Of Turkeys and Traffic

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we’re flung far and wide this year, people on the move. We’re the stay at home people whereas my parents are the flung-far people. Here at Chez Barbieri we are hosting Jim’s side of the family, which makes us a nice, even dozen. Fortunately, that number represents the maximum occupancy capacity in the house and in particular, around the dining room table, so just one more person and we’d find ourselves elbow to elbow while enjoying my brined turkey.

Mom and Dad have headed south to see my sister who lives in Georgia. In typical Mom/Dad style, they planned on leaving for the South at six in the morning to “beat the traffic” but decided, after a spirited discussion at two in the morning that they would leave then. When my mother called me at two o’clock in the afternoon on the day they were supposed to arrive at my sister’s (their original e.t.d. had them arriving around dinner time) and told me that they were fifteen minutes from her house, I was surprised. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Didn’t you leave at six this morning? Doesn’t it take thirteen hours to get there? (I had visions of my father doing 120 miles per hour down 95 and was wondering how they were still alive. I’m bad at math, as we all know, but even I can figure out that the trip not taking thirteen hours means that they were traveling at very high speeds.)

Mom: Well, Dad got up in the middle of the night and I was watching television so we just decided to leave then. Oh, and by the way, we were supposed to start back the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, but we’re going to leave the Saturday after Thanksgiving instead. You know, to beat the traffic.

Me (incredulously): You haven’t even arrived at your original destination, but you’re already talking about when you’re coming home?

Mom (through gales of hysterical laughter): We’re old! That’s what old people do!

Newsflash: they’re not old. And they shouldn’t be doing what old people do. They’ve got at least ten years before they need to start doing that. But it provided us some good laughs when Mom realized that indeed, they are mostly retired and have nothing to rush back here for. We’ll be eating leftovers for weeks, so surely they’re not anxious to get back to have dinner at our house.

Now, I’ve taken a poll and apparently, many people of retirement age are alternately fascinated and horrified by traffic and will do anything they can to avoid it. A friend’s father begins his trek from Florida at nine at night and drives until he hits…you guessed it…traffic. Only then will he stop to eat and/or go to the bathroom.

I’m thrilled that we’re staying home because the only traffic I will have to contend with will be the backup at the bathroom door as several Barbieri’s attempt to shower and look presentable for the day in the only bathroom with a shower. I’m absolutely positive that “bathroom rage” will ensue. But there is no way that I’m getting up any earlier to “beat the traffic.” I’ll just wait at the back of the line until I see a break in the action and then I’ll make my move. Just like any good driver.

Happy thanksgiving, Stiletto faithful.

Maggie Barbieri

Thanksgiving Past and Present

On Facebook a challenge was put out to tell something that we are thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. That is not a hard task for me. I have so much to be thankful for, I've been truly blessed by having a loving husband, a large family, many friends, and a career that I love--actually there have been more than one of those.

Today, though, I'd like to write about Thanksgivings past and present.

When we were kids (my sis and I) growing up we always went to my grandparents house in South Pasadena for Thanksgiving along with my aunt, her husband, and their one child, a daughter. We were never allowed to wash or dry grandmother's good dishes, so we always headed outside. Only a block or two away from grandma's house were mansions. We loved to walk around and snoop, peeking inside gates and walking up long driveways to gaze at these huge houses. Once my sister and I played tennis (or tried to play) in someone's tennis court that was right inside the open gates. The people came home and smiled and waved at us. (If kids did something like that today, they would probably be hauled away to juvenile hall.)

After we had our first house--and several children--everyone came to our house for Thanksgiving. We set up tables in the living room in order to have enough room. I was always the cook.

Once we moved to the home we're in now, I still was the cook and we had all sorts of relatives who came for dinner, plus for many years we had the six women we cared for in our home. This house is bigger and we have a round table with a lazy Susan in the middle that hubby build. We can fit 16 around it and there's room to set up an extra table or two if need be.

Last year I had a break, we were invited to our youngest daughter's for Thanksgiving. Our youngest son and wife and their daughter went too. It was a good thing because I could never have cooked a big dinner because I came down with the flu and spent most of my time in bed.

This year we're having dinner at home again. Guests will be son, wife and grandaughter, my second oldest daughter and her husband, their daughter (another grandaughter) her hubby and three kids, and her other grandma who lives with them. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't another guest or two, after all my grandson is a preacher--if he learns someone doesn't have a place to go for Thanksgiving he'll probably invite whoever it is to come to our place.

My daughter-in-law went with me to shop for the groceries needed and she'll do the mashed potatoes and a great salsa that she makes with lots and lots of fresh tomatoes, avocados, red onions, cilantro and a jalapeno. Doesn't sound very Thankgiving-ish, but believe me, it's delicious. Granddaughter has asked to make the green bean casserole and I'm quite happy to let her.

I don't like to bake so I ordered my pies from a new little place in town. I'll pick them up later today.

Believe me, I've figured out the easy ways to do everything. We serve buffet style, putting all the food on the kitchen counters. I even use paper plates so I don't have to spend time doing dishes after we're through eating.

Of course the TV will be turned to football games, but the kids and I will play our favorite card game, Estimation. That's sort of become a new Thanksgiving tradition.

And that will be Thanksgiving Present.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, hope you can all be surrounded by those you love as you eat your Thanksgiving meal.

Marilyn

The Thanksgiving Menu

Evelyn David will be at two Thanksgiving tables this year - a thousand miles apart geographically but just nextdoor in spirit.

Rhonda:
I watched an HGTV cooking special the other night. Four families were competing for $10,000 and the honor of best Thanksgiving feast. They had six hours to prepare the meal from scratch. Each team had 3 members. Each team's leader was the matriarch of the family. The obligatory turkey ranged from fried, to roasted, to "tofu-ed." It was fun to see the variety in the menus and the interaction of the families.

My family is from Oklahoma and our traditional Thanksgiving meal is rooted firmly in Southern cuisine. A large turkey is prepared. If it's not at least 18 pounds, it's not worth the trouble. It's thawed over several days in a cooler, then wrestled into the oven by my mom (the only one in the house up at 5 am.)

I get involved in with the preparation of the centerpiece of our meal – the cornbread & sage dressing. It's very labor intensive – lots of chopping, mixing, and tasting. The recipe is very close to what our ancestors fixed a hundred years ago. Each generation has tweaked the spices – my paternal grandmother added a couple of cans of chopped oysters. My mom and I have added cheese. About ten years ago we invented "dressing balls." We had more dressing than we could fit in the oven to bake, so we put the leftover raw dressing in greased muffin tins. We baked it after the rest of the meal was done. The result was individual portions of dressing that had a crusty top and sides – perfect for reheating in a microwave for the second, third, and fourth meals with the Thanksgiving leftovers. Now we bake all the dressing in the muffin tins. Modesty aside, I'm sure our Thanksgiving dressing is the best in the world.

The rest of our menu includes gravy, mashed potatoes, a cranberry/apple ring, a pineapple/orange Jell-O dish, green beans, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potatoes with marshmallows, homemade yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, and cherry pie. We wash it all down with gallons of iced tea.

My co-author is from New York but her mother was Southern. We've found that we have some of the same traditions and some different.

Marian:
Thanksgiving dinner seems to be set in stone. Sure we can mix it up a little, maybe try a new dessert, but basically my family wants to see the same items on the menu from year to year, regardless of whether I’ve got my Barefoot Contessa apron on or not.

Turkey is a given – although personally I ate all sides last year and never touched the bird. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows is a staple, a salad (which is more an homage to nutrition than actually eaten), and this year I’m trying a new cranberry conserve, but I’ll also have a can of Ocean Spray cranberry jelly for the traditionalists in the group. My daughter wants to make a pecan pie (yum!), and I’m going to make a devil’s food cake with a turkey decoration. If time is running short, it may just be chocolate cake sans the fancy bird – chocolate is a perfect way to express thankfulness.

Equally important to me as what is served, is what it is served on. I have several platters that belonged to my mother, the original Evelyn. A holiday wouldn’t be complete without having those dishes heaped with food – reminding me of wonderful holidays of long ago.

Our latest mystery, Murder Takes the Cake is set during the week before Thanksgiving. In one scene our main female character is debating on how she was going to spend her holiday and with whom.

Murder Takes the Cake – Evelyn David – May 2009

Mac started to walk to the door, but paused. "So what are you doing on Thanksgiving? Jeff and Kathleen want me to join the family, but I'm not up to that scene. You're probably doing something with your family.…"

"Not this year." Rachel sighed. "Sam is going skiing with his new girlfriend and my brother is off visiting his fiancée's family. Kathleen asked me to come too, but I'm not up for that scene either. I thought I'd stay home and feel sorry for myself."

"So maybe we could do that together? Or if we got really inspired we could get a pizza and watch some football or something?"

"Or maybe we could eat some turkey with cornbread stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and pecan pie and then watch a movie?" Rachel countered.

"We'd need to negotiate the menu. Whiskey doesn't like pecan pie."

"How does she feel about apple pie?"

"A la mode?" he asked.

"Of course."

"It's a date."

Tell us about your Thanksgiving menu? Does it vary from year to year? What's your favorite dish?

Happy Turkey Day from Rhonda, Marian, and Evelyn David

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