I should have known better

[ksmith]

I really shouldn't have planned to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on the same day that I set out the Christmas lights. The lights took longer to install than I thought they would, the meatballs took longer to cook than I thought they would, and the spaghetti squash experiment should have been rescheduled. Recipes always take twice as long as I expect them to, and use three times as many dishes and pots.

At least the meatballs taste good.

Comments

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Yup, recipes take longer. Especially meatballs. It's not like I haven't made them before; I should know better. But I think "Oh, I'll make some meatballs and freeze part of them, won't take that long..." and it does. Always.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I don't even want to think about how long all the Turkey Day stuff will take. I want to bake a scratch pumpkin pie as well as make stuffing and mashed sweet potatoes and another veg. At least I won't have to grapple with a turkey. Instead I'm going to make one of the Flying S fryers--darn thing is *7* pounds, which is almost small turkey size. I'm going to butterfly it and roast it on a bed of root veggies with the stuffing spread on top. That way, the chicken will cook faster and the stuffing will get a crispy top. I've made pretty-looking roasted birds before, so I won't miss the crispy skin and nice presentation. This time, I want the sort of bird my folks used to make, the meat juicy and infused with the flavor of the stuffing.

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

Oh, well, Thanksgiving...I have a count of 14, including use, for dinner. I am using some labor-saving stuff: canned pumpkin pie mix (that I've used before and like) and refrigerated pie pastry, since mine isn't that good (neither is theirs, but it's quicker.) Purchased bread stuffing mix and cornbread stuffing mix, that I'll mix with celery, onion, parsley, and various herbs. Some stuffing goes in the birds (I'm old-fashioned and no one's gotten sick yet) and some in a separate pan. Lots of herbs. I have some commercial gravy to mix with the turkey drippings and giblets to thicken it (because that way it won't be lumpy and if I tried to thicken it myself, it would be.)

Turkeys, ham--I made the spiced pear mix today, that will blend with the honey glaze for the ham. Others bring various vegetables and desserts and the homemade cranberry sauce(s). We have the olives and pickles to go with the celery sticks and carrot sticks for the munchies on the table. I'll do a green salad, and there'll be store-bought rolls. Make the pumpkin pie Wednesday, and cook the giblets then if the turkeys are thawed enough to pull those things out.

Then there's laying out the tables for that many--with the decorations. Making sure I have all the tableware laid out, serving area with the serving utensils ready. Enough chairs (our chairs are aging...) Etc. We're due a cold front Wednesday night/Thursday morning, so it's unlikely there'll be much outside activity.

But I've done this so many times that it should go smoothly, even with the current case of blahs.