A defining moment has happened in my life. I’m feeling apprehensive and anxious, yet super excited. I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to handle it. I’ve even got the hubs looking up stuff on the internet. I haven’t told the kids yet because I’m not sure how they’ll take it.
Are you ready for the news? For the first time in 34 years, we are not having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house or at Todd’s grandmother’s house. We are having it at ours. I feel like I’ve reached another adult milestone. First college then marriage then babies now hosting Thanksgiving dinner.
As I’ve stated in the past, I am not one of those Martha Stewart bloggers who can bake a perfect cake and sew curtains all with a calm demeanor and ironed Oxford shirt. Sometimes I’ll find an easy and yummy recipe or a simple but fun craft, yet again, I’m not crafty and I’m not an excellent cook.
With Thanksgiving a week away, I’ve started planning. I Googled what makes a true Thanksgiving meal, and the answer is pretty simple. To stay true to those guys and gals on the Plymouth Colony, we’re planning to include a turkey, berries, corn, and pumpkin, among other things, though we haven’t decided on specific dishes.
My sister is a great cook; she has an intuitive ability to pair ingredients and create a delicious meal without a recipe. My husband is quite the sous-chef as he follows recipes methodically and ends up with tasty dishes, and my mom is wonderful to have in the kitchen because she knows our generational recipes like the back of her hand. I love to plan events and am a great motivator. With this combination of skills, surely we can turn out a pretty decent Thanksgiving feast.
All in all, I’m just thankful and grateful to be with those I love on this special holiday, and I know they’ll still love me no matter how the meal ends up.
I would love some advice, dear readers. If you have any suggestions that will help assist me in any way, I would love to hear them. Further, if you have any dishes that you would love to share, please do!
My suggestion is to make as many dishes before hand as possible. I’ve got a great “lighter” version sweet potato casserole from Southern Living that I usually make the day before and just bake it on Thanksgiving!
Oooh, yum! I need to get that sweet potato casserole recipe. I do not have any sweet potato plans yet.
Keep it simple. Make the foods you had growing up and enjoy the day. Don’t stress.
Make sure everyone brings to go containers so they can take leftovers.
Slathering a turkey in butter makes it delicious, and check out Alton Brown’s turkey triangle to help keep the breast moist. You are going to do awesome!
You are awesome, Karen! Great advice, and I plan to follow all of it.
Congratulations and I am SOOOO excited for you! Such a heartwarming milestone!!!
We are hosting Christmas so I know what you mean!! I have already been planning and worrying over the menu for months!
I am more into the decor and the looks of the finished product than the cooking so I love doing easy but elegant dishes! One go to fav is Lemon mint green beans!! (super easy!!) Get the long uncut green/yellow green beans that are in steamer bags, steam em up, add the juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, dash of salt and pepper (or a dash of white wine if you are daring!) and a few sprigs of mint and Voila!!!! You can use any other herb you choose such as rosemary, thyme, or even basil!!! It looks and tastes marvelous!
I’ve also served a simple squash soup as an appetizer that makes a great pasta dish with turkey leftovers! You can buy organic butternut squash cubes in the freezer section as well to save time! Brown 1 bag squash cubes with olive oil, 1/2 cup white wine, and garlic, add 1 can vegetable broth, boil until soft, add 1 cup cream and blend! Garnish with thyme! Serves 4!
(both of these dishes use the stovetop or microwave instead of the oven so nothing interferes with your bird!!)
Also if anyone volunteered to bring a dish, ask that they cook it at their house so it can just be reheated at yours (believe it or not I have had guests bring the ingredients and want to cook it in my home!) This saves some sanity and oven space!
Whew sorry that was a long response- but I love love love love the holidays and would rather spend time with the fam than sweating in the kitchen all day!
best of luck and can’t wait to hear how it went!
~Jamie
http://littleleonardohana.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much, Jamie! This is so helpful. The green bean recipe sounds delicious and easy. We’re making some marinated Brussels sprouts for the big people, but I think the kiddos would rather have your green bean recipe.
Also, I love the idea of other folks cooking their dishes at their own homes. We only have one oven here, and we don’t want the dish washing to get out of hand. I agree that the holidays should be about spending time with family instead of sweating in the kitchen.
Again, thank you so much for the advice. My next stop is your blog. Look forward to staying in touch with you! Happy Thanksgiving.
It’s really easy to get caught up in the stress of hosting everyone-so just make sure you take a few minutes and ENJOY everyone being there-that’s the whole point of you having it at your house. I learned that at Christmas :). Plus, you’re a great cook and wonderful hostess.
Thank you, Cheryll! That’s great advice. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your love ones!
Susanna, I enjoyed reading this 🙂 you will do absolutely fine! The worse thing to do is over think it and overwhelm yourself, you’ve got this! You’ve been to successful Turkey day dinners for years, so all you’re doing is mimicking your favorite parts from all of them collectively and making them your own! 🙂
I’m not a mother yet, but I was ‘the mom’ in college, so I totally understand the excitement and pressure and stress LoL! I was the only one with an off campus place, and I always had all the holiday stragglers when going back to our out of state homes wasn’t an option! LoL at least your adult (not YOUNG adult) guests are offering to bring something! I slaved, planned, prepared all by myself! They DID however make sure I always had good music to dance to and a full glass of wine at all times while I cooked 😉
Wonderful advice! I will be sure to take it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
You are such a grown up! I’m sure everything will go wonderfully. In the event of a snag, just keep the wine flowing. 🙂 And for the love of all that is holy don’t let Todd deep fry the turkey. (Actually, deep fried turkey is delicious, but the process scares me to death!) Love to all your sweet family. Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh, dear. I will not be letting Todd deep fry a turkey! It will be all we can do to cook it correctly the ol’ fashioned way. I think it will be really fun, overall. Happy Thanksgiving to your precious family. Love and miss ya.