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 recommended a larger bird. And selfishly placed the only frozen* possibility in our shopping cart.
As I was falling asleep around 10 p.m. I thought of those girls.. Hmmm... their turkey should be done right about... now.
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.
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