This is how Thanksgiving used to work in our family (as far as I could see as a child): My grandma would call everyone and tell them what they were in charge of making. My mom would be given the added job of being a reference if anyone had any questions about how to make stuff (that's what happens when you go to cooking school!). Then, we'd all converge at my grandparents' house or our house a few days before Thanksgiving and EVERYONE would be in the kitchen cooking up a storm until dinner. It was so much work and it produced so much food that even the kids weren't allowed to eat at all before Thanksgiving dinner was served (which was at like 3 in the afternoon). To keep people from eating or getting in the way in the kitchen, there would be various appetizers placed on the outskirts of the kitchen. It was intense and wonderful! <3
A large part of my memories about Thanksgiving is my mom cooking and complaining about how to make the perfect Thanksgiving everything. She hated writing recipes down though, claiming she was totally incapable of it (ironically, she also dreamed of being a cookbook author...) so herein lies the issue. As I try to sally forth and conquer Thanksgiving on my own without her, I have to try to remember watching her cook and what she used to say about how to do it and those kinds of memories are, sadly, fading.
Here's the key points that I do remember!
Secrets to the Perfect Thanksgiving According to my Mom:
1. Stuff the turkey with veggies, apples, and oranges, not stuffing because that's a huge health risk! Apples are great at taking up space, not giving to much flavor, and keeping the turkey moist. An orange gives a wonderful flavor to your gravy and turkey. And cover it until just before the end!
2. Don't tell the kids what's in the stuffing or else they won't eat it.
(I think it was the celery. I hated celery as a kid haha. Her stuffing was an herb and apple stuffing that she did on the stovetop, using turkey drippings. so good!).
3. If you only have fresh bread and you need to make stuffing, dry the bread out in the oven on a low heat. Sprinkle with italian seasoning for good flavor. This is important because the secret to stuffing is the quality of the bread.
4. Use fresh green beans if you MUST make the green bean casserole.
5. Take special requests but with a grain of salt.
(Translation: Grandpa demands cranberry sauce but nobody else will eat it and he likes the canned stuff so just serve that and chop at it with a fork to make it not look like the can. Also, requests to put the stuffing in the turkey are heard but will not be honored.)
6. Taste test.
7. Give the kids a job.
And then they stay out of the way.... (we shucked corn, peeled potatoes, and chopped veggies)
(Normally, my mom is a really wonderful, sweet lady who would never say anything snooty or mean. But something happened to her at Thanksgiving and her no-nonsense, take no prisoners side came out that was even stronger than her mama bear instincts haha)
Since I have to go Thanksgiving alone, I rely heavily on Food Network. A few years ago, they live streamed a Thanksgiving dinner prep and I followed along, making changes as I remembered my mom doing, and everything came out truly incredible. Do your best, taste test everything, have the kids help, and if everything is a flop, pbj is legit and happens to everyone (even my mom!).
