We are approaching the the happiest time of the year, the winter holidays. Or is it the busiest time of the year? The most hectic? Frantic? Does the thought of going into Walmart (or any other store) raise your blood pressure exponentially? Are you looking forward to eating a delicious Thanksgiving meal or are you fretting about making an over sized turkey with all the trimmings for people that you aren't even sure you want to acknowledge as relatives? Are you busy devising a plan of attack for 2am Black Friday shopping or are you hunkering down, waiting for the fanatics to leave the store so you can buy what you need? This time of year is a mixed bag for most people. Like everything else in life, attitude and perspective will determine how well things go for you personally.
I believe that I am mightily spoiled during the Thanksgiving holidays. One could say that I married my spouse for his mother's cooking during this time of year. I have only had to make a turkey for Thanksgiving ONCE. I don't actually like the taste of turkey that much and I especially don't enjoy preparing the bird. It's gross and it's all I can think about after the turkey is cooked, carved, and presented for the feast. My thoughts bounce from what is in the stuffing, to where the stuffing was while it was cooking, to cleaning out what was in the bird before we put the stuffing in it; it becomes an endless mental gymnastics exercise. My nose, taste buds and stomach clamor for the delicious meal. My brain says to flee the carcass! My dream Thanksgiving cookbook would be part of the
Fix It and Forget It cookbook line with a subtitle along these lines: put your entire turkey, stuffing, trimmings and side dishes into a crock pot and come back several hours later to enjoy it. Sadly, no such book exists. If it did, maybe I could make it through one Thanksgiving meal without any inner turmoil. Thankfully, my mother-in-law makes a large variety of side dishes for the meal, so I am able to disguise my freakish fears (tiny turkey portion) under mounds of homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and a homemade roll. I used to take a more than healthy portion of her divine stuffing until I realized that the slightly funny aftertaste was.....giblets. Once I made the connection, there was not enough gravy in the world to help me overcome my distaste for stuffing. The bonus side to having "mental taste problems" is that I legitimately have room left for her amazing homemade pumpkin pie and/or slab-apple pie topped with her homemade whipped cream.
I realize that someday I may be called upon to be the Thanksgiving cook or at least participate beyond my usual offering of homemade cranberry sauce. In preparation for that, I have started to peruse books specifically aimed at this meal. Not because I think I could in any way prepare a better meal than the wonderful woman who has been making it for me for the past several years. I am trying to overcome my fowl fear, more specifically my turkey terror, in an effort to do a credible job when my time comes. Hopefully when that day arrives, I will see the same joy on people's faces that my mother-in-law witnesses when she presents her masterpiece of a meal. Of course (as my husband once made the mistake of saying) mine will never taste like mom's. I think I will aim for edible. After all, isn't this time of year supposed to be about spending time with the people you love, not about how much you love turkey?
We are approaching the the happiest time of the year, the winter holidays. Or is it the busiest time of the year? The most hectic? Frantic? Does the thought of going into Walmart (or any other store) raise your blood pressure exponentially? Are you looking forward to eating a delicious Thanksgiving meal or are you fretting about making an over sized turkey with all the trimmings for people that you aren't even sure you want to acknowledge as relatives? Are you busy devising a plan of attack for 2am Black Friday shopping or are you hunkering down, waiting for the fanatics to leave the store so you can buy what you need? This time of year is a mixed bag for most people. Like everything else in life, attitude and perspective will determine how well things go for you personally.
I believe that I am mightily spoiled during the Thanksgiving holidays. One could say that I married my spouse for his mother's cooking during this time of year. I have only had to make a turkey for Thanksgiving ONCE. I don't actually like the taste of turkey that much and I especially don't enjoy preparing the bird. It's gross and it's all I can think about after the turkey is cooked, carved, and presented for the feast. My thoughts bounce from what is in the stuffing, to where the stuffing was while it was cooking, to cleaning out what was in the bird before we put the stuffing in it; it becomes an endless mental gymnastics exercise. My nose, taste buds and stomach clamor for the delicious meal. My brain says to flee the carcass! My dream Thanksgiving cookbook would be part of the Fix It and Forget It cookbook line with a subtitle along these lines: put your entire turkey, stuffing, trimmings and side dishes into a crock pot and come back several hours later to enjoy it. Sadly, no such book exists. If it did, maybe I could make it through one Thanksgiving meal without any inner turmoil. Thankfully, my mother-in-law makes a large variety of side dishes for the meal, so I am able to disguise my freakish fears (tiny turkey portion) under mounds of homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and a homemade roll. I used to take a more than healthy portion of her divine stuffing until I realized that the slightly funny aftertaste was.....giblets. Once I made the connection, there was not enough gravy in the world to help me overcome my distaste for stuffing. The bonus side to having "mental taste problems" is that I legitimately have room left for her amazing homemade pumpkin pie and/or slab-apple pie topped with her homemade whipped cream. 
I realize that someday I may be called upon to be the Thanksgiving cook or at least participate beyond my usual offering of homemade cranberry sauce. In preparation for that, I have started to peruse books specifically aimed at this meal. Not because I think I could in any way prepare a better meal than the wonderful woman who has been making it for me for the past several years. I am trying to overcome my fowl fear, more specifically my turkey terror, in an effort to do a credible job when my time comes. Hopefully when that day arrives, I will see the same joy on people's faces that my mother-in-law witnesses when she presents her masterpiece of a meal. Of course (as my husband once made the mistake of saying) mine will never taste like mom's. I think I will aim for edible. After all, isn't this time of year supposed to be about spending time with the people you love, not about how much you love turkey? 
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