Thursday, November 15, 2007

Talking Turkey


I’m doing a little shopping for Thanksgiving dinner today. My two sons, daughter-in-law, husband, granddog and I will be together Thanksgiving for our traditional dinner. Last year I wrote about my Thanksgiving “disaster” and if you are so inclined, you can pop over and see what dumb thing I once did.

Stories abound of similar cooking disasters. Feel free to share your mishaps if you dare. Or better yet, share a pleasant memory.

18 comments:

Sarge Charlie said...

Yep, I have a good memory. Somewhere back in the 70's Miss Bee found herself with the flu on Thanksgiving morning. She did not know what to do, all the food was there with no one to cook it. What is going to happen, she is sick, we have 5 kids waiting on turkey dinner, oh heck, I can do that.
Yep, I went into the kitchen and started a family tradition, I was the Thanksgiving Dinner Cook for the next 15 years. The kids are all gone now, Miss Bee and I choose to go somewhere for turkey day dinner cause it is just not worth it for the big meal. If we ever cook another Thanksgiving dinner it will be my job.

Sheila said...

Sarge,
That's a great story and a wonderful tradition. Thanks for sharing it. You must have done an excellent job to hold it for 15 years. Lucky Miss Bee!

Anonymous said...

Our Mother was in the hospital during Thanksgiving when I was 17 years old. I knew that my sister and I were very limited in our culinary skills- we had some rock shrimp in the freezer and the ingredients for a pound cake (which neither of us had ever made)
We had a lovely dinner of rock shrimp (no side dishes) and a fallen pound cake. My grandmother used to call them "sad" cakes. Now I know why. :)

Lorelei said...

My Thanksgiving disaster story is quite long. Maybe I'll post it closer to Thanksgiving... :)

Miss Trashahassee said...

Off topic but can't resist ...

Going to Trashcaloosa on Saturday to play in the stands ...

Go Warhawks!

BFF,
Miss T

Rick Rockhill said...

love that you included your granddog. Major bonus points for that one Sheila.

As far as Turkeyday... I remember one year the oven just plain died after the turkey was in the over for like 30 minutes. Mmmmmm raw turkey, how delicious.

Sheila said...

floridagirl,
I don't think under the circumstances I would have bothered, but you and your sister probably needed to feel some sort of normalcy. There's nothing like learning on the job. Interesting that you were the second reader to be thrown into the moment of Thanksgiving cook. Thanks for the story.

lorelei,
I'll look forward to hearing about it. Hope you have time.

Miss T,
Have fun in T-town (University of Alabama's home, Tuscaloosa for the uninformed). I am so envious you are going and I am not. If I'm lucky we might go to St. Louis to go to Trader Joe's. Anyway, those Warhawks might do better than I think what with John Parker Wilson's terrible performance last week. I am worried. ROLL TIDE!

palm springs savant,
Now the oven quitting would be a big problem. We do have a Weber grill though and that would be my backup. Monte, the English Springer Spaniel, has my heart. Plus, unlike my dog Sam who died a year and a half ago, Monte has been taught not to beg food. It should be a more pleasant meal.

Dana said...

Hey Sheila! Don't have a bad cooking story, but I just wanted to pop in and say hello.

Don said...

My younger brother Byron was a Down Syndrome child. One year when our mother was making and canning mince meat to make pies later she got a phone call, and while she was on the phone Byron ground up a bunch of hot peppers into the mixture she was preparing. That mixture went into a Thanksgiving mince meat pie. Need I relate the “rest of the story”? 

Sheila said...

Hi Dana. Good to hear from you again. I be visiting your blog soon.

Don,
That is a great story. This will be the first Thanksgiving since Byron's death if I recall. I know you will miss him.

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

drat! sarge already told mine! but it is true, he does cook thanksgiving lots of times...

smiles, bee

Don said...

You have a great memory Sheila. How considerate of you to think of Byron.

Yes, he will always be missed until we catch up with him in the better place he went to.

Rick Rockhill said...

Sheila- thanks for the recipe idea for the sweet potatoes..I'll have to try that.

Marion said...

I haven't cooked Thanksgiving dinner in quite a few years. I have handed the tradition to my daughter, who does an amazing, photo shoot type of dinner. If she's had any disasters, she wouldn't be telling me about them! lol

Have fun with your granddog. It's wonderful when they are so polite!

Have a great Thanksgiving with your whole family, Sheila! I'll be thinking of you.

Anonymous said...

Pozdrowienia z Polski --<--(@

Sheila said...

Miss Bee,
I hear y'all are having Thanksgiving dinner at home and I guess Sarge will be in charge.

Marion,
My son and daughter-in-law are the same way about meals. The food is so nice I just have to take photos. They are both excellent cooks and a tag-team in the kitchen. How nice that your daughter has taken over the tradition for your family! I wished we lived closer to our family.

Thanks for the kind wishes.

Naomi said...

Hi Sheila

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in England. We have our turkey at Xmas. However it sounds like a wonderful tradition. I read about your "disaster". That's so easily done. I did the same thing with a plastic bowl in a microwave once! It's nice that you can be with your family and Monte on that special day. Hope you enjoy the day. Happy Thanksgiving Sheila!

Sheila said...

Naomi,
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. You are in good company with the disaster. I mostly don't get upset any more, although I once remember crying when an elaborate recipe for French toast turned out disappointing. How silly to cry over food!