When it comes to holidays, nothing surpasses Thanksgiving for tradition and for hours of time spent in the kitchen cooking.
And this year will be no different than other years we’ve spent celebrating the holiday. Twenty-some people will descend on the house like ravenous vultures, eating everything in site.
Ok, that might be somewhat a bit of hyperbole, but it sure doesn’t seem like it when the turkey comes out of the oven and the hordes descend.
I know that the commercials, and cards, and traditional programs around Thanksgiving depict the elder male of the family standing at the head of the table, masterfully carving a beautifully dressed and arranged bird. His impeccable family sits at the formally set table, dressed in their best finery, with looks of awe and adoration on their faces. Why look! A quick Google image searched showed me exactly that:
Who ARE these people, and what planet do they live on??
This is what it looks like at our house. The turkey gets pulled out of the oven and the vultures immediately descend. People start vying for the tail, the skin, and any hunk of meat they can get their hands on before the carving even starts. Typically, the only way to ward the vultures off is with several serious waves of the carving knife. And that seldom works.
THAT is our family tradition. Try to finish off the turkey before it even makes it to the table! Then fill your plate with everything else, and drowned it all in cheese sauce.
I don’t expect that this is going to change too much. It pretty much puts an end to any fantasies of an elegantly prepared dinner with candlelight and soothing music playing in the background. But there is much screaming, yelling and wrestling that takes place, that makes up for the lack of background music, right?
At any rate, here’s the menu, so far:
Appetizers: Cheese, sausage, crackers, olives, carrots, deviled eggs
Cole Slaw
26 Pound Turkey
Italian Sausage and Wild Rice Stuffing
20 Pounds Mashed Potatoes with herbs and cream cheese
Gravy
Cheese Sauce
Peas and Pancetta with pearl onions
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Black-Eyed Peas
Cornmeal Fried Okra
Green Bean Crap*
Bread
Pies: Pumpkin Cheesecake, Apple, Pecan, Chocolate Pecan, Blueberry, Double Chocolate Fudge
*Yet another family tradition, you can read about it here. You may note that we had basically the same menu last year. See, we ARE a traditional family.
Each year I swear I’m going to blog along with all the prep. I live up to that vow up until Thanksgiving morning. It’s all over after that.
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