Gobble Meme Gobble
I got this meme from Karen. Jason and I actually don’t have any Thanksgiving plans this year. My parents invited us to Savannah to have Thanksgiving with them, but Jason has to work Friday, so that wasn’t all that feasible since our teleporter is broken. The last few years, we’ve spent most Thanksgivings with Jason’s mom, but she moved several states away over the summer so it’ll just be the two of us. I could make some kind of traditional-ish Thanksgiving meal, but I hate my tiny kitchen, and cooking in it, especially an involved meal like that, is a royal pain in the booty. I was thinking I might make Thanksgiving brinner. Or maybe we’d go get Japanese food, assuming they’re open. Nothing says Happy Thanksgiving like waffles or gyoza.
1. What are the traditional favorites? If Thanksgiving was nothing but turkey, my sugar-free cranberry sauce, and cornbread stuffing, recipe courtesy of my Nan , I’d be so set.
2. What new recipes will you try this year? If I make brinner, I’d probably try a new waffle recipe. I tried to re-create Waffle House waffles, but they weren’t right, so I’m in search of a new recipe. if you have one, and want to share, I’d love to have it!
3. What part of the meal do you never compromise? I guess there’s no part that I’m not willing to compromise if I’m entertaining the idea of omelets, bacon and waffles. However, if I were going to have an actual traditional Thanksgiving meal, it has to be turkey. I can’t comprehend of a Thanksgiving meal minus a big, golden, juicy bird.
4. Who gets to carve the turkey? I think I made Jason carve it when we had it here. Last year, we were at Jason’s mom’s house, and I think she carved it. Whoever has a knife and feels like carving it, does it. I don’t see what the fuss is. That’s kind of a patriarchal tradition, and I didn’t grow up in a patriarchal family.
5. Family style around the table or buffet style and everyone sits wherever there’s room? We’ve pretty much always gone family style. This year, if we go with brinner, I’ll serve our plates in the kitchen, and we’ll probably sit on the sofa to watch football… or maybe TiVo because Dallas vs. Oakland sounds pretty craptastic to me.
6. How many will be at your table this year? Table? We don’t have a dining room, and Darwin the iguana lives in the space where a kitchen table might fit in our kitchen. We have a small table we’ve broken out a few times for Thanksgiving when Jason’s mom has been here, or when our friends come over to play card games, but if it’s just us, it’s sofa-city, sweetheart.
7. Three best pies for Thanksgiving dessert? I don’t think there’s a pie I don’t like. I’m just not picky. I like pumpkin with lots of whipped cream, but Jason doesn’t like anything that’s pumpkin-flavored, so apple pie would be our traditional choice. We’ve never had a Thanksgiving so big that it warranted more than that, but if I had to pick another, I guess some other kind of fruit pie, although that wouldn’t be very seasonal.
8. Cranberry sauce…yeah or nay? Yay. It’s essential. And it must be homemade sauce/relish/chutney with actual cranberries, not that icky can-shaped jelly blob because way to ruin the cranberry, Ocean Spray. The canned stuff is loaded with sugar, so my sugar-free sauce is essential because I like to pile it on. I put it on turkey sandwiches after the fact too.
9. What time do you eat Thanksgiving dinner? Whenever the food is ready to eat. Can anyone plan so well that they actually sit down to eat when they say they will??
10. Favorite leftover? Turkey. No question. Thanksgiving without leftover turkey is like…. a diabetic without insulin. OK, maybe not as lethal, but still, you get my point. I love turkey, and Thanksgiving always makes me think I should roast a turkey every month because I could eat the leftovers forever. When I’m feeling especially ambitious, I’ll even use the carcas to make soup. I just wish I could find mutant turkeys with six legs because I prefer the un-heart-healthy dark meat, although give me a couple weeks, and I could eat the whole darn bird all by my lonesome.
If the apartment weren’t still beyond a mess and The Other Half were not working until 7PM or later that day, I might have been able to consider something other than the two of us going out to a diner (yecch – diner turkey’s OK, but it does NOT taste like Thanksgiving turkey!).
For your art therapy self: for several years after finding a Thanksgiving play in Child Life magazine in third grade, the kids in our family (me, my sister, and my cousins on my mom’s side) used to “dress up” as Pilgrims and Indians with construction paper hats (the standard stereotypical tall hat with buckle, or paper feathers for “Indian headdress”)… the thought re-crossed my mind considering how many costumes Donovan B. Bear has (he does not have a “Pilgrim” costume… yet?)
Comment by tmana — November 18, 2009 @ 11:42 am
Have you ever tried a French Toast Waffle? Make french toast, add vanilla and cinnamon to the egg and milk, dip the bread, and then squeeze in to your waffle maker. It is Oh so delicious, and fun.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Comment by Meri — November 18, 2009 @ 12:00 pm
if it’s just the two of you and a small kitchen, you could cook cornish game hens. Feels festive without the big mess. that’s what Tim and I did last year.
Comment by Michelle — November 18, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
Leeeann,
Take a tip from me, the anti-cook. I’m ordering my Thanksgiving dinner! Call your local grocery store, call your local Whole Foods market, or some other store that offers a ready made Thanksgiving dinner. They’ll have the turkey cooked for you and you just have to pick it up from the store. It comes complete w/sides and everything! I’ve even been told that Walmart has a $20 Thanksgiving dinner complete w/rolls, pumpkin roll, turkey, and vegetables too if you’re looking for “budget friendly.” I was just at Whole Foods today sampling some of their Thanksgiving premade dinner. Looks delicious! Join me in the anti-cooking revolution!
Comment by Traci — November 18, 2009 @ 8:52 pm
[...] on Monday, Colleen joined in later that day. On Tuesday, Rachel jumped on the bandwagon. Yesterday, Lee Ann then Allison joined in the giving spirit. [...]
Pingback by Thanksgiving Meme « Randomly capitalizeD — November 19, 2009 @ 12:32 am
Are you willing to share the sugar-free cranberry recipe?
Comment by Tina — November 19, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
Yet another time I wished you lived near me – you and Jason would totally be invited to Thanksgiving at my mom’s!! There’s always more than enough food and the more people around the table the better!!! Although brinner does sound good. After my parents move to Tennessee, Thanksgiving Waffles may be in my future too.
Comment by Karen — November 19, 2009 @ 4:35 pm