Our Thanksgiving Feast

As I may have mentioned previously, I don’t enjoy cooking.  So as you can imagine, the thought of Thanksgiving can be daunting.  I don’t have any family nearby.  Typically, it’s just the four of us.  I prepare the same meal every year.  Roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, green beans and pumpkin pie.  The thought of anything more than this completely overwhelms me and send me into a deep state of depression.  I’m delicate.

Potatoes and carrots and lemons, oh my!

This year I decided to outsmart Thanksgiving.  I decided to cook everything, but the turkey, in the crockpot.  I have three, small, medium and large.  I also have an instant pot.  Potatoes in the crockpot.  Carrots in the crockpot. Stuffing (I’m expanding!) in the crockpot.  Green beans in the instant pot – for one minute.  I still roasted the turkey breast in the oven.  I love the browning, the crispiness, the fragrance. 

Stuffing steaming away...

As an added measure, I prepped at the ingredients the night before.  I cubed and dried rye bread in the oven.  I chopped the vegetables and herbs for the stuffing.  I even put in separate bags for each step of the process.  I cooked the pumpkin pie.  I figured out time schedules.  Crockpots start at 10:30, turkey at noon, green beans an hour before everything is ready.  What a champ!

Throughout the day, the delightful smells of turkey and rye dressing swirled around my house.  I’d cleaned my kitchen after all prep, so my kitchen was clean and beautiful.  Crockpots bubbled.  We nibbled on crudité throughout the day and awaited my fantastic feast.

Frying up the mushrooms.

And here’s what went wrong…

I peeled and chopped the potatoes the night before so they oxidized.  I sent my daughter to a neighbor to beg for lemons from her little tree.  Maybe the juice would brighten the potatoes.  Nope.  I had muddy mashed potatoes.   The cream and butter made for yummy potatoes, but alas the muddiness stayed.  The stuffing was soggy.  The crockpot doesn’t allow for things to dry out and crisp up a bit.  I poured it into a 9x13 casserole dish and slid it into the oven after I took out the turkey.  It crisped up a teeny tiny bit.  One minute in a pressure cooker is way too long for green beans.  Mush.  Nevertheless, I sautéed the shitake mushrooms and plunged forward.

Disintegrating green beans and mushrooms. 

But, here’s what went right… 

The carrots, spiced with brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger were delectable and loved by everyone.  Though they were slightly overcooked.   The turkey was beautifully browned, skin crisp and gleaming.  The herbs created an irresistible fragrance.  It was perfect.  I was almost a shame to carve it. Almost.

All in all, one outta five ain’t bad.  I’ve learned some things.  Life’s a lesson.  Green beans go stove top.  Cut potatoes the day of. My family really doesn’t like stuffing.  I’ve updated my recipes and will try again next year.