(no subject)
Nov. 23rd, 2005 12:39 amThursday, I'm cooking for the family. And when I say family, I actually mean my father and brother, the Engineer, Thee Pumpkin Girl and E. Last year's Thanksgiving passed in a kind of daze, having been so close to my mother's death, and I only went through the basic motions. I remember being upset that I couldn't figure out how to make something she always made, but working it out in the end because I am sometimes not all that stupid. It was a quiet holiday, small and depressing, with a lot of awkward silences. Miss Robin and Saint Rick came over for store-bought pie and wine, with Rick fixing my computer as Miss Robin and I got shitty on the wine. I smoked a fucktonne of pot and cried myself to sleep. It was not a good year.
This year, I've put a bit of thought into things. Especially the food. My eating habits have drastically changed already this year, with more of an emphasis on freshly prepared food (rather then pre-packaged bullshit full of chemicals), so I've attempted to put together a plan to not have crap on the table.
* the obligatory roast turkey
* cranberry, sausage, and apple stuffing (real cranberries, sweet Italian sausage removed from its casing, and tart Granny Smith apples)
* green beans and mushrooms (fresh green beans, same with the mushrooms)
* creamed pearl onions with sage (my father likes creamed onions and we've always just bought the kind in a box, I'm going to attempt making them myself)
* mashed potatoes with sour cream (this is going to be a party, I hate peeling potatoes)
* cranberry sauce (real cranberries with orange juice)
* asparagus and caramelized onion strata (I started this tonight, because it has to be chilled for many hours before baking)
* pumpkin pie (I didn't make the crust because I'm truly wretched at that, but everything else is my work)
* candied sweet potatoes (ok, this one comes out of a box because the Engineer wanted them and I hate sweet potatoes in all their many forms)
There's going to be a marathon of bad horror movies on the Sci-Fi channel all day (with two new Return of the Living Dead movies, one of them being called RAVE FROM THE GRAVE!), I'm going to drink a lot of bad wine and laugh too loudly, the cats will get special treats of turkey liver and the rats will get grease-slicked bones (the ferret will get nothing but a lot of love, because he refuses anything other then kibble). I'll make a huge mess in the kitchen and make someone else clean it up.
It's not going to be a normal holiday, it never will be again.
Not that there were ever normal holidays in my family.
This year, I've put a bit of thought into things. Especially the food. My eating habits have drastically changed already this year, with more of an emphasis on freshly prepared food (rather then pre-packaged bullshit full of chemicals), so I've attempted to put together a plan to not have crap on the table.
* the obligatory roast turkey
* cranberry, sausage, and apple stuffing (real cranberries, sweet Italian sausage removed from its casing, and tart Granny Smith apples)
* green beans and mushrooms (fresh green beans, same with the mushrooms)
* creamed pearl onions with sage (my father likes creamed onions and we've always just bought the kind in a box, I'm going to attempt making them myself)
* mashed potatoes with sour cream (this is going to be a party, I hate peeling potatoes)
* cranberry sauce (real cranberries with orange juice)
* asparagus and caramelized onion strata (I started this tonight, because it has to be chilled for many hours before baking)
* pumpkin pie (I didn't make the crust because I'm truly wretched at that, but everything else is my work)
* candied sweet potatoes (ok, this one comes out of a box because the Engineer wanted them and I hate sweet potatoes in all their many forms)
There's going to be a marathon of bad horror movies on the Sci-Fi channel all day (with two new Return of the Living Dead movies, one of them being called RAVE FROM THE GRAVE!), I'm going to drink a lot of bad wine and laugh too loudly, the cats will get special treats of turkey liver and the rats will get grease-slicked bones (the ferret will get nothing but a lot of love, because he refuses anything other then kibble). I'll make a huge mess in the kitchen and make someone else clean it up.
It's not going to be a normal holiday, it never will be again.
Not that there were ever normal holidays in my family.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-23 01:18 pm (UTC)Also: Potatoes -- you don't have to peel them, especially if you use red-skinned ones. I always do that because it adds flavor, looks nice and is pretty standard for red-skin potato dishes. :)
Maybe not a normal holiday -- but normal holidays are pretty boring and this sounds nice. *hug*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-11-23 11:29 pm (UTC)