Gathered Together

by Leslie

Every year on Thanksgiving, for as long as I can remember, my mother has prepared our feast. Sure, I helped a little here and there, but she was always the one responsible for bringing it all together - from homemade mashed potatoes and noodles from scratch to pumpkin pie made from the pumpkins we grew in our garden.

This year was different.

I took on the biggest task this day has to offer: cooking the turkey.

A day or two ago, I began with SusieJ’s instructions for brining a turkey. (Check out Dave’s commentary on the brining process. It’s worth the click.)

This morning, I was the first one up. The house was silent and still, except for the hungry kitty cat circling my feet. I sat in the breakfast nook, tears streaming down my cheeks as I chopped onions for Ree’s stuffing recipe, and in that rare moment of solitude, I realized I was happy. Not just kinda happy. Really, exceptionally happy.

I never thought I’d be the kind of woman that would get a thrill from bringing food to the table, but here I was, basking in culinary glory as the oven preheated. I had barely slept the night before because I was so excited to get started today. With enough quiet to actually think about it, I realized it wasn’t the cooking that made me feel so good. It was the people I was cooking for - the ones who would stir as the aroma wafted up the stairs.

And it wasn’t long before their noses led them down.

Fresh out of bed, Julia dutifully offered her assistance in assembling Angela’s Caramel Pie Recipe.

She was kind enough to sample every ingredient to insure it was of the finest quality. Although she wasn’t too sure about the chocolate. She had to try quite a bit before it passed inspection, but the result was worth it.

I took a break to watch The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my girl. By the time it was finished, so was the turkey. Here it is, just out of the oven.

And that’s the last photo because after that, the eating began. What came next was a psychedelic blur of food, wonder, love and relaxation that I imagine feels a lot like doing shrooms.

But, before I head back for seconds and thirds and the rest of the chocolate pie, I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Of all the wonderful things I have to be grateful for, you all are pretty high on my list.

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, Photos |

Comments

11 Cool Kids Came To Play

Veronica on November 22, 2007 6:09 pm
Oh my goodness it looks delicious! I want turkey
Laurie on November 22, 2007 7:08 pm
Happy Thanksgiving!! It’s a beautiful bird!
susiej on November 22, 2007 7:16 pm
I’m so glad you felt that rush of happiness. It’s so sweet — and you are so pregnant!! And that turkey looks perfect!!
Pam on November 22, 2007 7:47 pm
Holy WOW! That turkey looks SOOOOO good. I read Confessions of A Pioneer Woman too
I’m glad you are happy, Leslie. It’s such a rare commodity now days.
This is Larry’s first Thanksgiving w/o his Mom so it was hard but we needed to get past that first big holiday after her death.
I hope the rest of your holiday season brings you even more joy and happiness!
mackeydoodle on November 22, 2007 11:46 pm
” Like doing shrooms”
LMAO!!!!!!
That about sums it up actually.
Your bird looks awesome!!!
Can ya send me a piece?
Jen in MI on November 23, 2007 11:20 am
Oh, yum!!! Sounds like a wonderful day! Happy Thanksgiving!
Jerseygirl89 on November 23, 2007 10:29 pm
That’s been what’s wrong with me - I had a shrooms hangover! Your food looks delicious. I watched the parade too, but the kids only paid attention to the Dora balloon. Oh well. It sounds like you had a great day!
Angela on November 24, 2007 8:20 pm
What wonderful pictures! AND, hooray! You made the pie! I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Mommy the Maid on November 25, 2007 1:52 am
What a great Thanksgiving story!! I so badly wanted to be the one with the big table full of relatives and food. it didn’t happen this year (I blogged about it), but I am putting my foot down at Chrstmas time. There will be a large amount of food and wrapping paper at my house. Oh, and a ton of old time recipes to bring onthe nostalgic trip
Daddy Forever on November 28, 2007 8:36 pm
We cheated and bought a smoked turkey. It’s already pre-cooked!
Fourier.analyst on January 23, 2008 9:13 am
Well I remember reading this one and getting all teary and homesick and not being able to comment. Thanksgiving is one of the hardest holidays for an ex-pat. Did you read about what I went through to get canned pumpkin? Jenn-I-H and I commiserated a lot at this time. Now reading this makes me get serious turkey cravings all over again. Maybe my mom will be up for Thanksgiving in April?