than following in someone else's footsteps.
Thanksgiving this year will be spectacular, fun and one I am looking forward to. Then I just have to get through my next least favorite holiday--Christmas. I am sorry, but I will open up and confess--my favorite holidays are Fourth of July and Halloween. I hope this confession has not tarnished my motherhood star too much.
No comments:
Post a Comment