Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I've come a long way baby!

There was once a time when Thanksgiving for me looked like this...
LITERALLY!!!
I could barely cook and was the least interested, but I wanted to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving for my husband. With no idea how to start, I headed to the grocery and that's when I discovered Thanksgiving in a can: GLORY! (Glory Hallelujah is more like it!)

I picked up everything I could along the lines of Thanksgiving: mustard greens (which I had never had before; when I did ? "bleh" - didn't taste right to me), candied yams (which was a little soggy but reminded me of sweet potatoes so I could work with it -- later I found out that here in the US it's pretty much the same thing), baked beans, instant mashed potatoes, stuffing...honey you couldn't tell me nuthin'! I baked a chicken and voila! (Yes everything, except the chicken, was out of a can or a box).
(1) Open cans/ packages
(2) Follow directions (which was pretty much heating everything up).
(3) Done!
All this prepping the night before and waking up before God did, just to cook? Crazy talk!!
Of course my meal didn't compare to his mother's and grandmother's cooking but he was a good sport about it - rest his soul (and in case you're wondering, no he did not pass away from my cooking :)

His family is from "down South" so you KNOW eeeeeverything was not only good but made from scratch):
The glazed ham with pineapples
The turkey with the "real" stuffing (yes giblets and all - I thought I would barf when I found out giblets were in there though)
The collard greens (which were cleaned and seasoned and you have to know exaaaaaaactly how to cook them so they don't taste bitter?)
The mac and cheese (with about 5 cheeses!)
Sweet potato pies that everyone was asking grandma to make (what did she put in there? CRACK?)
Food that made my arteries cringe but sooooooooooo yummy!!

Fast forward a few years later and guess who is prepping the night before and waking up in the wee hours of the morning to prepare this Feast?
I still don't know how to cook Collard Greens (I haven't tried), and I ain't messin' with giblets but I LOVE that my son REQUESTS my lamb, and my sweet potato casserole as some of his faves for T/giving. I love that I now really COOK for my family and friends, and I'm not dumping everything out of a can. (Hey I'm not knocking it if YOU do, we all gotta start somewhere! lol)
Have a Happy Safe Thanksgiving and I wish you plenty of food and wine!
Mandy

3 comments:

robert ballatt said...

Damn my mouth is watering!!!

Mandy Bennett said...

lol looking fwd to u coming thru Robbie Rob!

Anonymous said...

I had to comment on this... so funny! Is true you have to start somewhere and at least you have grown to be a chef:)