Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thanksgiving Eve

I haven't been home for Thanksgiving since college. (20th reunion in May!) But tomorrow the dude and I and Sissy and her dog will rise wicked early and drive the 7 hours home to break bread with...I don't know, whatever crazy crew my mother rounds up to sit at her free dining room table.

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Cooking at home, then I'm in charge of what we eat.
2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Free frozen turkey. It's about how you cook it.
3. What kind of stuffing? I love oyster stuffing but my father makes the most excellent Triple Corn Stuffing from the Black Family Reunion Cookbook.
4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? I once carried a sweet potato pie from Aunt Kizzy's Back Porch (Los Angeles) to my cousin's house in Alexandria, VA. I was the only one who ate it. Honestly, though, I am not a big dessert eater on Thanksgiving. Did I mention there was triple corn stuffing?
5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Whole point.
6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? I don't know. The menu and players shift regularly. When we were little, there was hell to pay if my mother didn't make broccoli casserole. (Cheese sauce with specks of broccoli in it.)
7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Yes. Is that a yes or no question? If not, soup.
8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? More burners on the stove.
9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? Crack of dawn. I've eaten Thanksgiving at 2:00 most of my life. I definitely prefer it.
10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? Homemade cranberry sauce.
11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? Once one of the dude's friends brought a bottle of cognac that he took home with him. If you're that cheap, well, I don't have to tell you.
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? No drama, unless the whole family is together.
13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? I think I mentioned the stuffing.

7 comments:

mainely stitching said...

Mmmmmmmm. Yum. Drooly keyboard.

I adore homemade stuffing. I would eat stuffing with homemade gravy for dinner if people didn't find that so laughable. And a slice of homemade bread. Well, a little turkey, too, of course.

I hope you enjoy a fabulous family day tomorrow!!!

Unknown said...

Have a great Turkey Day on the FREE table!

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Cooking at home!!! We do a huge holiday party in December and I HATE when people bring anything. They never bring dishes or utensils and I am forced to hunt around for something to put their awful store made salsa and stale chips in.
2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Fresh Diestel brand (met the owners -- Stanford MBAs -- love the irony).
3. What kind of stuffing? Fairy Food Stuffing -- from my maternal grandmother; bread, celery, onion, herbs and spices. My southern husband makes his own Oyster Cornbread Dressing.
4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Homemade pumpkin with brandy.
5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Whole point, especially for making Hot Browns.
6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Turkey. We are not vegetarians.
7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Yes.
8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? I don't get to cook, so not having to drive to Los Angeles on Thanksgiving would be a nice change.
9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? We always ate in the afternoon.
10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? Homemade cranberry relish; cranberries, oranges, apples. Brandied pumpkin pie.
11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? Anything. Well, stale chips and salsa.
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? So much drama that we are NOT going to my friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner this year. (One year we had dinner at the Scientology compound in LA.) Usually she just bickered with her now divorced husband, let her daughter wander around not eating anything, and had other friends invited who never showed up. She's also one of the worset cooks in the Western World. It's been a nightmare for a decade and now it is over.
13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? Only one? Cranberry Relish, Gravy on Stuffing.

Unknown said...

What's wrong with bringing cognac? I must be missing a cultural thing here. Bringing a good bottle is an absolute do in France.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

1. Either. Hubby cooks the bird, so I don't have to do the heavy lifting.
2. Fresh. Amish free-range usually.
3. Basic cornbread stuffing.
4. It's all about the PECAN pie. None of those mushy vegetable pies. Bleah.
5. Hubby thinks that leftovers are the whole point. I just wish there were a day or two less of them.
6. Mashed potatoes.
7. Stock, then soup.
8. Two stoves. Even better, two kitchens.
9. My mother used to do the crack of dawn thing. I don't.
10. Pecan pie.
11. Any of the veggie casseroles (green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, etc.)
12. Usually it's a happy mix. No real drama.
13. Pecan pie.

Anna van Schurman said...

Isabelle, there's nothing wrong with Cognac. There's nothing wrong with bringing a bottle. It's considered very rude in the U.S. anyway to bring it home with you again. Once it is in the hosts' house, it's their bottle!

Anonymous said...

Now, let me guess - you like stuffing, was I right? Was I right?

Anonymous said...

I forgot your mom got the free dining room! My husband's family is all kicking themselves for not buying furniture this year ;)