 |
| Our bird looked nothing like this, but we still had a whole lotta fun. |
At 11 a.m., on Thanksgiving morning, I received an email from our hostess saying they were under the weather and the big gathering was cancelled.
"There is sickness in our house." So sayeth the subject line. Suddenly there's excitement in mine. You see, my daughter and I love to cook. Being up to our elbows in flour and spices brings out the best in both of us.
 |
| A few mishaps along the way ~ from scratch pie crust. (The birds loved it!) |
From my perspective, Thanksgiving dinner is not very difficult to prepare. All you need is 10 pounds of butter and enough pans to cook up a million yummy side dishes you never allow yourself to eat at any other time during the year.
It's mostly just a timing issue, and it all hinges on one thing:
how long it takes to roast that massive bird.
So, slight panic in the beginning. It's noon! How can we make this work?
We stripped out of our comfy jammies, no time for showers. Bee-lined it to
Whole Paycheck Whole Foods to see if, by chance, one lonesome, fresh, not frozen, turkey might still be in the display case. (I picked Whole Foods because it's the least frequented store in our town, therefore the odds might be in our favor.)
 |
| Beginnings of a Peach Melba Pie. (This one turned out okay.) |
We found one, frozen, 15-pounder that we snatched from the unsuspecting hands of two 20-somethings, who at noon, on the big day, were wandering aimlessly around the market trying to plan a meal.
Desperate times. Desperate measures:
The girls asked me what
size turkey could feed 12 people, but since there was only one
15-pounder left, I steered them toward a larger bird. And, selfishly placed
the only frozen* possibility in our shopping cart.
So, I guess you might say that, on this Thanksgiving,
I am thankful for strangers who trust me.
 |
| Homestyle Rosemary Swiss Cheese Bread |
* Did you know that you can safely roast a frozen turkey? Why, yes you can. We did. And, we're not dead. This isn't the first time we've been behind that proverbial 8-ball. If you don't stuff that bird, it will still be done in plenty of time to put on a fancy feast.
 |
| Impatiently waiting for his fair share of the Crab Appetizer. |
Here's hoping you all had a marvelous holiday. We're thinking, from now on, we won't fret about our shopping list until the 11th hour. Because all of this frantic scurrying around turned about to be a whole lotta fun.
Sounds like you had a lot of fun! Me and my daughter did a lot of baking and cooking, too! She is a teen and is so happy to learn!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Susie
What an awesome day you had! I've never cooked frozen turkey but half frozen roast beef many times.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome are you, big dinner on the fly and you had fun with it. Way to go! Out of necessity I've shoved a couple half frozen birds in the oven too. Just turn the temp lower and cook a little longer seems to do the trick. Worst case I cut off the cooked meat on the outside to eat and throw it back in the oven to finish cooking while we're eating dinner.
ReplyDelete"10 pounds of butter and enough pans for a million side dishes..."--you crack me up, Kate:) I've had a lot of Thanksgiving near-disasters, but nothing quite like this. Bravo to you for whipping up a fantastic meal on such short notice--I know I would have packed up everyone in the car and found a restaurant that was open.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good Thanksgving!
It looks good to me. Sometimes sput of the minute takes the pressure off. You can always say you weren't ready for it...:)
ReplyDeleteYou do make it sound fun! Love the "whole paycheck, er, food". That's about right. And your title is great!
ReplyDeleteAww, love the cat :-)
ReplyDelete