Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving lost in the wilderness. All my life Thanksgiving was my family unit's holiday -- one aunt had Hannukah, one grandmother had Passover, one uncle had the other day of Passover, another aunt had 4th of July, and we always had Thanksgiving, from when I was a kid growing up on Staten Island to my parent's apartment on the LES. My father died a week before Thanksgiving, and my mom and a few friends had Thanksgiving at my house, a first but it felt right. The next year, my mom was sick but home from the hospital, and we had Thanksgiving at her house, with a cousin and her kids visiting from California.

I started dating my wife then, and mom passed away in early January. By next Thanksgiving, I started attending her family's Thanksgiving, something they've been doing since my wife's childhood. It was warm, welcoming, appropriately Jewwy, but full of long associations and memories that were not my own.

But now with the fourth Thanksgiving with my wife and her family, and the first with my daughter, that's starting to melt a little, kinda like making compound butter in a mixer. The hard cold butter cubes go in, and beating it with the paddle eventually makes it smooth and fluffy, ready to accept whatever mix-ins you provide it before rehardening it in the fridge.

Where ever B's mom is, is Thanksgiving, and this year for the first time it was in her 1 bedroom apartment on the UES. There were about 10 of us, plus Edles. About 2/3 of the food was ordered in from a local diner, and the rest either brought in or made there (me & B & E arrived early so I could make the creamed potatoes from scratch, and I brought homemade ice cream and brownies, tea and lemonade from school.) The food was good. Could be a lot better.

Thanksgiving growing up was a....THE cooking holiday, which I imagine it is for most of America. Many family members brought something, but except for one particular fur-wearing non-cooking aunt, everyone either brought homemade stuff or wine. The menu was pretty much exactly the same year after year. My dad would make a crudite plate with hummus or French onion sour cream dip and roasted chestnuts to start. Dinner would be a roast turkey with gravy (from a jar), cranberry sauce (from a can), stuffing (Stove Top, what I'd be assigned to "make"), buttered lightly steamed string beans with mushroom, baked yams, soda, booze for the older folks, a random brought side dish, and desserts. Desserts were always brought, except for Dad's pumpkin pie (premade crust and filling out of a can.) Ice cream from the supermarket and usually a pie or two extra from guests. For many years through the 70s and early 80s, an uncle made chocolate mousse from scratch and it was fanTASTic. When he passed away in the late 80s, I missed his mousse more than I missed him.

Anyway, B's mom is great, but even with the catering, it's a lot of work on her shoulders. I really hope next year, now that Edie is here, this cooking holiday migrates from the UES to the LES, and B's mom chooses to have her Thanksgiving (and it will always be HERS, and everyone else just guests) in Edie's home, preparing us for the time when the torch has to be passed. I've been in training for this -- I just knocked off a Thanksgiving meal for 150! I can do 10!!

On a side note, when we got to Yomomma's house, the table was already set. Yomomma mentioned she had set it the day before. She got NOTHIN' on my momma -- she'd set the table on Monday for the Thursday meal!! And day of she'd have to go over every piece and dust it -- about the same amount of time it would have taken to just set it. But I understand it now -- it's the pleasure of allowing yourself to relax by being early.

AM SNACK: 9am, a few spoonfuls of freshly churned vanilla ice cream, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

BREAKFAST: 11am, pumpernickel bagel with homemade butter, 5 slices o' organic uncured bacon, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

THANKSGIVING DINNER: 3:30-8pm, handful of pigs in blankets, potato chips, sliced turkey boob, stuffing, gravy, salad, creamed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, parker house rolls, sweet tea, mint lemon aid, 1 glass prosecco, water, vanilla ice cream, brownies, 2.25 bowl, hunger 4/5