Planning ahead
I go about Thanksgiving with the same attention to detail as went into the planning of D-Day. My family says I fret. I say that fretting is what I’d be doing if I left everything to chance. So I’ve learned to delegate. I’m really quite good at this. I wish I had discovered this talent even earlier in my life.
With 40 family and friends coming to the farm this year, I’m busy delegating dishes and duties. That leaves me and the kitchen elves with only turkeys to cook (a task I now entrust to my daughter Robin and grandson Austin); stuffing to prepare (I love getting elbow deep in the mixture); gravy to make (lots of opinions on how this should be done and when); and potatoes to mash (I now use a ricer and a roasted head of garlic and both make a difference). Hmm. . . come to think of it, all I do is count the potatoes to make sure we have enough fluffy carbs for everyone.
This meal should be a piece of cake! Or—in keeping with the season—a piece of pie.
When it feels right, the stuffing is ready to go in the turkey.
Pondering the Potatoes
With nothing more to worry about, I’m obsessing over the number of potatoes needed to feed forty. I’ve read mixed advice online. Some say 1/2 to 1 potato per person; others advise 1/3 to 1/2 pounds each, depending on the number of other side dishes. I suppose if we have too many leftover spuds, we can eat potato cakes the rest of the weekend.
Using a potato ricer requires some manual dexterity or, at least, someone who has a firm grip on life. 🙂
Bonus “Historic” Photo
Thanksgiving Past: Hitching up our team of Belgian draft horses was part of the afternoon fun years ago Nine of the people in this 1984 photo are no longer with us, nor are the animals. And the house burned in 2001. But, happily, there have been many additions to the family since then.
The weather looks to be sunny and bright this Thursday, which means we won’t need to huddle around the fireplace to keep warm. A meal followed by a walk in the woods sounds promising.
That’s all for now folks. Stay tuned. Need to get back to fretting over the potatoes.
