In all honesty, Thanksgiving fills me with a sense of dread. It's all well and good to fancy myself a good cook from behind the safety of my keyboard. No one ever actually tastes my cooking. Other than Ryan and sometimes my parents and sometimes Stellacarolyn. But Thanksgiving is the time when I feel this incredible pressure to shine. Which is ridiculous, because I'm not even making some fancy gourmet Thanksgiving menu with a special theme (Southwestern! Original Pilgrim!). I'm just trying to get a turkey on the table with a minimum of cardboard flavor and a maximum of pleasantly starchy sides. This should be completely within my skill set. But it isn't. I estimate I've made a grand total of 3 turkeys in my life. I'm no expert. So I have to do something that I have very little practice at and somehow not be awful at it. It's like all my cooking cred is on the line on that day. And then there's the compounding factor that I make Thanksgiving at someone else's house. Which means I don't know where anything is. I'm trying to list everything I'll need in advance so that I'll be as well prepared as possible, but nothing really prepares you for hunting down a cup measurer or a rolling pin from the depths of someone else's cabinets. Then there's the fact that I feel like a total ass when I get stressed out in front of people. So I need to freak out very quietly and inside my head. Ryan knows this and so always offers to make the dinner so I don' t have to freak out, but he just doesn't get how much it makes me feel like a failure to not make the dinner. Right? I'm the one with the stupid blog. I should be able to make Thanksgiving dinner, shouldn't I?
Just in case you're making Thanksgiving dinner, you have my deepest sympathies, and here, some recipes that might be of use to you...you're on your own for the bird.
Starters:
Sweet Potato Soup
Winter Panzanella
Sides:
Cornbread
Dinner Rolls
Gingered Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Popovers
Vegetarian Main:
Stufffed Squash - fine, my recipe calls for sausage, but I make it without about as often as I make it with.
Dessert:
Apple Cake
Apple Turnovers
Sweet Potato Pie
2 comments:
Oh, sweetie, your food is the best! I know it'll be delicious and wonderful- try not to stress too much. And call if you want, I'll be around in the late morning, prepare our small, 3 person dinner.... :-)
It has now become tradition that I unintentionally create a challenge for Carrie each Thanksgiving. This year's was a whopper. Two turkeys and one oven! Carrie rose to the occassion with grace and aplomb, producing two beautiful turkeys - both cooked to perfection and table ready at the same time. Carrie, thank you for a delicious meal and I hope not to greet you with a challenge next Thanksgiving.
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