Don't Mess With Thanksgiving

I don’t mess with our basic Thanksgiving menu. You will NOT find roasted parsnips and other root vegetables in places of the mashed potatoes, NOR will you find butternut squash tossed with olive oil and rosemary in place of the baked sweet potatoes. You will NOT find unfamiliar vegetables on the table…no brussel sprouts or swiss chard at this meal. You will not find any dishes made with fresh herbs unless there are twigs in the refrigerator left over from a dish made the previous week.

Thanksgiving dinner at my table focuses on the traditional seasonings (salt and pepper) and fresh vegetables prepared with a minimum of messing. The meal also focuses on making the meal ahead so that maximum time can be spent talking with relatives and friends.

What can be done early is done early (and you’d be amazed at what can be done ahead).

After years of popping the turkey out of the oven and recruiting Brother Joe to carve…minutes before serving and then slaving over the juices to prepare the gravy at the last minute, I changed my strategy. The turkey is made the weekend before Thanksgiving sliced and frozen in light gravy and thawed and reheated. The potatoes are mashed they day before mixed with plenty of butter, sour cream, and cream cheese and plopped into a casserole for warming the next day. The only dishes actually prepared on top of the stove on Thanksgiving are the cooked vegetables, this year, corn and green beans.

The menu for the Gifford-Hertel Thanksgiving—

Appetizers (Noon)
Crudites with dip
Spreads, cheeses and crackers
Chex Mix (Jackie's special contribution...a favorite of all of us)

Dinner – Served buffet style (2:00 pm)
Turkey and bread stuffing with pecans
Honey Baked Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes with butter
Fresh whole green beans with garlic
White corn in butter sauce
Broccoli Salad with Cranberries
Pina Colada molded salad with cranberry sauce
Freshly baked rolls with butter

Coffee and Dessert (4:00 pm)
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Slices (ala mode)
Ginger Cream Cookies

The meal has many contributors. I don’t want you to think that I produce this by myself. I am always grateful for the contributions that come--and all the guest who share a smile, a laugh, recent stories, and past memories.

Happy Thanksgiving!