Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

I know it’s still eight weeks away, but don’t think it’s too early start getting ready for Thanksgiving!  This year I will be going to my sister’s house in Maryland, and there will be lots of cooking going on.  I think the preparation involved can be a bit overwhelming for many people. There are many dished to prepare, timing is critical, and then there is dessert, and all those pies.  My family typically has three pies; apple, pecan and pumpkin, but for Thanksgiving there are all kinds of pies that families consider necessary to make the meal theirs.

This is a holiday when expectations and pressures are high.  What can you do to make things a little easier?  For a start, I suggest making your pies in advance.  Pies freeze really well, and you can assemble them, and freeze them unbaked, then just pop them out of the freezer in time to bake on The Big Day.  This year I am going to be offering seven weeks of pie making classes in my kitchen.  Each week we’ll make a different kind of pie, and you can follow along with us each week, as I post the recipes.  We’re starting next week with a double crust apple pie.

I have lived through way too many family Thanksgivings to do anything as foolish as promising a stress-free holiday, as some publications may do, but, with some careful planning, you can minimize some of that stress.  It is not too early to start sending me your questions and requests for recipes, or simplifying those you already have.  Chances are there are foods you have to make or it just won’t feel like Thanksgiving… like our cranberry relish.

A few years ago I heard a radio program and the guest was boasting that he could tell your ethnic background by just hearing what your family ate for Thanksgiving—I would love to challenge him, my family seems to change the menu every few years.  I grew up thinking that smoked oysters were ‘Jewish’  food, because we ate them for hors d’oeuvres for every holiday…  (They are most certainly not!)  For some people there needs to be a rice dish, for some macaroni and cheese, and for others oyster dressing.   I have seen smoked and roasted turkey, creamed baby onions, corn casserole, and even gravy with chopped hard-boiled egg in it.

Although almost everyone has turkey, that can be where it ends in terms of what we all have in common.  When I was in high school I went to a friend’s house for dessert after our Thanksgiving.  They are Italian, and I was amazed at their dinner—in addition to turkey and stuffing, there was eggplant parmigiana, baked ziti, sausage and peppers, and a wide assortment of traditional Italian foods. It looked delicious, but nothing like what we’d just had.  You may be shocked, but we’ve never had mashed potatoes, or any type of white potato for our dinner.  We did eat candied yams topped with marshmallows when I was a kid, but no green bean casserole with fried onions, no cornbread, or any other type of bread or rolls…

I’d love to hear what is traditional for your Thanksgiving, and how you’re getting ready.  As I said, please send in your questions, and as we get a little closer, we’ll talk about food safety and making sure that middle of the night turkey sandwich doesn’t give anyone food poisoning!