Why Thanksgiving is the Single Most Wonderful Holiday Ever
By my own admission, I am not a food blogger. I am an education blogger but a serious food lover. So I have given myself permission to write about food since tomorrow is the mother-of-all-food holidays.
The greatest thing about Thanksgiving is not all the wonderful things that are happening in our lives. Don’t get me wrong…I have plenty to be thankful for and am hands down one of the luckiest and most fortunate people on the planet, but I will save that blog for another day.
The single most wonderful thing about Thanksgiving is having a legit holiday where I don’t have to bring anything wrapped up, pretend to be an imaginary being (think bunny, elf, etc.) and the entire focus is the FOOD, with a side of family thrown in.
Let’s be honest. After we all talk about the traffic getting to our destination “did you go the back way?”, the weather “I think it’s going to get colder tonight“, and the football game “when does Dallas play?”, the real focus is the food.
We are so food-centered in our family that some of our traditions include multiple items in the same category:
2 (or 3) Meats: We will have two different kinds of turkey because some people like fried and some people like it from the oven. I am not sure why, but we also always have ham. Our turkeys and hams never, ever look like the one in the Norman Rockwell picture, and we don’t even put it on the table where we eat because there is not enough room. But, we always have turkey and ham and for a few years we had a splash of barbecue because my cousin was working at Stamey’s, I think.
2 Potatoes: This is serious business. We will have mashed potatoes but apparently that isn’t enough because we will have a sweet potato product, too. My mom usually makes the sweet potato casserole with the little marshmallows on top. I don’t like that recipe and am a bigger fan of Paula Deen’s Sweet Potato Bake. No marshmallows in her recipe, but it will be the hit of your table, I promise. Somehow sweet potato pie gets classified as a dessert, but I am sure will we have that, too.
2 Beans: One of my nieces (she knows who she is) loves green beans. Plain. But what would Thanksgiving be without green bean casserole with the little French’s onion rings on top? Needless to say, there will be both there to accommodate all the bean lovers.
2 Corns: Again, multiple variations will be presented tomorrow and the Pilgrims would be proud. I am a fan of my mom’s corn pudding, but there will also be a pot of regular corn that came from someone’s garden and was thawed out just for tomorrow.
2 Breads (on accident): I used to make the rolls from scratch and then my mom discovered Sister Schubert’s Dinner Rolls and she has requested them every year since then. I made a huge faux pas one year and accidentally brought pigs in a blanket instead of plain dinner rolls. Personally, I think Sister Schubert should mark their packages a little better.
4 (or more) Pickles: Our Pilgrim ancestors (or Native American ancestors) must have invented pickles and olives because our family eats them like they are bon bons. I am not sure why, but as far back as I can remember we have about 4 different kinds, some store bought and some canned, and they always get gobbled up. My cousins and I have even fought over who gets to drink the pickle juice. That was when we were little, but I wouldn’t mind getting a little swig tomorrow.
Our assignments were given out months ago and everyone will roll in tomorrow at my sister’s house. I have been the bringer of bread and a dessert of my choice for several years. This year my mom volunteered to get the bread and we are maxed out on desserts, so I get to arrive empty handed and just eat.
Just eat.
Doesn’t that sound like a real holiday? No work, no shopping, no high heels that hurt, just a day to focus on food. And THAT is why Thanksgiving is the single most wonderful holiday ever.