This Thanksgiving I thought I'd do myself a favor and reduce the cooking load. After all, I'm not Dolly Domestic and while I like having family around for dinner, it's not much fun to be chained to the kitchen for ten hours, or to sit down late (after everything is cold) and to eat things you've been sampling all day. Cooking for the holidays is a punishment.
This year I ordered a prepared "Holiday Meal for a Family of 6 - 8 People" from my local grocery store. That's what the brochure said anyway. This was to include dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry compote and some kind of raspberry cobbler, and, of course a 10-12 pound turkey. Cooked. All I had to do was return it to the oven for 2 hours to warm it up. I envisioned a day of leisure. I would prepare a salad, maybe a few appetizers...not a lot. Someone else was bringing pies. Bliss.
The week before the holiday a little voice in my head suggested buying a turkey breast - just in case the prepared turkey wasn't big enough to feed everyone. It would also ensure that we had leftovers. Cause everyone eats turkey sammies on Thanksgiving night. So I bought one. ( Word of advice: Always listen to the voice in your head. )
Two days before Thanksgiving I crawled to the store (this was 2 days after a trip to the ER for stomach pain) and bought everything I'd need for salad, appetizers and so on. While walking though the store the little voice returned and suggested maybe buying some potatoes in case we didn't get enough in our "prepared meal"....and while I was at it, maybe break down and buy some extra gravy "just in case". As I neared the checkout line the little voice once again whispered a suggestion...."dressing" it said. What if there wasn't enough? I bought a bag, some sausage, apples and broth. We'd have two kinds of stuffing I guess.
The day before Thanksgiving I picked up the "prepared dinner". The first thing I encountered was an elaborate schedule, colorfully assembled to make my prep simple and flawless. At this hour you unwrap the turkey, at this hour you pop this container in the microwave etc. Very nice. Very neat. Very organized. Inside the box were many black containers of sides - ready to line up for their appointed time the microwave or the oven. The problem was that absolutely none of these containers would feed 6-8 people in my family. In fact, I question whether any family of more than 3 (including a toddler) would be sufficiently sated with these sides. So, a family of 6-8 what? Little people? Munchkins? Anorexics? There wasn't enough gravy to cover two mounds of mashed potatoes. The green bean casserole could be doled out in 6 melon ball scoops and it would be gone. You get the picture.
In the end I spent ten hours chained to the stove making mashed potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole, a turkey breast, salad and appetizers. My food went first...the prepared stuff didn't interest too many people. (Except the turkey - their turkey was good) Most of the sides got thrown out two days later. I sat down when most were on their second helpings and beginning to groan. My restricted diet allowed me a chunk of white meat (from the breast I cooked) and some potatoes and gravy. I took a few bites. Not hungry.
This wasn't the bliss I had envisioned for myself.....but everyone else looked mighty blissful and bloated.
Next year I'm making reservations.
Next year come to Michigan with us. :)
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