It's that time of year when the TV chefs completely ruin Thanksgiving. You know what I'm talking about. You turn on your favorite morning show and there's at least two spots a day on how you can screw up your family's favorites. The cooking shows are even worse since that's all they do for the entire month of November. Can I just say something? STOP IT!
It seems that stuffing is the one to get picked on the most. They add fruits and nuts, change up the types of bread you can use, make it without bread at all (yeah, I didn't get that one either), and generally turn it into something I probably wouldn't eat on any other day of the year anyway. I don't want to add cranberries and carrots to my stuffing - wait - I don't want have to make my own stuffing! It's called Stove Top, people!
Turkey has taken it's fair share of hits too. There was the big brine craze from a few years ago, and I have to admit I tried that one. To be totally honest - it was a lot more trouble than it was worth and I've never done it since. My grandmother even tried it that year and she found no value in it either. Maybe it's just me and my mad cooking skillz but I don't have a problem cooking a 25lb bird and maintaining it's juiciness. Seems to me the biggest problem I have with a bird of that size is finding the darn thing.
Because my children have discovered tastes that I have not given them I do find myself making stuff I have never made before - like sweet potatoes. I know, I know. It's a big Thanksgiving staple, and it was on my family's table as a child. But I didn't eat it. Nor did I partake in that quivering mass of red cranberry jelly, with the ribs from the can it slid out of pressed into the sides. It just seemed like a really foul thing to do to Jell-O.
I have also picked up some things that my husband ate for Thanksgiving so I don't seem completely elitist. They're good additions to our meal, but they don't replace things that we already eat. And maybe that's the difference. I don't mind adding to our meal but I don't want to change something that we look forward to all year. I also don't want to spend more time in the kitchen making both versions of something that we normally eat. I already spend 5 hours grocery shopping and then 3 whole days cooking. The last thing I want to do is make two of the same thing.
My husband explained to me that these cooking segments are for us all year long, and then for the month of November they're for the yuppies who have dinner parties with friends on Thanksgiving rather than going home. Each year they have to do one better than the last year with yet another nasty, shi shi foo foo stuffing recipe. Alright, then. Have your gross stuffing. I'm busting out the Stove Top, I'm having a normal turkey, and I'm going to attempt sweet potatoes again. If I'm gonna have left overs, I want them to be something I like!
I need to give you my dressing recipe - better than Stove Top and almost as easy :)
ReplyDeleteYou're just trying to piss me off, aren't you.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya! My sister in law offered to bring a green salad for Thanksgiving this year. Thankfully, my mother in law was wise and, even though she's the champeen Weight Watcher Guru, she told her beloved daughter not to bother with the green salad. Really, who wants something healthy on the table to get in the way of all the deliciousness that is Thanksgiving???
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