Thoughts on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday growing up. I loved a day that focused on food and cooking, and I loved having my family together. But as I got older, I started realizing how much WORK Thanksgiving was for my mom. My mom is wonderful cook who prides herself on making each and every dish for our Thanksgiving meal. Unfortunately, that meant weeks of careful lists - shopping lists, prep lists, to-do the day before lists, to-do the day of lists... you get it. Needless to say, all that prep and all of that cooking came with a lot of stress.
This year I am hosting my first Thanksgiving, and it will be a mash up of many of the facets of my life with Tommy. The kids, our new grandson, my parents, one of my brothers and his family, a few friends, and possibly even our cantankerous former neighbor, if we can convince him to come. So - a crowd, and a lot of different personalities and ages. In short, I am super excited.
That said, I really don't want to spend the entire day in the kitchen. I want to take my nephew and niece to the playground. I want to make funny faces at my grandson. I want to relax in my new-ish house with my husband, family and friends, and not spend the entire time stressing about food prep.
So, essentially, I am my own first Thanksgiving sides customer. At the Eat Smart kitchens we will be preparing all of the sides you need to have a fabulous Thanksgiving meal. And day of, I will just cook a turkey, reheat the sides, and in no time a feast will be available. If this sounds appealing to you, please give us a look.
Packages include the following:
- My all-time favorite stuffing (and stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving side). This uses fresh bread, house-made stock, a touch of white wine, celery, onion and a fair amount of butter.
- Sweet & Savory Sweet Potato Casserole. Mashed sweet potatoes get a touch of pure maple syrup and cream and are topped with a panko, sage, parmesan topping to add a savory note. A perfect sweet/savory combination.
- Green Bean Casserole. Fresh green beans are served in a delicious, creamy, homemade sauce with garlic, onion, house-made chicken stock, and worcestershire sauce. Then, to take it to the next level we top it with bacon and crispy, house-fried shallots. It is so worth the extra time and effort - you will never want to go back to the canned stuff again.
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts. Our brussel sprouts are oven roasted with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. They are simple and delicious. And, probably the one dish that won't involve butter in case you are keeping count.
- Mashed Potatoes. Thanksgiving isn't complete without mashed potatoes. Our version includes plenty of butter, cream, and even a little cream cheese to keep them nice and moist when you reheat them. You will be fighting over the leftovers.
- Cranberry Sauce. Fresh cranberry sauce is so much better than the canned version. Ours includes fresh cranberries, fresh orange juice, a hint of cinnamon, and a bit of sugar for sweetness.
- Gravy. No Thanksgiving is complete without gravy. Ours is made from scratch and you can tell.
More info available here.
From my family to yours, have a wonderful holiday.