Let's talk turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had an abundance of blessings to be thankful for this year. We haven't had snow yet. That's always a blessing for me, but I know it's a disappointment for others.

As I fixed dinner this year, I was struck by how many memories the simplest chores stirred in my memory. As I fixed an apple pie, I remembered my mother's apple desert that was like a pie, but was baked in a rectangular pan, only two or three apple slices thick, and had a powdered sugar glaze on the top. My mother liked her pies thin, I don't think you can have a pie that's too high.

When I fixed the pumpkin pie, the recipe for pumpkin roll that was on the side of the can reminded me of Cindy, a co-worker who made excellent pumpkin rolls. The utensil I used to beat the pumpkin mixture was bought in Florida, bought with the Christmas bonus from Winter Park Hospital. The whip cost $10, a goodly sum to a college student as I was back then, but I've never regretted buying it. It has served me well.

The pastry blender I used to make the crust brought back memories of buying it at K-Mart. I had a choice between a more expensive model and the cheaper one. I went for the cheaper one and have regretted it many times since.

While I was fixing the stuffing, I tried to remember how Grandma and Mom made theirs. Stuffing is one of the foods that nobody makes like your family. I can't even make it like my family. I think this will be the last year I attempt it. My stuffing is an embarrassment.

I burned my finger when boiling gravy splashed on my finger. I washed it off immediately but it still blistered. It reminded me of a when Grandma accidently ladled hot gravy on to some kid's hand as she/he was reaching across the table. I no longer can remember whether it was a sibling or a cousin or me, but I remember Grandma smearing butter on the burn.

When I put whipped cream on my cranberry sauce, I think of Aunt Joan's cranberry pie. It's not quite the same thing, but memories rarely are.

I still haven't tasted the pies. I hope there's some whipped cream left for me.