Thanksgiving Diatribe

Here in the Midwest, summer is officially over, Halloween is done and gone, the trees are bare, and it is dark at 5 p.m.  This is most certainly not my favorite part of the year.  I much prefer temperatures in the 80’s and sun until 9 p.m. over below zero temps and the cold, icy dark before even getting home from work.  Fortunately, there is a handy distraction that is called “the holiday season,” and it is well underway.  Mama Lanette and Alyssa JoJo always hit their true foodie personas and start planning the Thanksgiving meal at the stroke of midnight on November 1. (ring…ring…”Hello?”, “Oh my God, I got the new *insert food magazine title here* Thanksgiving Edition in the mail today!!”)  

This is OUR holiday.  Mama Lanette has been making a Thanksgiving Dinner for Alyssa JoJo since 1990, and before that, Mama Lanette’s mother, Grandma JoyJoy, prepared a splendid meal.  Being from Wisconsin, Thanksgiving has always been a fairly testosterone-free holiday, as Hunting Week is the week of Thanksgiving, and the men in the family were always up north deer hunting.  Although it was only my mother, my sister, and me at home, we always had a full blown Thanksgiving meal all the way down to polishing the silver and setting the china on the formal dining room table.  Thanksgiving is something we have never skimped on, and the tradition has been firmly implanted into Alyssa JoJo’s soul.

Today our Thanksgiving holidays are more fun than ever, as instead of two generations in the kitchen, there are now three, adding an extra element of family bonding and fun.  Each of us has a role in preparing the meal; Grandma JoyJoy cleans and does the nasty stuff to the turkey that causes Mama Lanette to start gagging and run from the room, prepares a pie or two, and gets some rolls rising to throw into the oven.  Alyssa JoJo makes her special green bean casserole (which is NOT your basic cream of mushroom soup and canned beans of the past) and does random tasks such as setting up the appetizer table and making sure it stays stocked with goodies.  Mama Lanette prepares side dishes and appetizers galore.  Mama Lanette’s sister brings desserts and appetizers, or whatever item seems to be missing from the menu.  The SOB even has a role in our day.  Some would say he has the most important role of all:  Liquor Store Trip Maker.

Testosterone is back with the introduction of boyfriends, in-laws, and SOB’s into the family.  A pre-dinner appetizer open house began a few years ago for family members and friends who have other obligations but still want to stop over and have a cocktail and snack.   It is a holiday that is open to anyone who wishes to make the journey, involving as many friends as family. It is a fun and relaxing day that ends with all of our butts and guts groaning due to the very large food babies firmly lodged in our stomachs, the added weight testing the support structure of the living room furniture.  To this date, no piece of furniture has ever broken under the increased stress of a Thanksgiving dinner in this house; however, I cannot say the same for my Auntie’s home at Christmas.  Almost every damn year a chair in her dining room breaks, and every year I exhale a sigh of relief that it wasn’t me. 

So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the official kickoff of the Feeding the Freaks…Thanksgiving Edition!  Join us this month as we share some of our most beloved recipes of the past, and newer recipes that we have researched and/or created just for you!  It is going to be a month full of history and history in the making, so stay tuned fellow freaks!  You won’t regret it!   <3 Mama Lanette