Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

My dad loved to cook and his favorite time of year was Thanksgiving. He made such a big deal about cooking the turkey. The night before he would make lots of cornbread and he would cut up onions, celery, green peppers and garlic for the dressing. He would put the turkey giblets and livers in a pan of water with onions and cook them till they were done. Then he would chop them up and put half of it in the cornbread along with the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic, next came the seasonings. You really had to watch him here because he would get a little carried away with the pepper. Ohhh..he had such a good time preparing the dressing. It went into the refrigerator for the overnight chill. The next morning he would get up early and stuff the turkey. He would clean out the turkey cavity and sprinkle salt inside. The dressing went in next and then he would close the openings with string and tie the legs closed. He would spread oil all over the outside of the turkey and then cover it with a tent made from aluminum foil. He made sure that the foil was crimped tightly around the edges of the pan. He would have the oven pre-heating to 500 degrees. The turkey went in and cooked for 30 minutes on 500 degrees and then he would turn it down to 325 degrees for the remainder of the cooking time. When the turkey was almost done he would take the foil off and baste the turkey and let it brown. He would take it out of the oven and let it sit till ready to eat. The meat would be falling off the bones and was the most tender turkey you would ever eat…Oh, I can taste it now.

Once my mother died, twenty years ago, dad would come over to my house and spend the night. He would bring all of his supplies and all the things he would need for his cooking. We stayed up late preparing the dressing. Dad never missed his chance to “do his turkey”. The year before he died he came over, with his oxygen tank in tow, he sat on a stool in the kitchen cutting his onions, celery, green pepper and garlic. I was right there handing him what he needed to prepare his dressing. It took him a little longer to do, but he did it anyway. He wanted to, it was his job. I do all the turkey fixings now. Dad did a good job teaching by example. The turkey is just as good but somehow it was better when dad did it. I sure do miss my dad.

I need to keep my eye out for a turkey about 22 to 24 lbs. We usually have about 20 family and friends over for dinner. Everyone brings a dish and we have a real feast. It’s a lot of work but well worth it. I am very thankful for all my blessings.

What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions?
One of my favorite things to do is to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade on TV, in the morning, after stuffing the turkey. I love parades. Nothing like a great marching band and watching children in coats, hats and gloves having a great time.

Tip of the Day: 7 home repairs you can't ignore!
http://realestate.msn.com/Improve/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=44603&GT1=7402

For women only!

Next post: Pecan Pie Cheesecake….Yummm

25 Comments:

At 9:05 AM, Blogger BagOfNothing.com said...

i feel so left out. :-(

 
At 11:20 AM, Blogger Bonfire said...

Mom, I invited my friend Devon over for Thanksgiving. He is an installler that will be doing a conversion over off the beltway...

 
At 11:22 AM, Blogger Bonfire said...

Ok.... and Nicole Lugo sent me this and it is way funny! (since you are in a Turkay Day posting mood)

CLICK ON THE SITE BELOW AND TURN YOUR VOLUME UP

http://www.msn.americangreetings.com/view.pd?i=382219626&m=1652&rr=y&s

 
At 11:36 AM, Blogger Oh great One said...

Just cooking a meal that is WAY more than we actually needed. Then breaking out the left overs for a late dinner later. This year will be different we aren't living anywhere close to family. I think I'll have to scale back!

 
At 4:38 PM, Blogger Peter said...

Hi Lucy, thanks for the visit to my site, I've had a quick look around while here and like Arnie, I'll be Baack.

 
At 7:09 PM, Blogger Janet said...

It's funny bc when I was a kid, I loved the holidays bc I had a break from school. Now I'm an adult, but a teacher, and I still like the holidays, if only to get a break...from school.:)

 
At 7:49 PM, Blogger Running2Ks said...

That is such a sweet tribute to your dad. My MIL is always talking about the hours her dad spent making Parker House Rolls--and all of the "kids" (middle agers to retired folk) have been trying to copy it for years, to no avail. They miss Grandpa.

 
At 9:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

we did our thanksgiving in october, try and get out and enjoy the day if the weather is nice, football in the backyard, apple cider in the afternoon, followed by a turkey dinnerwith all the trimmings and pumpkin pie. i've never had cornbread in my life, i'll be watching for that cheesecake recipe.

 
At 10:13 PM, Blogger Danielle said...

Sweet and loving post. I miss my dad too. I don't remember him ever cooking even once, but his birthday was around Turkey Day, so i think of him around then too.

 
At 11:16 PM, Blogger An Ordinary Christian said...

These days my husband usually cooks during the holidays. He is a very good cook. I discovered Marie Callander's take-out holiday feasts. Sorry, I'm better at some things than others.

 
At 11:43 PM, Blogger Keshi said...

I luv any holiday and family get-togethers...the magic of it is inexpressible...

I know ThanksGiving is big in the US...enjoy ur hols and the yummy turkey...:)

Keshi.

 
At 4:35 AM, Blogger Nerdine said...

I'd rather import Thanksgiving as a holiday than Halloween. We never used to celebrate either, but halloween is getting bigger for every year. But it's more about free candy than having fun with your friends.
Thanksgiving is a better holiday I think - You remember what you're thankful of and have a good meal with family and friends. I like Thanksgiving.

 
At 9:09 AM, Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

Nice post.

I like to be with family on Thanksgiving and cook the entire meal myself, and be grateful that we can all be together. I do not think that will happen this year, unfortunately, with so many changes in the wind.

Your pie recipe sounds great!

 
At 10:05 AM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

Barbara, Once the kids are grown and out on their own, it is hard for us to get them all home for important holidays..I feel blessed when we do have them all together.

Pie post coming any time now.

 
At 10:28 AM, Blogger Hoots Musings said...

Sweet and loving tribute to you dad.

I cannot wait to get the pecan pie cheesecake recipe!

 
At 11:15 AM, Blogger Big Dave T said...

Wow. Great post. From the loving tribute to your father, to his exquisitely described cornbread stuffing, to the home repair tips.

Since we're Michiganders, Thanksgiving isn't complete without a Detroit Lions victory. Still have fond memories of the Lions thrashing Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers when I was a little guy.

 
At 1:27 PM, Blogger eyes_only4him said...

ok, now i am hungry.

I hope I am makiing memoreies like that for my kids.

thanks for stopping by:-)

 
At 2:35 PM, Blogger Kimberly said...

I agree. Thanksgiving is not complete without the parade!!

 
At 7:20 PM, Blogger Fred said...

Just let us know when and where. It sounds like it's going to be a feast!

 
At 8:07 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

Fred, When...Thanksgiving Day. Where....My house. Come on over.

 
At 8:50 PM, Blogger Mitey Mite said...

I cooked the turkey for many years, but it turned out the Professor is better at it, so he does the turkey and I do everything else. We range from 12 -24, depending on who's in town and who's made other plans. We are all "pickers". Turkey is best when you pick a piece off while it's being carved.

Great post -- waiting for the recipe!

 
At 9:42 PM, Blogger Sandy said...

Yum, all those veggies sound so yummy!!
is it make-able without any meat??

 
At 3:37 PM, Blogger Anonymous Fat Blogger said...

Thanks for stopping by my site! Your post made me hungry! I love the holidays and spending time with my family...as insane as they may be...LOL

 
At 10:27 AM, Blogger see-through faith said...

lovely story and a great recipe for stuffing too

we don't have thanksgiving here, but we eat turkey (small one) at Christmas. There are usually our family of 4, my in laws and brother in law, and a couple of friends. We sit at two tables - used to be adults and kids - now adays we mix as the kids are young teenagers. I love it

We eat at about 4pm Christmas day.
In Finland the BIG feast is Christmas eve. We eat at my in laws then.
Roast ham. Delicious but served with strange dishes that even after 20 years I don't like much. Nearer the time I'll try to post some photos and reipes too

 
At 10:35 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

Aaron, Is it still there after Hurricane Wilma?

 

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