1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? If I could I would go elsewhere, but since my husband - bless his heart - does most of the cooking for this meal it's like I already do!2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? We buy a fresh bird, organically fed and raised.
3. What kind of stuffing? I prefer the stuffing I grew up with, as does my husband. Which means we have two kinds of stuffing every year. I was born a Yankee [and have been trying to overcome it all of my adult life ;- )] so I like the bread stuffing seasoned with sage. He likes cornbread dressing. Truth be told, I like them both!
4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin, hands down. One of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving Days in my youth was the buffet of pies my mother and her sisters would make. We had our choice of apple, cherry, pumpkin, and mincemeat. There were years when I think we had an even wider variety. It was common to see three or even four skinny slices of pie on a plate when it was time for dessert.
5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? At this point in my life the leftovers are the reason we do the whole bird. That provides me with meals to eat for days afterward. DH is pretty well done with turkey after the second day.
6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Probably the cornbread dressing. Oh, we also have to have black olives!
7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? I'm not the cook so it depends on how DH is feeling any particular year. He has made both soup and stock from our birds a couple of times. It's nice to have the stock on hand because then it's easy for me to put together a soup for myself if I'm in the mood.
8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? A little bit bigger dining room so we could have a bigger table. There's never enough room for all the food and all the place settings, never mind having a centerpiece!
9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? We've done both, but most recently we've been eating close to our regular dinner hour.
10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? Probably my mother's frozen cranberry salad (which isn't really a salad in my mind, but more of a dessert). It's a high treat and can be made ahead of time. Plus it's one of those dishes that goes a long way amongst a crowd of people.
11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? Everyone has to be very mindful of any fragrances they may bring in with them. It's amazing how little will set me off.
12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? It's usually just our immediate family any more, and not even all of them, so we're happy to see them. It was a joy to get together with aunts and uncles and cousins on my mother's side of the family when I was a kid. (We hardly ever saw my dad's side of the family, except during summer vacations.)
13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? I think I would have to agree with Freebird on this one: the pumpkin pie! Or maybe the stuffing... either variety! It used to be my mother's cranberry salad but I can't eat most of those ingredients these days.
14. What are you thankful for this year? So many things! First of all, that we are able to afford the more expensive organic foods that my body now requires. I'm grateful for a cozy little home in which to gather our family together. I'm grateful for the two darling little granddaughters we already have and the two that are on the way. And, among other things, I am grateful for the new friends I feel I've made in keeping this blog. I truly appreciate those who take the time to leave comments and those who give me support when I'm feeling less than confident or even unwell. I am also grateful for those who may not leave comments but think of me on occasion or remember me in their prayers.
And now it's your turn! If you feel inclined to play along be sure to let me know so I can swing by and see what you have to say. :- )
Great answers. I forgot the black olives! It was such a treat when I was growing up to have black olives and celery stuffed with cheese spread for Thanksgiving. It's the only time of the year we got them. Now we eat them all the time as my husband loves them but back then....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memory.