I cooked my very first Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and I am endlessly proud. Of course, it involved no less than five frantic phone
calls to my mother—”The grocery store only has pearl onions! Will those work?”—and though we didn’t make a turkey, I still managed to spend almost all day in the kitchen.
The menu:
Stuffing
Creamed onions
Mashed potatoes
Yams
Cranberry sauce
Cider-caramelized apple pound cake
Pumpkin ice cream
I didn’t make the ice cream. I think that would have been slightly excessive. Anyway, the meal was a carb-fest that couldn’t be beat, made
even better by seeing the Johnny Cash movie with a couple of friends in the evening. I got homesick only once, and that feeling was remedied by calling my mother to discover that crisis had struck the homestead—her sink had stopped draining and an emergency plumber had been summoned—and I realized that although I missed my family, my new version of Thankgiving was pretty darn relaxing and enjoyable. And tasty, if I do say so myself.
Happy Buy Nothing Day!
Edit: We didn’t make a turkey because Asa is a vegetarian. I sure wasn’t going to bother with a turkey if Chelsea and I would be the only ones consuming it. That, and handling dead animal carcasses kind of grosses me out. And really, I must say, I didn’t miss eating it at all.
14 responses so far ↓
1 TimsHead // Nov 25, 2005 at 8:32 am
Despite what the media said during the stupid Atkins craze, a large pile of carbs tends to make a person feel better. Hurrah for new traditions!My only present purchases today come from the local independent bookstore run and staffed by friends. And hey, my brother even did their Web site! But I plan to go nowhere near any ChainMart today, and would gladly avoid them all season.
2 Jay_galk25 // Nov 25, 2005 at 9:03 am
No turkey, lord that’s the only reason I bother recognizing Thanksgiving. As for Black Friday, well my experience is sumed up on my Xanga.
Jay {you open your mouth and I’m grounded once more} “Rawr”
3 chublin // Nov 25, 2005 at 9:38 am
you’re pretty much a grown up now… the turkey thing is one of the final steps, i think.
4 Branna // Nov 25, 2005 at 9:41 am
Woohoo! I love cooking turkeys. Congrats, too, that’s one heck of a culinary accomplishment.
5 thinlizzy17 // Nov 25, 2005 at 4:59 pm
I like turkey, but I’ve always been of the opinion that the side dishes are the true stars of Thanksgiving dinner. On more than one occasion I’ve skipped the turkey entirely until the following day so that I could eat the stuffing and mashed potatoes and whatnot while they’re hot on Thanksgiving.
And, for Buy Nothing Day (which I love) I tried, but I needed toothpaste and some vegetables for soup, so I engaged in that much commerce. Oh, and I bought a hand-painted bowl from a local artist as a gift for my mom. I figure I’m ok supporting the local folks no matter what day.
ryc: a non-reactive bowl is one made out of any material that doesn’t react with certain foods. For example, aluminum is a reactive metal - if you cook eggs on an aluminum pan, they’ll turn green. You’re usually safe with stainless steel or ceramic.
6 perfectsymmetry // Nov 25, 2005 at 6:57 pm
As long as you included cranberry sauce and a pumpkin-anything, you have had a sufficiently delicious thanksgiving feast!
7 Rod_Lamour // Nov 26, 2005 at 1:20 am
Oh my Little Steak Frite Lover…How will ever manage at the Knickerbocker if Asa dosen’t eat meat? Your menue sounds delightful ! Glad you had a good time….Joe
8 Gnarlysurf // Nov 26, 2005 at 4:29 am
Wow! Good for you! Sounds like your home in NY is like my parents home in CT. Something always going wrong and of course on a holiday time period as well. I too had a different Thanksgiving. I spent it alone. Didn’t get up till about 10. Stayed in sweats and watching all those TV marathons and of course football. Yesterday (Friday) I spent the day with 2 good female friends. We all made a huge turkey dinner at got overy drunk off good wine. It was overall a very different thanksgiving than in the past yet the change felt good. You know kind of along the lines as part of the maturing process …or something. Glad you and Chelsea ate well. Say and word on your hat making business?
9 Gnarlysurf // Nov 26, 2005 at 4:31 am
Argh once again sorry for the typos. I am too fast.
10 geekgoddiss // Nov 26, 2005 at 5:14 am
I’m glad you had a good day
I didn’t go home ot my folks either. I went to my uncle’s though. No cooking on my end! I asked what he wanted me to bring and he told me to bring whatever I want. So I brought toilet paper. They usually seem to prepare an ample amount of food without my assistance, and I knew we’d be in great need of the latter 
It was a hit! I’ll say that much!I’m satisfied just to eat pizza for every holiday. That’s my tradition 
11 fern_forest // Nov 26, 2005 at 7:12 am
cool. nice pictures of the trip to the ocean, too. you are a knitter extraordinaire! i bought nothing yesterday. i love buy nothing day. glad your turkey day was successful and celebratory.
12 x_defying_gravity_x // Nov 26, 2005 at 12:55 pm
Impressive. I wouldn’t be able to make a whole meal like that! I could go without the turkey too. There is always enough other stuff…I go to Simon Fraser University…one of the 3 big universities in BC.
13 kierplablo // Nov 26, 2005 at 1:24 pm
hells yes I would buy a knit hat! i’d pay triple the market value!
14 chicagoartgirl23 // Nov 28, 2005 at 6:45 pm
Congrats for creating yourself a new non-turkey tradition! It feels good, doesn’t it? I wish we went to see Walking the Line instead of Bee Season–although I don’t know if a story of Mr. Cash’s womanizing would be any less drepressing…