Every year we go to the husband's aunt's house for Thanksgiving. I don't mind, really. His family is close- mine is far away. They drink alcohol and tell poop jokes. My mom would faint at the thought. They DON'T watch football which is awesome. It works.
But.
The food? The food is good, don't get me wrong, but you know how when you are growing up the things you have at Thanksgiving just become, in your mind, what Thanksgiving IS? They just don't have those things that ARE Thanksgiving to me. They have their own things. The things they grew up with.
Examples:
My family menu growing up had a very southern influence:
-Turkey (of course) usually cooked with big thick bacon strips carefully laid over top which simultaneously baste the bird in succulent pork fat and fill the house with the best smell in the world...BACON,
-Cornbread DRESSING (crispy and cooked in its own pan-NEVER stuffed in the bird. Gross),
-creamy mashed potatoes with turkey gravy
-Candied yams with marshmallows (hello DELICIOUS),
-white dinner rolls,
-green beans with almonds and/or green bean casserole (you know, with the french fried onions?),
-and finally, pumpkin AND apple pie.
It may appear to be a little WT but its what we did. Its what I grew up with. Its what I came to think of as Thanksgiving.
The husband's family is Italian. They do things differently. AS IS THEIR RIGHT:
-Salami stuffing INSIDE the bird,
-antipasto,
-corn casserole,
-sweet potato rolls with RAISINS in them (really, WTF),
-pecan pie.
Its not that bad (in fact, I'm sure some of you think it sounds infinitely better), but I'm always left unsatisfied, as though I haven't really had the TRUE cuisine of the holiday. I need my bacon fat and brown sugar, people.
So this year, I'm making my own mini Thanksgiving meal, just for our family. Tomorrow. I'm calling it Tiny Thanksgiving and I'm goin' all out. I'm making all the stuff we had when I was a kid- the dressing, the bacon-y bird, the marshmallows...the whole 9 yards. Maybe this way, I'll achieve a sense of satisfaction this year...a feeling that YES. I experienced Thanksgiving.
I'll also probably gain 5 lbs or so but that bacon basted bird is SO worth it. Believe that.
Question:
What things did you have for Thanksgiving when you were a kid? Do tell.
2 comments:
Sourdough bread in the stuffing (my invention when I was in high school), home made raw cranberry relish, basic baked squash (still hate it), real potatoes, real everything.
I make my own Tiny Thanksgiving every year we don't host it. Because seriously, the leftovers are the best part, and when you have 25 people there are never leftovers.
My Thanksgiving is very similar to yours. minus the bacon might have to try that! The thing that is really important to me is the gravy. My mom can make gravy. Bryan's family uses canned. I've adjusted, mostly because after trying to make gravy a few times I've realized, I can't make gravy.
Happy Tiny Thanksgiving! Heidi
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