EDITOR’S NOTE

Prepare the feast

The Thanksgiving holiday combines just about everything I love. Crisp weather? Time with family and friends? Lots and lots of cooking and eating? It’s got it all. I love to host, as well, which requires a lot of planning and preparation, but I am not embarrassed to say I kind of dig that, too. I’ve been known to drag a table out into the yard to make the most of the weather, set a pretty table with my brown and white china and cook up as many root vegetables and pecan desserts as I can manage.

These days a lot of my family lives out of state, so each gathering is a different compilation of siblings and cousins, depending on the year. Because of this, no one is set in their ways about what the menu has to be. Instead, each person joining that year gets to say what dish they couldn’t live without on Thanksgiving, and we plan the rest of the menu from there. Usually someone begs for the sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows on top, and someone else says it couldn’t possibly be Thanksgiving unless there was oyster dressing on the table. Sometimes a niece begs for green bean casserole— the kind made with a can of cream of mushroom soup. And after we know what people are pining for— and divvy up the assignments—I usually add a few veggies to keep us from carb overload. It’s very democratic, always delicious and everyone is happy.

Last year was going to be a low-key year, just my kids and the grandparents. Mom and I had the above discussion (brussels sprouts for me, oysters for her) and divided the cooking between us. Unfortunately, right about the time I turned on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and preheated the oven, one of my kids came down with the stomach bug. I’ll spare you the details, but we canceled Thanksgiving lunch, hesitant to spread the superbug. After a little debate, we decided the food was safe (or at least worth the risk!), and so mom and I met halfway between our two houses to share portions of the dishes we had each prepared. It was, if nothing else, a deliciously memorable holiday. Hoping this year is a bit less exciting. Now it’s time to get cooking!

Maggie Lacey

EXECUTIVE EDITOR maggie@pmtpublishing.com

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