Can you believe it's Day 7 of NaBloPoMo and I'm already using the prompts? Actually, this is not the first one I've used. I'm trying to do this on two blogs and it's wearing thin already.Today's prompt is: What was your worst Thanksgiving food fail?
I'm pretty sure it was the year I decided we would have a carb free Thanksgiving. Oh, and any year I decide Thanksgiving is the right time to try a new-to-me recipe.
The year I went carb free wasn't that long ago, just a few years and I'm quite sure I do not care to go down that road again. Not that the recipes were bad, a couple of them were quite delish but, it wasn't my grandmother's Thanksgiving. If you're not having her Thanksgiving, why bother?
Ever since I was a little girl my grandmother and mother were in charge of holiday meals. Even on those Thanksgivings and Christmases when everyone came to our house, they prepared the meals. And I was super duper ok with that arrangement. However, no one bothered to tell me that, as we all got older, I would be expected to take over. So now, when they come to my house, I prepare the holiday meals which are still not my grandmother's holiday meals. But I try.
At Thanksgiving, Grandmother always got out the good china and the silver (which she used on Sundays and holiday, I use paper plates sometimes) and served up a feast of turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole (the kind with the marshmallows on top), green beans, corn, potatoes, rice and gravy, homemade rolls (it's just NOT a southern holiday without the carbs!), broccoli casserole, cranberry sauce etc. Luckily, Granddaddy's blessings were short and sweet and eating commenced rather quickly. I prepare the same dishes but they just don't taste as good as hers did. Do y'all think it would help if I used the good china? Where can I get some? Ha!
The first time I prepared Thanksgiving here by myself there was that moment when our youngest asked if there was mac and cheese. "Yes!" I replied enthusiastically since I know it's her fave. "Did Mimi make it, or did you?" she asked.
Oh well, here's to the coming of Thanksgiving this year when I will, once again, prepare the family Thanksgiving meal to the best of my ability.
Do you prepare your family's Thanksgiving meal?
My WORST EVER Thanksgiving food fail was a Butterball turkey. I will never forgive it. Even after hours (more than prescribed on the package) in the oven, it was COLD on the inside and kind of ... "bouncy" in texture. From that day on, it was "minimally processed" turkey for me, with plenty of thawing time in the fridge, first! Honeysuckle White, which I can't always find here, was my best ever turkey.
ReplyDeleteYou don't mess with the menu, here, either. You can mess with the Christmas dinner all you want, but Turkey is all about TRADITION, dammit. My husband made a lovely roast beef one year, and the kids turned up their noses. Turkey and trimmings or bust! Pretty sure we all have dessert choices we like better than pecan and pumpkin pies, but not at Thanksgiving.
My grandmother could make any turkey come out perfectly. Not me. I go for the minimally processed as well and have much better success. I did go for one that was wild one year but it was way too gamey for me. My kids are grown and they still want the exact same menu every year so we're with you on that! :) Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThanksgiving dinner is probably my favorite meal to prepare. The only "fail" I've had is that no one likes my mom's dressing. I make it pretty close to the way she did and I LOVE it, but everyone else would rather have stove top stuffing, so that's what they get. I have a roaster that gets used once a year. I put the turkey in it, out in the garage on a table that also holds the crockpots. I reserve the oven for rolls and warming. It works for me. Right now we only have six for dinner. I would love to have a dozen.
ReplyDeleteStove Top? No way! Not when there's Grandmas's or Mom's dressing! I would love to have a dozen at least myself. Some years we are full, others not so much. This is a not so much year. :(
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