Archives for November 2006

13 Things about Thanks Giving

1. Canadians celebrate Thanks Giving in October, while Americans Celebrate Thanks Giving in November. As If my American friends didn’t already know that – Happy Thanks Giving to my American friends.

2. My favorite memories of Thanks Giving were when I was a child and young teenager. We’d go up to our cottage and my brothers and sister who didn’t live at home anymore would come for the weekend, and sometimes Aunts and Uncles who lived elsewhere would visit as well. It was just a nice time because we were all together, having a good time and great meals.

3. My mom used to cook huge Thanks Giving meals when a lot of family was getting together. We often had a Ham and a Turkey, stuffing, jellied cranberries, peas, mashed potatoes, carrots, candied yam, a dish of pickles and olives and of course Thanks Giving wouldn’t be Thanks Giving without Pumpkin Pie – with whipped cream on top of course. Yummm. I bet some of you are having this exact meal today.

4. My parents are gone now so Chris and I, with our odd work schedules often end up having Thanks Giving for two. Occasionally my sister or a friend will join us but often it’s just the two of us.

5. When Thanks Giving is just for Chris and I, I still try to make a traditional Thanks Giving Dinner. I rarely cook a ham but if I do it’s just a small piece of smoked ham that I slather with a honey Dijon mustard marinade. A few times I’ve made a normal sized turkey – freezing more than half of it to use in stir fry or soups later. Oh I always make a soup with some of the turkey left overs the day after a big turkey meal. There’s nothing better than home made turkey soup.

6. Most of the time, especially lately, I just bake a nice Turkey breast for two. They are often big enough that we still have some left over for a sandwich or two, or another meal.

7. I always make some stuffing, candied yam and carrots, peas, cranberry jelly, mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pie. Actually I think for thanks giving it’s the pumpkin pie that I like most. I could do without everything else but a Thanks Giving day meal just wouldn’t be right without that pie for desert.

8. Occasionally when our work schedules allow Chris and I go to the in-laws for Thanks Giving. Now my Mother in law is a nice enough lady, but a cook she most definitely is not. I think I’ve finally got her to stop making salmonella turkey. You know what that is? It’s when you put a Turkey in the oven the night before at about 10 or 11 pm, set the stove at 200 F and slow cook your turkey for about 12 hours. That just creates a huge breeding ground for salmonella. No thanks!

9. Twice that I’m aware, of when my in-laws used to have a pet cat, the cat managed to destroy a Thanks Giving or Christmas Turkey. One time the cat got at the turkey before it was cooked and the second time the cat attacked the turkey when it was resting on the kitchen counter after it was cooked. My mother in law walked into the kitchen to find the whole cats head deep inside the turkey carcass. Yuck!

10. My MIL always makes mixed vegetables. I believe she does this for every meal she cooks. She puts them in a big pot and boils them for about two hours. Uh huh – tasteless mush unfortunately. Ooh yes- mashed turnip and parsnip (together) make regular appearances as well.

11. The gravy she makes is even better than the veggies. She uses the boiled mixed veggies water and mixes it with an onion gravy mix to make the gravy. Even though she has real turkey drippings she can use to make excellent gravy she makes this watery onion fake gravy. Bleahhhhh.

12. Thanks Giving at the in-laws is usually a crazy event too because no one ever knows when the dinner is – what time, or even what day. The father in law will call and say that Thanks Giving dinner is going to be on the Saturday because that’s the best day to get together, and then Mother in Law will call and say it’s on Sunday or the holiday Monday for similar reasons. We usually don’t know when it really is until a few hours before the event. LOL and this family likes to think it’s spontaneous. I think they are just really disorganized. Oh well, the day is always saved with some pumpkin pie for desert. It’s a must- even in Chris’ family.

13. Does anyone remember watching WKRP in Cincinnati? It was a television show in the 70’s – quite a popular one at that. One of it’s most famous episodes involved the owner of the radio station and his idea to promote the station on Thanks Giving. He came up with the idea of dropping turkeys to an awaiting crowd from a helicopter. The episode was hilarious!

Here I leave you with a condensed 5 minute version of the funniest WKRP in Cincinnati episode:

“THE TURKEY DROP”