Kitchen

[Lipstickdiva]

I really don't remember. I know the turkey was large because we always had the holiday with other relatives so there was usually 14-16 of us and we ate around 3:00.

We also did a lot of the prep Wednesday night like cleaning the turkey, salting it, etc. The stuffing gets made and put in a bowl, ready to be put in the turkey on Thursday. Pies were made that night and we even set the table so it was less that had to be done Thanksgiving day.

Even though many of the relatives have passed, including my mom, we still have continued on the tradition of getting together Wednesday night to do what we can for Thursday. There are only 7 of us now for dinner.

[jeanlake]

I remember turkey thawing in the sink. I was told not to touch it, as it would make me sick. For years I didn't eat the cooked turkey, thinking it would make me sick. I should have asked more questions! But I did eat my weight in yams and mashed potatoes and green beans.

I remember the big baster bulb doo dah. I'd hear the oven door open and see my parents take turns basting it. They had matching aprons.

Gizzards or giblets, or something that started with a 'g' were cut up and put in the gravy. My older siblings would scream, eeewww. It was tradition. I know I came from country folk roots and my husband and son enjoy hunting and fishing, but organ meats and bits make me a bit squeamish.

[GloriBee]

On 11/16/2014 Mochahoney said:

everyday cooking was not one of my mother's favorite things but for some reason she really loved cooking for the holidays. when I was a kid I remember her getting up at 4 or 5 am ( seemed like the middle of the night) to start cooking the turkey. and then it seemed like she would cook it forever. I remember those wonderful smells wafting in from the kitchen. the cornbread baking for the dressing, squeezed in on the lower rack under the turkey. the chicken boiling (she shredded boiled chicken and put it in the dressing). the sound and smell of her chopping up celery and onions.

what are your favorite childhood Thanksgiving day memories?

No, but my father did (or even earlier because we had a huge bird)! My parents always cooked together, but on Thanksgiving the turkey was his domain (also the great stuffing--a little different--rice/ground beef, sausage, etc.. and the best gravy!). One of my fondest memories is waking up to the smell of turkey cooking.

[daisyk]

We never ate holiday dinner until 5 or 6, so I think my mom got up her normal time in the am. I was always still sleeping that I can remember. I miss her dinners, she's been gone about 8 years now. Now if it's my turn to cook, my hubby does the turkey, I still can't get up that early. I do cook the sides and my sister brings desserts if she's coming.

[nomless]

No. Turkey takes only a few hours to cook. We liked to eat the turkey dinner in the afternoon rather than in the morning, so the turkey went in for roasting late morning, maybe about 11 am. I still do that.

[Campion]

Now, you bring back memories. My dad was the turkey carver. He had a method of cutting up the turkey, like a surgeon. The white meat came off the bone, then was sliced on the board, and covered with the skin to keep it moist. When he was done, it was laid out by dark, light and all sliced up neatly. He was in demand as a turkey carver if we went to someone else's for Thanksgiving. An electric knife was a big help. I still do it this way.

[jubilant]

My mom was a good cook but my grandmother wanted to do the holiday dinners so my memories were going to grandma's house for the holidays. I remember the good china, real silver that she let us help polish, and cloth napkins that were fancy folded. She always had two big bowls of dressing....one with oysters, one without oysters. She had the most beautiful cut glass ornate punch bowl and we always had punch. That is mine now and I cherish it. Pies, 4 or 5 homemade candies, date pudding, and all the rest. Grandpa would always sneak us some candy before dinner after Grandma told us we would have to wait till after we ate. That Grandpa was a real "softie".

[Eliana]

On Thanksgiving eve, my mom would put slices on bread on a cookie sheet and put them on top of our wood stove to dry out. Then my sister and I would break them up into pieces for the stuffiing.

My mom got up very early on Thanksgiving morning to prepare the turkey, and we were not allowed in our tiny kitchen until she was finished. The kids watched the Thanksgiving parade while Mom cooked. When the turkey was finished, we took it to my grandfather's (my dad's dad) house where we had dinner with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. After dinner and many hours of Euchre playing, we went to my grandmother's (mom's mom) house for dessert with my other aunts, uncles and cousins.

[Desertdi]

Football.......and a bunch of drunk old men

[Lindsays Grandma]

My mother was a fantastic cook. The night before Thanksgiving she would do a lot of cutting and chopping, preparing things that could be done the day before. For many years she and my father always were up in the wee hours of the morning stuffing the turkey and getting it in the oven.

Than one year it was discovered that a local bakery, for a fee, would let you bring in your turkey to be baked in one of their ovens. The turkey would be stuffed and seasoned or whatever my mother did to it and she would cover it with a brown paper bag and my father would take it all snug in the roasting pan to the bakery early in the morning and pick it up when ready. Let me tell you, those turkeys were fantastic. The commercial ovens roast a lot better than our home stoves.