So, anyway, looking at my calendar, I see that (Wow! Already!) next week is Thanksgiving. We had our weekly family dinner last night and DIL offered to bring her fabulous homemade pies again this year -- salted carmel apple and pumpkin cheesecake. I so appreciate that -- one less thing to buy at Costco. (What? Me bake??? Nah….)
I'm really a hopeless cook. I've probably written about this before, but every Thanksgiving I'm reminded how stressful cooking is for me. Of course everyone knows this by now and to avoid my meltdowns (there have even been tears!) for several years I've had lots of help -- well, let's be honest. I'm not sure anyone is "helping" me anymore, since so many parts of the meal have been taken on by others. Typically Hub does the turkey and gravy; Son-Two does the mashed potatoes; I do the stuffing and candied yams and cranberry/orange sauce; someone gets some veggies going (green bean casserole and/or brussel sprouts); I get the rolls in the oven. Everyone helps dish things up and carry food to the table. Somehow it all gets done pretty much on time and we sit to eat together in gratitude for my mom -- from whose recipes the entire meal emanates.
I think about my mom every year. She didn't like cooking either, yet every Thanksgiving or Christmas (she and her sister traded hosting the holidays) she would shop, prep, and cook the entire extravaganza all by herself. No one pitched in. She didn't ask for (or demand) any help, seeing it as her job. And it was all finished on time, all hot to the table, all served on her "good" china on a beautifully set table. I'm sort of in awe of that. That's a true talent, if you ask me.
Living so far from our extended families, for years our Thanksgiving was just the four of us -- Hub, me and our kids. Then Son-One started to bring his girlfriend and her daughter, who his now our lovely DIL and our little Angel. Next year we will have a new family member when our new granddaughter will be at the table in her high chair. I like the tradition of family gathering for Thanksgiving. I love the tradition of everyone helping with the meal.
At least, that's the view from here…. ©
Your tradition of everyone helping with the holiday meal is great. That makes everyone invested and lets everyone relax a little while building lasting memories. I, too, am in awe of what past generations of women accomplished in the kitchen, all with little help. I've never gotten over my insecurities with cooking and it's been well known in both mine and my husband's family. It's kind of nice to be up front about that because no one has ever expected a lot out of me. LOL Have a great Thanksgiving! I wish I could come over for some of that pie!
ReplyDeleteI wish you could come too, Jean! We host a Family Dinner every week for my two sons, my DIL, and our granddaughter. By "host", I mean, everyone comes to our house so spend a couple of hours connecting and having a simple meal that my son and DIL didn't have to cook after a long day at work. Last night I served: Beef skewers for appetizer (Costco packaged and precooked); Pulled Pork sandwiches (pulled pork also from Costco); a salad of Power Greens (yep Costco) and roasted cauliflower (I made it myself!!!). As you can tell, mostly I opened packages and heated things up. It was all pretty healthy and relatively unprocessed, so I was proud of my wise shopping, even if a bit embarrassed that I just can't seem to gather any energy for making stuff like this from scratch. Still, we all had a great time and I wasn't stressed -- my kind of dinner. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I am, too---a package opener. From the amount of packages they sell we are not alone in our cooking styles.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jean's statement about family members helping with the festivities. My mother wanted to do it all herself even though we all wanted to pitch in. So I "helped" by setting up the things, keeping things tidy and clearing and washing and putting away the mess afterwards. Now, however, we all celebrate in different places with different segments of family - my husband and youngest daughter and I go to my son's - and we "pot luck" for everything but the main stuff. And it feels, somehow, nicer to be able to share.
ReplyDeleteMy mom had a few specialties but she was no Cook. She had early on swapped the "Dinette" and large kitchen for a formal dining room and a tight "one-rump" kitchenette, so helping was problematic. The turkey was fine and her Parker House rolls -- which I've never mastered -- were excellent. The dressing was a sodden lump. My granddad and uncle didn't eat turkey so there was always a ham as well. Somehow it all made it to the table. I don't recall what kind of pie was served, but I made the crust from the time I was about 10.
ReplyDeleteOur turkey was always presented and carved at the table. I married into a family where the turkey was carved in the kitchen. This year I cut the wings and legs loose roasted them in a separate pan from the breast meat with the rest of the carcass going into the soup pot. That way each could be roasted to the correct temperature. Also, two smaller pans turned out to take up less oven room than the big turkey roaster. I always cook the "stuffing" separately.
I like to play with food rather than "cook". I like a bit of display, but the dailiness of cooking got old fast.