Are you always hoping for that perfect holiday meal, be it the golden-brown turkey, moist and tender, or the rolls hot from the oven ready just as everyone is sitting down, or the table set just so?
In my many years of hosting holiday dinners I confess it’s never happened. My potatoes are mashed and cooling down as I’m trying to make the gravy (which of course is lumpy), the turkey is overcooked and dry (and hardly looks like the golden-brown beauty shown in magazines) and the kids are eating all the fruit for the fruit salad (or worse, dipping their fingers in the whipped cream). I’m scrambling to find another chair or place setting because I miscounted and, as always, something has been forgotten. Then, after working all day to prepare everything, it seems like the meal is over in less than 30 minutes, barely enough time to recoup your energy to start cleanup efforts.
Many times I’ve been so overwhelmed and felt like such a failure because the dinner wasn’t “perfect.” My husband would tell me we don’t have to cook everyone’s favorite dish, or have the house spotless, or have all the decorations up to have a wonderful family dinner, but I would still try to live up to what my mind imagined.
For my 60th birthday this year my family wrote down 60 things they loved about me. As I was reading down the list, two words made everyone laugh: Trunk Turkey. For the family members who were not there when it happened, we were happy to recount the event.
We were going to my sister-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving. She was a vegan at the time and asked that no turkey be brought into the house. My family, being the meat eaters they are, said, “It’s not Thanksgiving without a turkey.” Agreeing with them, I cooked up a small turkey, complete with dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and figured we would eat it outside with anyone else who felt Thanksgiving wasn’t complete without a bird.
As we drove the two hours down to her house, the smell in the car was wonderful. We stopped at a rest area about halfway there and someone said, “I’m hungry. Can I have a piece of turkey?” We opened up the trunk but realized we had no utensils to eat it with, so we just started eating the turkey and all the trimmings with our fingers. There was not much left to share with the others after we got back on the road.
Not wanting to hurt her feelings, we didn’t mention the turkey to my sister-in-law for many years – and it wasn’t until my birthday that she heard the whole story. Being a meat eater now, she laughed about it with the rest of us.
That was a very enjoyable and memorable Thanksgiving for us, no matter if the food was more lukewarm than piping hot, or if the gravy was lumpy, or if not everyone had their favorite food made, or even if the table wasn’t set beautifully – there was no table! What mattered was that we were together and made a wonderful memory that will be shared again and again.
This year we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving on the 28th to accommodate everyone’s schedules. No matter the date, the food served or if the good plates are used, we will be feeling blessed to be together and eating whatever is before us. Of course, we will still try to have everyone’s favorites.
Below are some recipes handed down through the years that my family asks for every year, adjusted to fit our tastes. When making them I think of those who so lovingly made them for us, and the memories of past Thanksgiving meals.
Happy Thanksgiving!
by Joan Kark-Wren
- Baked Corn •
Recipe from William Kark
1 stick of butter, melted
1 can of creamed corn
1/4 cup milk
1 sleeve of Ritz, Keebler Townhouse or similar cracker
Crush crackers and add to creamed corn. Add melted butter and milk and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour into a 8×8 casserole dish and bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until bubbling on sides.
This was my dad’s go-to recipe for all holiday meals. Being a bit more health conscience, we use a 1/3 stick of butter instead of a full stick. Depending on the number of people at dinner, we typically do a triple batch in a 9×13 casserole dish and enjoy leftovers the next day.
- Baked Onions •
Recipe adapted from Marylouise Wren
3 – 4 medium onions, sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cup croutons or 2 – 3 pieces of toast, cubed
1 15 oz. can evaporated milk or pint of heavy cream
Black pepper to taste
Sauté onions in butter until translucent. Layer onions, croutons and cheese in a casserole dish, repeating until all ingredients are used. Pour evaporated milk until you can just see it (you may not need the whole can). Bake at 350º for 45 minutes or until it is bubbling and cheese is slightly browned.
This easy recipe can be adjusted to suit your family’s likes. My mother-in-law uses cubed toast and whole milk, but I found it to be too gooey and prefer a more solid casserole and the crunch of croutons.
- Grandma Kark’s Fruit Salad •
Bag of seedless red grapes, sliced in half long way, pat dry (done this way to get the seeds out)
1 apple, cored and diced
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained (excess liquid will cause the cream the separate)
1 – 2 bananas, sliced
1 pint heavy cream (whipped)
1 – 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Add all fruit and mix well. Whip cream until thick; add sugar and vanilla to taste. Fold in fruit and serve.
This was one recipe our family never had in writing. My grandmother, and then my mom, used amounts they felt were necessary for the number of people coming for dinner. It can be adjusted according to taste as well. Like bananas more than apples? Add more of that. While we use a MacIntosh apple, my mom always used a Red Delicious.
This salad does not store well, so smaller batches are suggested.
- Grandma Bassett’s Refrigerator Rolls & Sticky Buns •
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup sugar
7 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
2 envelopes dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
Poppy and sesame seeds (optional)
Combine shortening and boiling water, stirring until shortening is melted. Set aside and let cool to lukewarm. Combine eggs, sugar and salt; stir in cold water; set aside. (Do this in a large bowl that you will let the dough rise in.) Soften yeast in lukewarm water.
In the large bowl with the egg mixture, combine the three mixtures, then add the flour in small amounts. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Shape, cover and let rise. Bake as for standard rolls (350º for 12 – 15 minutes).
This recipe makes a lot of rolls. You can do part rolls and part sticky buns.
- Sticky buns •
Filling:
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon
For the pan:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped in large pieces
Flatten the dough out into a rectangle and roll out on a floured surface to about a quarter inch thick. Spread the cooled, melted butter over the dough. Spread the cinnamon and brown sugar mix over the dough. Roll the dough up like a jelly roll, finishing with the seam side down.
Mix together the 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, light brown sugar and nuts. Spread in the bottom of a 9×9 or larger baking pan (depends on how much dough you’re using).
Slice the roll into pieces about 1 1/2” wide. Place the rolls in the baking pan, leaving room for them to rise. Cover and let rise until about double in size. Bake at 400º for about 35 – 45 minutes until the tops are firm and golden brown. Let cool for five minutes and then flip them out of the pan onto parchment paper.
