Home > Relish Austin > Archives > 2010 > November > 26 > Entry
The good, the bad and the unbelievably delicious of this year’s Thanksgiving
All is well if it ends with a meal like this.
My family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner yesterday had its highs (the corn pudding and pecan pie, both courtesy of Paula Deen) and its lows (the kitchen chaos was particularly — and unnecessarily — stressful this year), but by the end of it, all 18 or so of us were able to sit down together at my uncle house just west of Austin and enjoy one of the best Thanksgiving dinners in memory.
I counted a dozen dishes on the buffet line, not including the cranberry sauce and rolls. Everyone brought a dish or two: broccoli casserole, two kinds of stuffing, two kinds of 5-cup ambrosia salad (one with grapes, another with mandarin oranges), mashed potatoes and marshmallow-and-pecan-topped sweet potatoes.
(My caramelized onions with green beans, asparagus and toasted almonds was my attempt to contribute something relatively green and healthy.)
UPDATE: OK, I should ‘fess up. My grandmother saved my hurried attempt at gravy. It would not have been much more than giblet sauce without her.
With the help of my uncle’s friend Bob, we fried up two turkeys. (Both injected with Tony Chachere seasoning. One regular, one jalapeño. Fried in cottonseed oil.)
Now, I’ve had fried turkey before, but I’ve never had fried turkey as moist and well-seasoned as this. The stalwart cooks in my family were vocal with their concerns about breaking from tradition and frying the birds, but the resulting turkey was better than any we’ve ever had. I doubt we’ll be hearing any protests in the future.
In another break from tradition, my cousin Carlee baked three kinds of pies, including an outstanding, not-too-cloyingly-sweet pecan pie made with cream cheese. (Thanks again, Paula Deen!)
We overcooked. (Of course. I tried to tell them that 7 1/2 pounds of potatoes was enough and that we really didn’t need to buy any extra.) We overate. (Of course.) We all went home with leftovers. (Of course. I even packed up one of the turkey carcasses to make stock.)
I know expectations for Thanksgiving are high, but they seem particularly so on my dad’s side of the family. Everything from the meal and who cooks what is set in stone, and apparently, it’s just not Thanksgiving without kitchen chaos, which leads to people barking orders and, unfortunately, making hurtful attacks on loved ones.
I tweeted some of my frustrations yesterday, and fellow food writer Mary Margaret Pack replied with just the insight I needed to read: “Hang in there. Have learned that we become in charge soon enough. And we’ll miss them. Not about the food, really.”
I’m not sure how many frantic Thanksgivings we’ll have left with this same group of family members, so I did my best to just enjoy the day, even if it didn’t go as kindly or stress-free as I would have liked it.
After all, nothing better than a near-perfect dinner to make you forget about the bumps it took to get there.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: Chewing the fat
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By ooo ooo
November 26, 2010 3:01 PM | Link to this
OML! is this a “be thankful for the fact that the old folks will be dead soon” Thanksgiving story? or what? not complaining, just so unexpected! lol LOL.
By Addie Broyles
November 26, 2010 6:39 PM | Link to this
“Be thankful they are still here” is more accurate. Every year, our family is either a few more or a few less than the year before.
By mom
November 28, 2010 8:11 PM | Link to this
I find that if I’m with the in-law side of the family, I can remove myself from the chaos. I have less history with them than my side.So I just laugh inside my head about it or leave the kitchen.
It’s all forgotten by the next year and hopefully everyone is older and wiser. It they aren’t,at least I am (or try to be.)
Families take themselves too seriously, especially during the holidays. Try to push the EASY button and then go outside and enjoy the fresh air. And yes, be grateful for the presence of everyone; the good, the bad and the ugly. Life’s too short. Remember that at the next hectic family get together, even when they get out of control. You can be the smooth operator.
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