Saturday, November 28, 2009

What I Learned from Thanksgiving Dinner (or How to Make a Gravy Bomb)

So Normally I am a competent cook, but everyone has an off day sometimes. Thanksgiving this year was mine.

So what I learned from dinner this year:

1. Old yeast = Flat Rolls

2. Red potatoes mashed cold turn into paste, or as my husband dubbed them "tapioca potatoes" (he ate them with sugar and cinnamon, and declared it good)

3. Turkey Gravy thickened with baking powder, will EXPLODE all over the stove with a WHOOSH!! of bubbles, and then the quarter of the gravy that actually does not leave the pan, will stay thin!!

The fact that I did not figure out WHY the gravy exploded until some five or six hours later, speaks to my stress level at the time I was putting dinner together. Also the fact that my baking powder and cornstarch come in similar looking cans, may explain, but not excuse the dramatics.

Fortunately there was enough food that actually worked, to fill and satisfy all who were there. And as a friend of mine wrote me, "any turkey dinner at home, is better than one in Afghanistan". So God Bless Our Troops, and all who could not be home for Thanksgiving,

So with things back in perspective, this Thanksgiving will go down in history as the one when Mom exploded the gravy, and we will all have a good laugh. Happy Holidays!