Normally there is just no way that purchasing this many starches and having them here and readily available for munching would be a good idea. But food rules sometimes don't work at the holidays. The dilemma is that if I add up all the holidays, parties, nights out, weddings, baby showers, birthdays, Super Bowls, etc. there are in a year, I'd have to throw in the towel on roughly two months of every 12. I'd have to give up on 1/6th of my year, and then dig myself out of that the other 5/6ths of the time. Not a good plan. For instance, I can't throw out my food rules and good nutrition for all of Christmas and New Years.
The thing is, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My most favoritest ever. It's not about the food. I mean, it's not NOT about the food (especially since I grew up eating some of the best stuffing and pumpkin pie around at this time of year), but for me, what I like about Thanksgiving is that it's for everyone, equally. Every family has the opportunity to figure out what kind of holiday they want this to be (with maybe one caveat for the families that are subsisting in poverty and not able to make ends meet). A day to watch football? A time for all to gather round the TV and make fun of the parade? A formal holiday with crisp table linens and napkins in laps? A time to name things that everyone is grateful for? All of these are possible ways to bring Thanksgiving into your house. It doesn't matter if you believe in God. And if you do, it doesn't matter if that God for you takes the form of Allah, Hashem, Buddha, or JC. No one has to buy gifts, or figure out of their card is PC enough to fit all situations. There's no wrapping, and no returns. Just people who like each other deciding they want to spend this day together.
To be fair, my mom would point out that for every thing I name that makes this holiday awesome by not having to be done (hanging blinking lights!), she can come up with a task she has had to do to pull this holiday off in style in the past: buying and carrying in a heavy turkey, stuffing it, getting up early, early, early to stuff said turkey and cook it slowly. But since I never cared about the bird or eating it (and then went vegetarian for 12 years) I'm conveniently leaving that part out.
What I like is people who like each other sharing this day in whatever way seems like the best way to appreciate each other and the day. I do like the food, but for me it's more about the relaxation, and as an adult, the true enjoyment of sharing the preparation of food with others. For a couple of years now, I've been unofficially trading Thanksgivings back and forth between my mom's house, and my sister's house. I've enjoyed the differences in traditions and celebrations, the chances to catch up with separate branches of my family, and the food in both places. My mom's Thanksgiving is very much about her working quite a bit to have a very nice meal where everyone sits down at the same time, whoever everyone is. Although we wear jeans, that's relatively new at my mom's Thanksgiving so when she wants me to help lay out a table cloth or set the table, what I remember is the earlier Thanksgivings in my life where I wore dresses and tights. We do still sit down all together and say a blessing, jeans or no. So, I'd say it's a slightly less casual secular Thanksgiving. Not a formal meal by far, but a lot of work is put into presentation nonetheless.
My sister's Thanksgiving is a turkey of a different color. It bears saying that the first time I was there, the whole kitchen was torn up and two saw horses and a particle board were part of a makeshift table we prepared and served food on. So, a little different than the Thanksgiving I grew up with in Connecticut (smile). I remember calling my sister before that first trip to Texas and asking her if she had expectations for what people wear to her Thanksgiving. I laughed when she said she had three expectations about that particular Thanksgiving:
1. That everyone contribute a dish, even her youngest, who at the time was 6.
2. That her husband get the kitchen sink working before the meal (which we were actually having on Friday)
3. That everyone put clothes on and not be in PJs.
I laughed, but it's important to note that there was actually one child on that Thanksgiving who waged a brief and failed attempt to remain in PJs. And yes, the sink went in and got working before the meal . . . just. It was epic. Because everyone had to take turns in the kitchen to prepare food, and because absolutely each and every person at the meal made part of the meal, regardless of their age, other jobs (sink plumbing!), interest in or talent for cooking, it was much more about getting everyone's dishes done than about serving them nicely. I really enjoyed taking the focus away from perfection and presentation and putting it on contribution and collaboration. It made the meal-prep no less time-consuming but very entertaining. The food turned out great (as did the sink) and I noticed how everyone was very excited to eat, check out each others dishes, and see how their dish would be received. I still remember my oldest nephew tossing pecans and marshmallows while making the sweet potatoes (and trading stories about each others siblings. Ha!), my oldest niece talking to me very seriously about green bean casserole, my youngest niece's face when her pumpkin pie came out of the oven, and my youngest nephew asking for help with his chocolate pie. It was a great meal.
I say that, like I've ever had a bad Thanksgiving meal. (Though that one was particularly memorable, in food as well as in company) I have never liked turkey, though I don't dislike it either. Everything else - delish. I do like cranberry sauce, pretty much any vegetable that is dished up, most mashed potatoes, and let me not understate this, my mom's stuffing is THE BEST. I also need to be honest - I adore pumpkin pie. Over the years I have worked really hard to enjoy these things in moderation. One plateful, not four. More vegetables than anything else on my plate, no need for bread if I'm having stuffing AND mashed potatoes. Drink lots of water. Basic tips like that.
So, I'm excited to try all of this out at a new Thanksgiving table this year. For the first time, I am celebrating a major holiday in Colorado. Since my mom is coming here for Christmas in just three weeks, it seemed silly to buy a ticket and go there for Thanksgiving. Initially I thought I might just spend the day by myself, cook a yummy meal (Risotto and soup crossed my mind. So did nachos. I'm serious. ) and watch movies. That would have been completely fine, but I ended up with a better offer. My very good friend, the same one who invited me for a mini-cation up in Steamboat Springs invited me to her house for the giving of thanks. she's been to enough of my parties to know I can cook, so we kind of skipped over the niceties "oh thanks for inviting me! what can I bring?" and went straight to menu planning. Turkey or pork tenderloin? What kind of pie? Since part of our friendship was forged when we used to work together and I would bring her pumpkin bread, I assumed that it was assumed that I would bring that! So, now that we're just a couple of days away and my recipes are researched I'm getting excited to cook. I did my initial shopping last night (hence the potatoes) and will likely do my final shopping tomorrow morning. Here is what I think I am making:
- Pumpkin soup. This would be my first slow cooker recipe. (sidenote - anyone want to share slowcooker recipes with me?) I'm honestly thrown by how easy the recipe is - it seems like a trick! - so I've also been looking up a butternut squash soup just in case.
- Pumpkin bread
- Roasted cauliflower
- I will probably also bring roasted brussel sprouts. And my host and hilarious friend is making another veggie. this gives me a chance to fill a plate that is mostly veggies
- Either chocolate chess pie or apple cake. Or BOTH!
- fork mashed potatoes with fresh herbs
It's actually funny that I'm making the mashed potatoes. For yeaaaaaaarrrs now, at my mom's it's been my job to ready the potatoes for making. My mom has a a bit of a gross-out ick-factor with washing and peeling potatoes. So, I've always done that, and then boiled and readied them for whipping. This recipe that I'm making this year is not a uniform whipped potato, but rather one with skins, fork mashed so that they're "real" with herbs added for taste. Butter, yes. But with all those flavors, no need for cream. They were a hit with my nieces and nephews so hopefully they'll go over well this year too.
I'm sure this sounds like a lot of food I'm making, overkill even. But thanksgiving is a little about that. My hope is the pumpkin bread will get tucked away by my host as a gift for her (since she has done so much for me). I can't really prepare for this meal without making a dessert. I may not even eat dessert, but making one has always been part of my mindset for this holiday since being three and watching my mom turn out pie-crusts and grease and flour pans. The potatoes and veggies will take me an hour for all three recipes so I'm so not worried about that.
I want to contribute. I want to be an adult helping to make this meal. I'd rather put more time into cooking than eating. I want to say thank you to my friend for giving me a weekend away and for having me for this holiday. And, I think this might be a good way for me to test some recipes and then post them here. (Would readers like that, I wonder?)
So, those potatoes will get made and brought, and left behind. I will not bring them home. They will find a better home with my friend and her family. I will eat protein and veggies, and yes, I will have some carbs too, though I will probably save some for drinking rather than eating them all in a pile of potatoes on my plate.
Final note: in addition to the four bags of potatoes, there is a can of whipped cream in my house. Such an item usually does not survive more than 24 hours despite my best intentions. I am determined it will accompany me to my friend's with no needs to hastily and shamefully replace it on the way to her house so I am writing it here to commit to restraint!
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