Holiday Dinners Displaced
I had to work on Thanksgiving. I usually do, not that I mind very much. It's not a big holiday for me, and we get paid time and a half for it. But I do enjoy a good Thanksgiving dinner, so I made mine on the Sunday after.
It's generally just me and a friend or two, but we still do up the whole thing with enthusiasm. Roast turkey, dressing, fresh rolls. Yams - but not candied. Just yams with butter. Marshmallow does not belong anywhere near vegetables at any time, in my opinion. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream. My guest also made an apple-cranberry crisp.
I used stuffing from a mix with this dinner, though it's really not my favorite. I like my mother's recipe for dressing. Done right, it's so moist and dense you can cut it in slabs. I think it's great, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. So, when in doubt, compromise with what you already know your guests like. Next time I'll probably take a chance and make the good stuff.
The recipe, for anyone who might be interested:
MOM'S DRESSING
- Two loaves fresh bread, torn into small pieces
- 1/2 - 1 small onion (or 1/4 cup dried onion), minced
- 1 can (about 2 cups) chicken or turkey broth
- 1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 heaping tbsp. poultry seasoning
- Garlic and black pepper to taste
Melt butter in saucepan over low heat, add onion and cook until onion is clear. Add broth, soup, water, and spices. Mix well, remove from heat. When cool enough to touch but still warm, pour over bread pieces and mix with hands until all bread is wet.
My mother used to stuff the turkey with this, but I don't always have it with turkey. I pack it into a greased 9x13 baking pan, cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees F. for 45-60 minutes. It's especially good if you have cooked turkey or chicken breast, laying the slices on top of the dressing when you bake it.
Christmas dinner was a similar deal. I had to work on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so a buddy and I had a holiday dinner on the Monday before. Roast turkey, stuffing, fresh rolls, mashed potatoes, a thick apple squash soup, and a raspberry crumble for dessert with the obligatory coffee.
The neat thing about a holiday dinner like this with very few guests is that there are enough leftovers to last a few days. The final scraps of turkey are usually thrown into a turkey pot pie. If I'm the one who cooked the actual turkey, the carcass usually gets boiled for soup stock. Hot soup on a cold winter's day is just one of life's little comforts.
The funny part about all this is the fact that I never did much cooking in years past. I used to be the original microwave girl - dinner was whatever I could heat up in the microwave with little to no preparation because who has time for cooking? Now that I have to eat properly or face getting ill, I find I sort of enjoy the process of cooking. There's something almost soothing about it, plus the payoff of something good to eat at the end. Okay, I'm no chef, but my repertoire has been expanding nicely, I think.
So who's coming over for dinner? ;-)
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