We had a wonderful but tiring Thanksgiving here on Thursday. There were 14 vaccinated and one masked 6 year old for the hors d’oevre hours and then 11 guests, plus Deb and me for the meal. We started the day early, glancing at the local paper and then beginning the cleaning process. Deb dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, and steaming all the kitchen and wood floors. I spent well over an hour pushing the vacuum around and bringing equipment and implements from storage. Abigail arrived around 9:30 to help with the cooking and to complete her signature dishes of cheesy cabbage casserole and the mashed potatoes.
Darcy and her partner Maria (now known as Bud) stopped by around 1:00 to help and then headed out at 3:00 to join Bud’s parents for their celebration. Darcy did help me install the lights and garland along the front porch ceiling before she left.
We cooked two turkeys, one in the oven, and the other in a roaster oven placed temporarily on the top of the washing machine in the laundry area. 10 pounds of potatoes were peeled and scrubbed for the mash, and two cans of yams were baked in a casserole and covered in marshmallows for the candied yams. Deb prepared the dressing for stuffing the birds and baking in the oven. Her world famous turkey gravy was prepared, utilizing the meat laboriously picked from 17 boiled turkey necks, a job she completed earlier in the week. The broth and the meat served as the base for this delectable sauce, augmented by salt, copious amounts of pepper and the drippings from the turkey roasting pan.
Our guests began arriving around 3:00. The various contributions were stuffed in the ovens or arrayed on the counter for nibbling: creamed corn casserole, green bean casserole, Brie filled pastries, stuffed Brussel sprouts and stuffed mushroom hors d’oevres, huge drop biscuits and lots of wine. We mingled, nibbled, drank and conversed until about 5:00. I carved the turkeys for the two platters, we placed all the sides and mains on the counters and everyone started through the line. Deb offered a toast to good friends and family members, and the room grew quiet, the only sound the clinking of utensils and the happy moans and groans of satiation.
Following the meal, we sat at the table or around the rooms, digesting and waiting for the pie course. Pumpkin and apple were on offer, covered with large and small dollops of CoolWhip topping. Coffee was brewed for some, and final glasses of wine for non-drivers. The guests began filing out by 8:30 and Deb and I were left with the clean-up. Dishes had been loaded into the dishwasher during the pie course, so all we could do was sort the remaining pans and serving dishes for the morning. Leftovers had been sent home with everyone and the remainders were placed in their plastic bins and crammed into the remaining spaces in the refrigerators. I stripped the meat from the carcasses and then placed both bodies on a large tray and out to the deck to hide overnight in the grill ( our “outdoor refrigerator” as the temps were into the low 30’s overnight.)
We fell into bed around 10:30, sleeping as if dead for almost 9 hours. A long, tiring and enjoyable day. We hope your holiday feast was as enjoyable as ours, filled with family and close friends after the years of enforced solitude and quarantine. And just think, only 30 days until Christmas!!!
