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Well just had the usual Wednesday early Thanksgiving at my sis's house
Terrible cook. OMG. I am nice and keep attending.
I'll make my own tomorrow. There will be no mistaking the gravy for the mashed potatoes. Her white gravy is that thick
And who makes white gravy with turkey and dressing? You are supposed to use the pan drippings. She makes it out of just flour and water or something like that. Yuck.
It is kind of funny.
'
May I segue to a favorite story about attempting to make turkey gravy? Pretty please?
OK, I will, thanks!
My dearest college friend and I shared a house together one year. He was working, I was waiting on a job...money was tight and he loved a bargain. He brought home this massive "red tag special" bag of turkey drumsticks. He was certain we'd find all sorts of uses for the sinewy things. They sat in the freezer for months. Finally, something had to be done...every time we opened the freezer compartment desperately hoping to cram something new into it that bag leered at us.
I'll freely admit that I'm no cook. I was somewhat skeptical about those drumsticks; they seemed strangely intimidating. Jon, the eternal optimist, wasn't worried.
"Ah, c'mon Al, don't worry. We can use all that meat in lots of things and we'll have lots of stock for gravy to boot!"
So, the drumsticks were dumped into the biggest pot we had; an enameled metal roasting pan.
They boiled and boiled, getting tougher by the minute. Worried looks and poking at them with a fork didn't seem to help. All the windows in the house steamed up the longer they cooked. Finally, Jon decided they were done, laid them all out on a cutting board and hacked off what little usable meat existed. He did sample some of it but I didn't detect any rave reviews. I spent some time in the shower, so maybe I missed them.
Next, make the promised gravy out of all that stock. There seemed like an awful lot of it compared to the fragrant drippings my mom's Thanksgiving turkeys always produced.
Jon (remember, he's the optimist): "Oh gravy is easy. Just add some flour to the stock."
So, I added flour and started stirring.
And added flour.
And added flour.
And added flour.
Nothing happened. Yes, the stock was more opaque, but it wasn't looking anything like gravy to me.
Within one moment and the next, the stock jelled. I kept stirring frantically, but the chemical reaction was out of control. I called Jon for help. He came running in, stared at the gluey mass and commented in the kindest possible way:
"I don't think you needed that much flour, Al."
The stuff set up like cement. I had admitted defeat a long time ago and Jon reluctantly joined in. The roaster pan ended up outdoors on the back porch. We dubbed the experiment "Turkey Brick" and tried using it for crab bait. Even they wouldn't touch it.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-28-2019 at 03:29 PM..
Today is a special day in our lives when we are prompted to be thankful for the positive things the year has brought us. If we remembered to do that every day of our lives there would be less illness, negativity and unhappiness in our little world of woes.
Ours are really chill.
We are not religious.
Don’t associate with drama people
Don’t give a crap about politics or Hallmark holidays.
Things are good but we don’t hold hands and say how thankful we are just because it’s Thanksgiving.
Just a good family meal.
I like it .
I'm feeling thankful and I feel that way more and more each year. I don't need a special day to commemorate it, but I do like the food . I feel no pressure or expectations and am happy to have no drama.
Thanksgiving is no longer what it used to be, for me. I guess because so many of my family are gone now. But the younger generation makes it worth getting together - plus the delicious food. It's the only day of the year I forego my healthy eating.
May I segue to a favorite story about attempting to make turkey gravy? Pretty please?
OK, I will, thanks!
My dearest college friend and I shared a house together one year. He was working, I was waiting on a job...money was tight and he loved a bargain. He brought home this massive "red tag special" bag of turkey drumsticks. He was certain we'd find all sorts of uses for the sinewy things. They sat in the freezer for months. Finally, something had to be done...every time we opened the freezer compartment desperately hoping to cram something new into it that bag leered at us.
I'll freely admit that I'm no cook. I was somewhat skeptical about those drumsticks; they seemed strangely intimidating. Jon, the eternal optimist, wasn't worried.
"Ah, c'mon Al, don't worry. We can use all that meat in lots of things and we'll have lots of stock for gravy to boot!"
So, the drumsticks were dumped into the biggest pot we had; an enameled metal roasting pan.
They boiled and boiled, getting tougher by the minute. Worried looks and poking at them with a fork didn't seem to help. All the windows in the house steamed up the longer they cooked. Finally, Jon decided they were done, laid them all out on a cutting board and hacked off what little usable meat existed. He did sample some of it but I didn't detect any rave reviews. I spent some time in the shower, so maybe I missed them.
Next, make the promised gravy out of all that stock. There seemed like an awful lot of it compared to the fragrant drippings my mom's Thanksgiving turkeys always produced.
Jon (remember, he's the optimist): "Oh gravy is easy. Just add some flour to the stock."
So, I added flour and started stirring.
And added flour.
And added flour.
And added flour.
Nothing happened. Yes, the stock was more opaque, but it wasn't looking anything like gravy to me.
Within one moment and the next, the stock jelled. I kept stirring frantically, but the chemical reaction was out of control. I called Jon for help. He came running in, stared at the gluey mass and commented in the kindest possible way:
"I don't think you needed that much flour, Al."
The stuff set up like cement. I had admitted defeat a long time ago and Jon reluctantly joined in. The roaster pan ended up outdoors on the back porch. We dubbed the experiment "Turkey Brick" and tried using it for crab bait. Even they wouldn't touch it.
lol - boiling the legs to make gravy? lol. You have to roast and use the pan drippings. That is too funny.
you make a roux first with the some of the fat and flour. Then add the stock. And seasonings. He was making glue.
I find family events kind of overbearing and tiring. I don't think it's because of anything my family members specifically do wrong; it's just uncomfortable how much they know about my life (because they remember when I was a baby and my parents continue to tell them all about me) without me having the same memories of them. And I feel like I can't relate to my parents or my brother anymore, but they still feel like they relate to me.
I did Thanksgiving with friends this year, and it was nice. For my family's sake I'm willing to see them over the winter holidays and occasional other trips, but flying out just for Thanksgiving wouldn't be worth it.
I gave up cooking Thanksgiving dinner somewhere around 40 years ago. Sons were growing up and having dinner with girlfriend's family first then coming to me too full to eat the meal I had so lovingly prepared. After a couple of years of that, I told them to eat where they liked and if they chose, they could come here for pie and coffee.
I would cook on the week-end for anyone who wanted to come but there was no invitation/command performance. And that worked well for many years. My youngest married and his wife loved the idea of the week-end dinner and while they eat the Thursday with her side of the family (It's a BIG side), she continues to cook the later dinner and I'm always invited.
For the past several years, I have had Thanksgiving dinner with my #2 son, his wife, her mother and his daughter. We dine out at an exceptionally nice restaurant and it is just a beautiful experience.
I think it would be better to have the celebration on Friday instead of Thursday (I believe the original day was designated back when Catholics refrained from meat on Fridays) but they still haven't put me in charge, despite the fact that I know how it should be done.
I feel sorry for all the negativity expressed here. That's the stuff ulcers are made of.
Parnassia, loved your story about the turkey legs. I never did see anything good about particular part of the bird. Combined with the lack of knowledge as to how to make gravy, you struck the right lighthearted note. Reminds me of the time as a child of twelve, my step-mother told me to wash the spinach. I filled the sink with warm water and lovingly caressed each tender leaf with a cake of Ivory soap. Rinsed it all off. Imagine our surprise when the water it was cooking in began to foam up and over the sides of the pot. A good laugh was had by all and we ended up opening a can of corn!
The good far outweighs the negative for me. Yes, it's a ton of work, but I spent so many of them alone and at work. There is no one at my table that I don't want to be there. My husband helps a lot with the clean up but I do all of the cooking. It makes me feel good that there are people having a good meal and a fun day with no where else to go. Thanksgiving or any other holiday is what you allow it to be. Make it fun!
No negatives as far as I am concerned. Lots of good food, no difficult relatives, a very noticeable lack of commercialism.
Its a nice opportunity to get together and share a good meal.
I also enjoy the leftovers.
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. I feel no pressure or expectations and am happy to have no drama.
