by Kelli Bowen
This isn’t a reflective ooey gooey post, so if you’re looking for something to make your heartstrings get plucked, move along Nancy. This is a proper list of what you need to make a Thanksgiving meal.
Turkey. I don’t care if you don’t like turkey. I. Do. Not. Care. On Thanksgiving you eat turkey. I’m all for crab legs, prime rib, ham or steak, but this is Thanksgiving. Either drop it in a few gallons of hot peanut oil or smoke it, but you’d better be making turkey. The two methods mentioned are the superior ways to cook a turkey and luckily for me, those are the ways Hubby cooks, so Hubby-takes-care-of-turkey-CHECK.
Required side dishes: potatoes, green beans either in a casserole or cheesy (you CAN substitute for corn I guess) then stuffing, cranberry goo shaped like the can, and dinner rolls (or fresh bread).
What should be for dessert? Pumpkin pie. If you answered with anything else, you need to move to Winnipeg or Toronto or somewhere else Greta. Pumpkin pie is THE only answer. If you want to do a pumpkin cheesecake, other pie, cookies, etc that’s fine…but that’s IN ADDITION to pumpkin pie. It’s a full scale Alert when I hear, “I tried a new recipe,” regarding pumpkin dessert. Don’t mess with a classic and don’t tell me it’s Thanksgiving unless you have a pumpkin pie.
Other things: these aren’t official sides, this is more of an in addition to list. Lefse, dill pickles, black olives, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, and better/fancier versions of the side dishes listed above. For example I made a cranberry and pomegranate salad one year, but the can-shaped goo still went. Maybe you want to make homemade stuffing instead of Stovetop. You do you…just stick to the list.
There! That’s it! Sprinkle in some weather talk, some passive aggressive interactions, some “Opes,” and start slapping your knees about 45 minutes before you actually need to head for home, and you have the base for Thanksgiving.
Kelli makes her home in Cass County with her husband, two daughters (8 and 5) and two dogs. She works for a regional seed company by day and tries to be an alright mom, wife, friend and writer by night.
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