Thanksgiving Dinner – a meal to remember
I love the holidays but they can be such a hassle. I had assumed that I was off the hook this year for Thanksgiving and would be able to sit back and just enjoy myself but circumstances have changed and now I’m rushing to prepare not only a great meal but have my home whipped into shape in time.
I’m being smart this year and asking for help and I wanted to find a way to get the young ones involved in my Thanksgiving prep. My niece has been asking for years to help out , but I wanted to find creative ways to engage the children while they help me prepare. I found a great article on how I can get kids involved in Thanksgiving prep and I can’t wait to try out some of the more creative ideas such as delegating the place cards to my son, the family artist for something memorable that everyone can keep for years.
With that plan in place I move to the house itself and after a deep cleaning it is time to decorate. Naturally, I cannot find where my decorations are at that I used last year, so it is back to square one. First things first, I need to set the mood with the perfect wreath. After spending all day Saturday scouring craft shows nothing was jumping out at me. I looked online and of course there was my thanksgiving wreath waiting for me. Just a matter of next day shipping and that crisis was averted. Next on my list, my table just won’t be complete without the ideal centerpiece. Of course, that was easy and I can simply leaf through a few great books for ideas to make my settings memorable.
Now onto the meal preparations itself. Before I invest in a turkey, I wanted to explore my cooking options, and I know my family naturally expects my sweet potatoe casserole. But how should I cook the turkey? So many options. Did you know an electric turkey fryer makes preparing a feast easier and tastier than ever?
I was all set to fry the turkey which is incredibly tasty but the family would rather I go more traditional in my preparations so I shall be roasting a 22 lb beauty. I pulled out my platters, roasters and serving utensils for a quick cleaning and polished the silver. Just when I think I have a handle on the details, then I realize my turkey baster is missing. Since the turkey is the center of the meal I must have a really good one to keep that bird as moist as can be.
I have my side dishes all planned out and my schedule set for rotating in the dishes that I am prepping the day before so that I can sit back and enjoy time with my family members. Only thing left to do is dessert planning. I found some great pumpkin pie recipes online, but I found it hard to find canned pumpkin at the store. After some online research, I learned there’s a national canned pumpkin shortage! I know that baking is an option but a store bought pie will save me hours of time and all I really need to do is to add personal touches to it such as homemade whipped cream. The secret is to add either brandy or vanilla to the cream and it becomes a rich decadent delight.
So it appears as I read back over this that I have everything under control and it looks like this will be another year of friends, family, food and togetherness. So from my home to yours, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.