It seems I have forgotten Thanksgiving.
You, my dear reader, furrow your brow and think, “She’s really lost it, we’re a full seven days out.”
I am realizing that it’s true, yes, we are a week away from The Big Day, the one all the food writers have been training for. But I’ve had hardly any thoughts about cooking. I’ve read no recipes, barely contemplated my contributions.
Is… is she okay? I’m sure, maybe, you’re beginning to wonder.
And the answer is mostly yes.
But if I’m being honest . . .
It's the coughing.
I'm sorry, I mean I'll take Why I'm Not Sleeping for four hundred. And, excuse me, What is Coughing Babies? I'll also take Weaning The Baby Off His Bottle for six hundred.
What is The Worst?
I don’t want to be a mother who complains about my children because I love love love them so very much much much. But I will, however, take a moment to tell you that there are occasionally days where I feel like I’m living in a Dickensian orphanage in East London given the amount of coughing and mucus and crumbs of food and dirt on our noses. And I’ve never even read Oliver Twist.
So yeah, I just had to get that out there for anyone else who is worried about a revival of the bubonic plague among the preschoolers of America. Thankfully, I do believe we have turned a metaphorical corner and my children are in good spirits.
With that being said, I do plan to crank up the festive thoughts and start rounding up my recipes for next week. I will be making Marcus Samuelsson’s Mac & Greens. I’ve been making this for years now, and it’s always worth the effort. I always make this adapted version from Serious Eats, which is complicated enough. But here’s the official recipe from the Red Rooster cookbook if you want to give yourself a nice little challenge. I will also be making green bean casserole, homemade cream of mushroom included. I read a NYT Cooking recipe in which they argued for no mushrooms in the GB casserole, but that’s kind of my favorite part? I trust Eric Kim’s assessment and recipe development and will be probably stealing the frozen green bean hack.
I am relatively confident I’ll at least be on the turkey committee. And I’ll probably make a pecan pie.
Quick poll for everyone:
We’ve got our work cut out for us, troops. Man your stations. Gird your loins. Crank up the Vince Guaraldi Trio and put on your best apron. It’s time.
Comment with your favorite recipes, non-traditional sides, weird thing your family makes, top tips to manage the oven space. You tell me! I want to hear your favorite things that make sure none of us crazies forget about Thanksgiving.
XOXO
Allison