Scott and I have been having Thanksgiving dinner together for over a decade by this point.
2012 marks, what I believe, is our 13th (I think, I’m bad at keeping track) year of dining together on the big day.
I’ve been making Thanksgiving dinner for us this entire time and over the years I’ve learned a lot.
Not only about cooking for the big day but also what we like and prefer.
One big thing I learned is to keep things simple. While Thanksgiving is a big day full of eats, there doesn’t need to be 16 courses for the meal. I find that can get over whelming, not just for the cook, but also for those eating. I fully want to get my grub on but not quite that much.
We have a turkey, and a few staple side dishes. Plenty of food to keep us satisfied and the fridge stocked with leftovers for the next few days.
Comprise is also a large part of Thanksgiving. Everyone has different traditions and different things they are used to eating on the big day. Scott was used to having sweet potatoes with his dinner. I didn’t care for sweet potatoes (that has changed and now I love them). So instead of tossing another side dish on the table, I make sweet potato pie for dessert instead of pumpkin. Homemade crust and homemade whipped cream to go with it! He’s happy and I’m happy. Comprise, it helps keep things simple.
Over the years we’ve realized that we prefer to eat the big dinner as a late lunch, around 1 or 2pm. This means that the kitchen is cleaned up shortly after and the rest of the day can be spent doing whatever we feel like. Having an evening meal meant that we were doing dishes at 8 o’clock in the evening. Yuck.
I was worn out by then and grumpy at having to still be doing more work. An afternoon meal gets rid of all of that! And if we get hungry again, then it’s easy to pull out some leftovers and heat. Simple!
We like having a nice crisp pinot grigio with dinner. It makes the dinner feel more fancy and goes perfectly with the turkey and sides. No fussing with special cocktails and making sure things are mixed properly. A simple wine, easy to take care of and no stress.
While making dinner is a lot of work and I’m prepping for days before hand, it’s low stress. Now we’re in a groove and every year Thanksgiving turns out awesome.
What is your approach to Thanksgiving? Is it a high maintenence affair or simple and casual?
We tend to keep things relatively low key with the Husband and we tend to avoid turkey. So usually it’s lamb, some yummy other dishes, maybe some cheese and crackers to start the night, and definitely some adult libations.
Very seldom have we had friends over but we do when all our schedules work out (the Husband works shift work so we don’t always get to celebrate on the actual holiday).
But honestly, the most important part of Thanksgiving is sharing it with those that are closest to your heart!
TG, Lamb, what a great idea! Do you do a lamb roast or chops?