grrlTravels

this is why we travel, part uno

We are not going away this year over Thanksgiving. Although we feel a wee bit sorry for ourselves, there is no need for sympathies to be extended. Everyone is cutting back, everyone is dealing with the economy, everyone has a pinch somewhere.

A few weeks ago E. said, "I want some turkey." This perplexed me because E. does not eat turkey as far as I know.
Me: What do you mean you want some turkey?
E.: I think lots of people eat turkey on Thanksgiving. At least some people. People do eat turkey for Thanksgiving, right?

My son the traditionalist. And from that brief 1.34 minute conversation a disaster of a Thanksgiving dinner has emerged, cooked solely by me.

Proposed menu:
shrimp cocktail
butternut squash bisque (it's not squashy enough, but it is finished)
turkey a la Alton Brown (this recipe has 1,919 comments!)
stuffing (this will hopefully be similar to the stuffing I am imagining)
mashed potatos (K. actually had to remind me of this one—I am pretty focused on stuffing)
rolls (from a can)
pumpkin bread (from a box)
green beans with bacon
brussels sprouts
cranberry sauce (from a can because I don't eat it and K. said the canned kind is fine)
pumpkin pie (from Whole Foods because I don't do pie crust and seriously there is no time for pie, but I am making real whipped cream)

Notice there is no gravy on this list. I know gravy is de rigueur, but I cannot for the life of me make decent gravy. I don't know why. I watch them whip it up on tv and it looks so easy but I cannot cannot cannot do it. I do not know what to do about the gravy to tell you the truth. I will probably attempt gravy since it is Thanksgiving and all, and I will probably botch it and we will have lumpy, nasty gravy, or no gravy at all if there are any tears involved, which there may well be.


Notes:
1. Fresh squeezed orange juice.
One of the recipes I am working on (and I have no idea which one, to tell you the truth) calls for fresh squeezed oj and being the slave to recipes that I am I spent some time this morning squeezing.

2. Stuffing.
I have not had great success with stuffing in the past. The stuffing of my childhood has none of the fancy stuff stuffing has recently acquired—no sausage, chestnuts, fruit of any sort. And no mushrooms. No, no, no! Just bread, celery, onions, and seasonings. That is what I'm going with because if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it so that I'm happy. Day old bread from the supermarket is currently drying out. We shall see. I'm hopeful, but not very optimistic.

3. Butternut squash bisque.
Butternut squash anything is not part of my childhood memories of Thanksgiving. But it is one of the very, very few things that Z. will attempt to eat, so I made some soup from scratch for her today. Sadly the bisque isn't squashy enough for me, but since I spent a lot of time on it we are going with it. My sweet family WILL eat bland butternut squash bisque (K. says perhaps it's the recipe and not you...is there garlic in this?...I like it) on Thanksgiving and perhaps it will be become a time honored tradition for my kids. Or maybe next year we will be somewhere else eating Chinese food like I want to be.

4. Chili.
In the middle of preparations for Thanksgiving today I also had to make a pot of chili because the ground beef was trying to go south on me. I was not in the mood to make a pot of chili. I was in the mood to lie on the couch and whimper.

Next up: unwilllingly brining

Posted by grrlTravels at November 25, 2008 9:13 PM