It’s a busy week at my house. We’re moving my daughter into her DC apartment, I’m trying to tie up what seems like a thousand loose ends at work before I officially retire at the end of the year, there’s a Thanksgiving meal to plan and prep for, and then there’s the ominous spectre of holiday shopping and decorating just beyond this week’s horizon. In other words – I’ve got a lot going on. I’m sure you do as well….
OK, so you’ve (reluctantly) agreed to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the family this year, or maybe it’s your first time tackling what is arguably the most difficult meal of the season to plan and prepare. It will be a formidable task. So much planning, the endless prep, the fight for oven space – the list goes on and on. There’s a whole gaggle of close family (and that weird cousin you only see once a year) in the other room,…
Well, Halloween has just ended, and as the time changes and the weather becomes colder, the calendar shows that there are only a few weeks remaining until the end of another year. However, before we ring in that “Auld Lang Syne” and say “hello” to 2025, we still have some pretty big holidays to prepare for, and they will be here before you know it. Thanksgiving is next on the calendar (although retailers will make you believe there is nothing…
More than any other holiday meal, you know what’s on the menu for the Thanksgiving feast. Turkey. It’s what’s for dinner. For those of you with some experience with this kitchen event, you’ll know that cooking a Thanksgiving turkey is not for the faint of heart. It’s a tough meal to nail, not only from the timing of all of those sides, but for cooking the bird itself, and there are as many ways to cook that holiday fowl as…
Well, Halloween has come and gone, and although the Christmas decorations have been up at your local box store since the beginning of October and Mariah Carey was just thawed out to ceaselessly scream her way through “All I Want for Christmas Is You” until New Year’s, let’s not forget that there is still another pretty big holiday to celebrate between now and “Ho-Ho-Ho” time. I’m of course talking about Thanksgiving. I don’t know when this holiday became the “Jan…
For home cooks all over the country, the most important meal of the year is just three weeks away. Sure, Mom, Dad, or Grandma can occasionally burn a pizza, undercook some vegetables, or even hammer that fish in the oven from time to time and all will be quickly forgotten – but screw up the Thanksgiving Day turkey? The family will talk about and remember that indiscretion for years to come. That’s a lot of pressure on the host, and…
I sometimes question how we have survived as a species and a society. The stupid things I see attempted on YouTube or Facebook videos make we wonder what some people won’t do to be granted a simple “thumbs up” icon. Another Thanksgiving season is upon us, and if you also want to doubt your faith in humanity, you should read some of the transcripts and texts received by the Butterball Turkey Hotline, a free “help desk” for all things turkey-related….
As you’re probably aware (unless you live in some sort of cave with no calendar), the Thanksgiving holiday is coming up this week (although it’s hard to tell between all of the Christmas carols on the radio and decorations on sale at the store). Traditionally one of the most crowded travel weekends of the year, AAA predicts that more than 54,000,000 people will be on the road during this year’s holiday – a 4.8% increase over 2017 and the highest…
Ahhhh, memories. I hearken back to a day when each holiday got its due. I fondly recall my days as a young school-aged lad, making cut-out jack-o-lanterns in October, drawing around my hand to make a turkey in November – and then – in December, we’d talk about the upcoming Christmas holiday. I know it sounds crazy, but yes – we’d talk about Christmas in December. These days, in our consumer driven world, it seems as if retailers want to…
With just less than three weeks to go until Thanksgiving, you might very well wonder where all of the traditions and trappings we follow here in the United States came from. Well fear not, turkey fans, for I am here to provide you with all of the useless knowledge that will make you the conversation specialist at this year’s holiday table. Thanksgiving – the Date Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on different dates in different states in the early 1800’s. …