Normally, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. But this year, not so much. See, if I could, I would have a giant Thanksgiving with tons of people. I love to cook and to eat and to share with everyone, and isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? But my father was an only child with no cousins and my mother has only one brother and one sister, both of whom live elsewhere. And while my brother did get married this year, that means they split their time between families, and this year that means going to Modesto for Thanksgiving. My Uncle Stuart and his girlfriend Roberta usually come down to have the holidays with us (because Roberta is allergic to sage, I'm the only one who will cook a sage-free Thanksgiving meal for her.) But they have both come down with the swine flu and don't want to come and risk infecting The Graminator. So that means that this year, I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for three.
Now, I cook dinner nearly every night, and I usually make pretty good meals (so far this week we have had pork chops stuffed with apples, cranberries and pecans with an apple-balsamic reduction and crispy rosemary shrimp over garlicky beans and spinach. Just so you know that I'm no Martha Stewart, tonight we are having chili dogs). And I love the traditional Thanksgiving meal. But it's a lot of work. I make my own turkey stock for the gravy, stew down fresh pumpkins for the pies, etc. And I'm not sure I want to go through all of that for just the three of us (and The Graminator only eats enough to qualify as a half serving really.) Christmas will only bring Stuart and Roberta to the table (Will and Val are going to Modesto for that holiday too - we are trying to talk them into splitting it up next year so both families get them for one or the other holiday) but I could make the huge turkey dinner then. So what should I do for this Thanksgiving? The only recipes that I've found appealing so far have been one for Winter Sangria and one for Pomegranate-Rosemary Champagne Cocktail (hmm, do you sense an adult beverage theme?) So do I make a turkey? Do I make an alternative but equally festive meal? Do I just heat up a T.V. dinner and drink my way to Christmas? Help, Loyal Readers, what should I do?
So I have to add to my 'dream man' list of qualities I am looking for in a mate. In addition to smart and funny, he needs to have at least two siblings, with spouses and children, who want ME to cook for the holidays. Owning a large cabin in lovely wooded area (with Christmas being lightly snowy) would be a bonus. Yes, I want to live in a Norman Rockwell painting.
4 comments:
If we weren't so far away I would loan you some of my guests. Larry and I are hosting this year and, including ourselves, there will be twenty one of us. Larry, bless his heart, does all the cooking. I do the pre and post cleaning.
That's a few more people than we usually have but that's just the way it worked out this year. I just hope everybody can manage to eat while keeping their elbows very close to their sides!
As for what you should do, I say go ahead and cook the traditional meal in a smaller than normal portion. The worst that can happen is you have a bunch of leftovers. But as far as I'm concerned, eating the leftovers for the rest of the weekend is one of the best parts of Thanksgiving. It's always so yummy!
And Wil and Val should definitely come to your house for Xmas! That's how all the married couples I know do it. One holiday with one family, and the next with the other.
Can you pass along that recipe for the Pomengranate-Rosemary Champagne Cocktail? That sounds very interesting.
In case we don't chat again before the big day, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! :)
You are such a hopeless romantic.
You are amazing Shae! I like to cook but with large amounts of people I get waaaay to nervous. This year I had to work the next day so I had to stay here in Vegas, too. Mark and I had our own little vegetarian Thanksgiving, which was pretty darn good and still waaay too much food. We had wild rice stuffed acorn squash, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, fresh rolls, yams and cheesecake for dessert. Not too shabby. I did miss my Mom's stuffing and mashed potatoes, but I was able to get some during Christmas :-) And be careful what you wish for that dream man may come along and have a HUGE family that will drive you bonkers!
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