Re: Thanksgiving Streetwise

11/23/09 - posted by candis smyk hurlbut

Turkey is simple to fix; just put it in the oven, leave it in long enough, and then serve. This is probably a) illegal; b) sacrilegious; c) treason (here comes the FBI); d) unheard of (here come the recipe police); e) all of the above, BUT: You really can serve it without all 50 supposedly required side dishes! Yes, you can even skip the gravy, stuffing, and cranberries!

Try to find a turkey any time you are in the mood for a turkey dinner. It isn't always easy.

Sometimes, I could find an affordable and available turkey between 15 January and 30 September. I would inform my late husband I would prepare a turkey dinner IF he was willing to accept a scaled down version of what would accompany it. The turkey is no big deal, it's all the sides that go with it. I did include stuffing and cranberries, but only one vegetable per meal when prepared during the off season. We both shared the attitude, it's best to have some of what you want rather than hold out for everything and thus, just about always, end up with nothing, so he would agree the scaled down meal was acceptable. I did once prepare the whole big production for 4 July, 1976 as a once in a life time Bicentennial celebration, and one or two other special occasions I no longer remember (apparently, not so special after all).