Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Dinner




I am almost sixty five years old and have never had a complete flop for a holiday meal. That’s not saying that some side dishes have not had a few problems, but not the complete meal.
This year Fran’s brother’s wife died shortly before Thanksgiving, so we were on the road for Thanksgiving and had a hamburger. Christmas tradition at my house was started by my best friend’s mom who wanted baked potato soup and sandwiches and I added chili for those who don’t like potato soup. Are you starting to get the point? I did not get my turkey for the holidays this year, so I decided that instead of the traditional ham we were going to have turkey and dressing and all the fixings. We have ham frequently because Fran loves it. Anyway…..
Friday morning I took a small turkey out of my freezer to start defrosting. There was only going to be four of us so there was no need for a large bird. At the end of the day I put it in the refrigerator to finish the defrost. Fran’s refrigerator is older and has a little quirk. It freezes on the bottom shelf; that is where I put the turkey.
I was sick all day on Saturday, and to tell the truth forgot all about the turkey. I struggled to make a pie which was a disaster although it did taste really good. It just looked like a three year old made it. My mother would have been proud. She may have said something like, “Oh I have never seen a patchwork quilt crust before, did you get that out of Better Crocker?”
I find myself rambling, (which has started after I turned sixty,) I got myself some medical help and I started feeling much better. About eight thirty we went out to sing for a couple of hours. On the way home from the club I told Fran he needed to get the turkey out so I could see what size roaster I needed. He did that, the turkey had completely refroze itself. It was hard as a brick. The turkey was Plan A. Plan B was a twelve pound ham which was no help and Plan C would have been hamburgers which I was sure my ninety five year old mother-in-law would not have understood.
I broke every rule in the book, I put that frozen turkey in the oven at 170 degrees. I told Fran hopefully by the time I got up it would be thawed out enough to get the innards out of it. When I woke up at six thirty I did not smell the bird. I had forgotten to turn the oven on.
I did not have a clue what to do. I took the foil off the bird and low and behold the turkey had completely thawed out. I drained a lot of the water out of it seasoned it and turned it on. It was the most delicious turkey I have ever served in all my Thanksgiving dinners. It was juicy and flavorful. Be that as it may, I will do the turkey the traditional way next Thanksgiving even though it will not be near as exciting. Oh, and don’t worry I know that today was Easter.

1 comment:

  1. Mom would have loved this story. She seemed to really get a kick our of the stories you told when you were "telling" on yourself. They always seemed to give her a real chuckle. All except the being sick all day Saturday part - feeling better, Sis?

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