decapitating primitive describes war on Thanksgiving

[franksolich]

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7092423

Oh my.

OffWithTheirHeads  (1000+ posts)      Thu Nov-26-09 04:15 AM
Original message
 
The war on Thanksgiving is being fought by my grandkids

For the last several years they have insisted on hosting turkey day, eschewing the years of culinary experience and resultant T-day excellence that is found at Gram ma's house. Now we are forced to sit through standing rib roast cooked rib side up, Turkey so dry that if you could slice it thin enough you could use it as parchment and some pie type goo that I think comes from some "Smors cookbook. If this isn't a war, it should be. It is certainly an assault on my taste buds.

Sadly, it's gonna be years before they get enough experience to actually do this well. I guess we all have to start somewhere.

Mistakes come from lack of experience.

Experience comes from making mistakes.

But **** em, We still cook our own Turkey. We do it several days after the traditional Turkey day. We call the dinner Thanksalot. We do it so we can have leftovers and also so we can have a decent Turkey dinner. It will be brined. It will be well seasoned with the skin loosened and herbs and butter rubbed between the skin and the meat. It will be started breast side up to let the juices flow into the top meat before turning it breast side down to finish. It will be moist and delish. It will come out of the oven looking like a picture on the cover of cooks magazine.

It will be served with a Salmon Mousse snack covered in Caviar, Bosc Pears in Blue Cheese and Sage and whatever side dishes we feel like investing our time on. The stuffing will be made out of my home made Rosemary Potato bread, from scratch. And Gramps (me) makes a mean turkey. There will be no fine China to hand Wash. There will be no Silver to polish.

The leftovers will be parceled out, shrink wrapped and frozen. The carcass will be turned into stock to cook white beans in.

The grandkids know that they can show up if they want but it is no longer a command performance. Funny, they always seem to show up.

And the best part, aside from not having to hand wash the China is that on Thanksgiving day, I can practically get the supermarket to pay me to buy the Turkey.

We, Gram and I, consider ourselves kind of a Thanksgiving Gorilla movement. "Hasta la Victoria Siempre"

And, although they won't admit it, it sets the bar for their efforts.

Is "Gorilla" the same thing as "Marshall Law"?

lapfog_1  (1000+ posts)        Thu Nov-26-09 04:25 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. Sadly, they have to apprentice to get the requisite experience.

Meaning that it does them no good to continue repeating the same thing every year hoping for different results. What will have to happen is that one of the offspring will have to recognize that your Thanksalot turkey is far superior to their efforts, so much so that they volunteer to come over for Thanksalot cooking day and "help out" (really to watch carefully what you do). Then, once they have dedicated themselves to mastering the art, they can start doing a proper Thanksgiving meal that you can look forward to (after a few years of missteps and accidents).

They got to have the desire to improve and the basic skill set first. Failing that, you are doomed to years of bad Turkey day meals.

OffWithTheirHeads  (1000+ posts)      Thu Nov-26-09 04:41 AM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. Sadly, I have tried to very gently offer suggestions

Like Mise en place they seem determined to learn the hard way. Us old farts are just old. We have spent a lifetime learning nothing. They seem to resent my subtle efforts to make their cooking easier.

But hey, If you are anywhere near the S.F. bay area, I would love to have you as a guest at Thanksalot. In fact, if I knew you were coming, I would pull out all the stops.

BTW, I still have control of X-mas eve dinner and we are having Goose. You are invited.

[vesta111]

Thanks-a-lot day ?    Who are they thanking and for what.?

Turkey Day .?---Do we have a Pork Chop Day that I missed.

What the heck is wrong with calling this day what it is?  THANKSGIVING.?

Any American can thank any GOD they believe in at least once a year.

Don"t believe in GOD, then thank your family and friends for being in your life for that year.

This one Tradition is the ONLY one I know of where there are is nothing to buy but some kind of food, no one comes to your home expecting lavash gifts or baskets of colored eggs and candy.    This is the one time a year when family's get together to eat a meal together, renew old ties with less fortunate friends or strangers.

Nostalgia, remembering back to when departed family from ones past hosted the meal.

 Remembering the years when at this time one had nothing but a crust of bread to be thankfull for.

Dag Nab it,   This day is a link to our past and something to pass on to the next generation,  this is the day when we remember with sorrow the lost of family but rejoice in the new baby's that came after them.

[BlueStateSaint]

Thanks-a-lot day ?    Who are they thanking and for what.?

Turkey Day .?---Do we have a Pork Chop Day that I missed.

What the heck is wrong with calling this day what it is?  THANKSGIVING.?

Any American can thank any GOD they believe in at least once a year.

Don"t believe in GOD, then thank your family and friends for being in your life for that year.

This one Tradition is the ONLY one I know of where there are is nothing to buy but some kind of food, no one comes to your home expecting lavash gifts or baskets of colored eggs and candy.    This is the one time a year when family's get together to eat a meal together, renew old ties with less fortunate friends or strangers.

Nostalgia, remembering back to when departed family from ones past hosted the meal.

 Remembering the years when at this time one had nothing but a crust of bread to be thankfull for.

Dag Nab it,   This day is a link to our past and something to pass on to the next generation,  this is the day when we remember with sorrow the lost of family but rejoice in the new baby's that came after them.

Vesta, if we still had the H5 function, I'd give you one for that.

[Karin]

Can you imagine saying "**** em" about your grandchildren?   

[Chris]

Can you imagine saying "**** em" about your grandchildren?   

As believers of a political ideaology that advocates and practices killing their unborn children, yes, I can see them doing that.

[Gwitness]

OffWithTheirHeads  (1000+ posts)      Thu Nov-26-09 04:41 AM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. Sadly, I have tried to very gently offer suggestions

Like Mise en place they seem determined to learn the hard way. Us old farts are just old. We have spent a lifetime learning nothing. They seem to resent my subtle efforts to make their cooking easier.

But hey, If you are anywhere near the S.F. bay area, I would love to have you as a guest at Thanksalot. In fact, if I knew you were coming, I would pull out all the stops.

BTW, I still have control of X-mas eve dinner and we are having Goose. You are invited.

You know...when you're right...you're right.

[miskie]

X-Mas and Thanksalot - I suppose that the springtime holiday event is called Eggsterday or somesuch.

[Oceander]

A nice little tidbit in there:

Meaning that it does them no good to continue repeating the same thing every year hoping for different results.

One wishes Libs/Dems would apply that logic to themselves first, as they'd quickly realize that there's no point in continuing to repeat the same policy mistakes that failed to work in the 60s and 70s over and over again, each time hoping for different results - socialized medicine has never been anything but a disaster.