Not My Thing
Cooking
Cooking is not my thing. I don’t necessarily enjoy it or feel like I am not good at it. It makes me quite nervous wondering what others will think about my cooking because I want them to enjoy it.
Better Late than Never
Well, at 49 years old, I had to cook the entire Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I’ve done my fair share of making dishes to pass at many a gathering, but a whole holiday meal from scratch, yikes!
Covid Hits
In struts Covid and boom, I am making it all from the turkey to the desserts, it is all on me this year. Yikes! This was a bit nerve wracking for me.
The Preparation
I bought a fourteen pound turkey ahead of time, drooling with thoughts of eating leftovers for days. I made sure to order the rest of my Thanksgiving meal supplies several days before the holiday for two reasons. I didn’t want them to run out of items I needed and I wanted to stay out of the store if possible.
I made sure to get the turkey out of the freezer and into the refrigerator five days ahead of time so it wouldn’t still be frozen on cooking day. I baked two pumpkin pies the night before. Finding room in the refrigerator was the hardest part of that job. Fourteen pounds of turkey takes up a lot of space.
The Day has Come
On Thanksgiving Day, I started cooking mid-morning. Thankfully my son was home from college and willing to help me out. He chopped veggies and peeled potatoes. I pulled the icky things from the turkey and greased it up with melted butter and spices, cooked sweet potatoes in the instant pot, boiled eggs, prepared homemade stuffing for the first time, and got my head around a cooking schedule that would end up with everything being hot and ready at the same time.
The turkey looked perfect in the roaster, browned and falling off the bone. While that rested, I made the corn pudding, the sweet potato casserole, and my son made the green bean casserole. Last, in went the rolls to brown.
Now, the minute of truth. Did I do it? Could I make a big Thanksgiving feast without any issues? Was everything cooked properly? Would it all taste good?
The Results
Whooo hooooo, everything turned out well. I was especially nervous about the stuffing. Homemade stuffing seemed out of reach for me. I picked a pretty basic recipe knowing that the more goodies added to it, the less likely my family would eat it. It was scrumdelicious. I don’t care for stuffing and I liked it. I had to give myself a small pat on the back for that.
What I’ve Learned
I learned that I am more capable than I give myself credit for and that 14 pounds of turkey isn’t near as much as I thought it was. It is three days later and there is enough left for a single sandwich at this point. Lesson learned there! The next time I make a big holiday meal, I will feel a bit more confident as I do it. I’ve come a long way since the day early in my marriage when I cried and left the table when someone said my sweet potatoes were a bit hard still. Bring on Christmas dinner.
