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    See More:   Holiday Meals Holidays & Celebrations Home Management Parenting Recipes for Beginners

    Last Modified: May 27, 2022 by Tara Ziegmont 26 Comments

    The ghost of Thanksgiving past

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    Joe's car broke down on Friday, and he decided to try to fix it himself. Despite his many strengths and the fact that he worked in apartment maintenance for six years, my husband is not a handy bloke. He just isn't.

    While he was working on his car outside, in the drizzly rain, Grace and I baked pies for our Sunday dinner. Truthfully, though, Grace pretended to feed her Baby and played with her magnetic farm while I baked two pies. Since she didn't seem to want to chat, I had plenty of time to reflect on this year's Thanksgiving celebration and the ones of the past.

    Reflection always makes me laugh. Despite the fact that I'm inspiring so many of you Dear Readers to attempt great things in your homes, I am prone to ridiculously funny failures in my own. As I dealt with another mishap prepared and baked pies, I pondered my most ridiculous Thanksgiving bloopers.

    Too much food - The very first time we hosted Thanksgiving, I over planned and over cooked. Everyone told me that I was making too much food, but I was worried that someone wouldn't have enough to eat. I forced poor Joe to peel and mash 10 pounds of potatoes. For 8 people. We had a 24.5 pound turkey, 3 pies, a cake, 3 sweet potato dishes, a huge salad, 3 different steamed vegetables, and a bunch of other stuff. I don't know what I was thinking. I could have fed 40 people with the spread I prepared. Except that no one liked half of it, which leads me to my next issue.

    Being adventurous - There is a time and place for being adventurous in the kitchen. In fact, Joe and I try at least one unfamiliar recipe every week. However, I have learned (the hard way) that Thanksgiving is not the time to experiment with fancy new dishes. That 10 pounds of mashed potatoes I made Joe make? No one liked them. The recipe called for onions, which sounded like a good idea. We added them to the already cooked potatoes, however, and never actually cooked the onions, so we served hot mashed potatoes with raw onion chunks in them. Fail. We ended up throwing out 8 pounds of freezer burnt mashed potatoes the following May. That same year, there was also a 9x13 pan full of a fancy sweet potato and mushroom gratin that no one liked. I think those leftovers rotted in the back of our fridge. I could go on, but I won't. You get the picture. Every Thanksgiving since, I've stuck to tried and true recipes that I know everyone loves.

    The creature - Imagine my surprise when I sat down on the couch in my living room and saw a mole eating out of the cat's dish. On Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving. The first time that my future in-laws would ever see my home. I thought words that aren't fit to write here, and then I called Joe away from whatever he was doing (probably peeling those ten pounds of potatoes!) and told him that he had to take care of it. Egads! He would never admit it, but I think he's afraid of rodents. His attempt to help ended up chasing the creature under our television cabinet, where it stayed until we went to bed. I woke up on Thanksgiving morning knowing that there was a rodent in my living room, and that one of our guests might to see it.

    Splenda experiment - Remember what I said above about experiments? I have a tendency to be a slow learner. One Thanksgiving, I was on a diet. I decided to put all of my guests on a diet, too, and I substituted Splenda for sugar in all of my recipes. I might have gotten away with this one, except that none of my pies set up. Have you ever eaten soupy pecan pie? It's just not the same. Fail.

    Oven mitts - I set my nice, thick, heavy Pampered Chef oven mits on the stove after pulling a dish out of the oven, and I turned a pan on to boil water for something else. A few minutes later, I noticed that my oven mitts were on fire. I'd turned on the wrong burner and filled my house with smoke right before my guests arrived to eat.

    The air freshner - I got a fancy, expensive, cranberry-scented air freshner for my living room one Thanksgiving after my dad complained about smelling the cat box. It was the kind with scented oil in a dish, suspended over a candle. I followed the instructions on the package, lit the candle, and returned to the kitchen. An hour later, when my guests started to arrive, we had to open all of the doors and windows because the scent of faux cranberries was so strong that it made everyones' eyes burn.

    Double sugar in pie - Self explanatory, right? I've done this more than once because I try to accomplish too many tasks at a time.

    Turkey still frozen - We left the turkey in the fridge for four days, but it was a big one, and it didn't thaw completely. When Joe attempted to remove the giblets and neck, he discovered that the inside of the bird was still a solid block of ice. This led to some hasty 5 a.m. cold water bathing for that turkey, and then we cooked it still partially frozen. I hope that's not a huge no no, because we did it. Fortunately, no one got food poisoning (and told us about it).

    Turkey done too soon - This year, our turkey was done two hours too early. That was a trauma because we thought the whole thing was going to dry out and become shoe leather. Fortunately, a Twitter friend came to our rescue and told me to baste the turkey with its own juices every fifteen minutes until it was time to serve. We did. It was wonderful and juicy. But then, my mom carved the turkey and discovered that, while the breast was perfectly cooked, the bottom half of the turkey was not. It turns out that our oven's temperature varies wildly, from 300 to 450, all while the dial is still at 325. At least this one was not a total failure.

    So, while I was dealing with today's blooper - trying to reform the partially cooked puddle of pie crust back into a recognizable pie shape - I laughed to myself about all of the things I've done wrong in the kitchen. Sometimes, it's a miracle that the food gets on the table, but my faux pas inspire me, and I know (because you've told me) that they inspire you. Keep those stories coming. I never get tired of them!

    By the way, Joe's car is back in working condition. He might be a little handy after all.

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    1. EJ says

      November 30, 2008 at 10:07 pm

      I loved reading this post. Just just the laughs I needed. hopefully your thanksgivings will remain blooper free from now on! <3erin

      oh yeah & i added your button to my sidebar. I should probably stop being lazy & make a new one for myself. lol.

      Reply
    2. EJ says

      December 01, 2008 at 6:07 am

      I loved reading this post. Just just the laughs I needed. hopefully your thanksgivings will remain blooper free from now on! <3erinoh yeah & i added your button to my sidebar. I should probably stop being lazy & make a new one for myself. lol.

      Reply
    3. [email protected] says

      November 30, 2008 at 10:17 pm

      This is such a funny post. I mean, I am sorry. I should not find humor in you past misfortunes and errors. I am just glad you shared your mistakes, so your blog friends can learn from them, too!

      Reply
    4. [email protected] says

      December 01, 2008 at 6:17 am

      This is such a funny post. I mean, I am sorry. I should not find humor in you past misfortunes and errors. I am just glad you shared your mistakes, so your blog friends can learn from them, too!

      Reply
    5. Creative Junkie says

      December 01, 2008 at 5:42 am

      omgosh, you had me laughing!

      We've only hosted Thanksgiving a couple of times (we're usually not here and besides, I handle the Christmas holiday meals) so I don't have any mishaps for that partcilar meal but ... if you want to talk Christmas meals? I could write a book.

      But it wouldn't be as funny as your post.

      Reply
    6. Creative Junkie says

      December 01, 2008 at 1:42 pm

      omgosh, you had me laughing!We've only hosted Thanksgiving a couple of times (we're usually not here and besides, I handle the Christmas holiday meals) so I don't have any mishaps for that partcilar meal but ... if you want to talk Christmas meals? I could write a book. But it wouldn't be as funny as your post.

      Reply
    7. Doré says

      December 01, 2008 at 11:29 am

      Sounds like you have definitely had some exciting things happen around Thanksgiving time. I avoid cooking altogether so I never have to worry about these things, lol

      Reply
    8. Doré says

      December 01, 2008 at 7:29 pm

      Sounds like you have definitely had some exciting things happen around Thanksgiving time. I avoid cooking altogether so I never have to worry about these things, lol

      Reply
    9. ~LL~ says

      December 01, 2008 at 11:46 am

      Thanks for joining me at Making a Happy Home Monday 😀

      I am LOL because I have SOOOO BTDT!!!

      Splenda is evil...discovered that with blat, goopy brownies.

      I love cranberries, and the smell of...it would have to be an eye-burner for me to admit defeat on that one 😀

      And too much food. It is an affliction of mine. LOL!!!

      Reply
    10. ~LL~ says

      December 01, 2008 at 7:46 pm

      Thanks for joining me at Making a Happy Home Monday :DI am LOL because I have SOOOO BTDT!!!Splenda is evil...discovered that with blat, goopy brownies.I love cranberries, and the smell of...it would have to be an eye-burner for me to admit defeat on that one :DAnd too much food. It is an affliction of mine. LOL!!!

      Reply
    11. Sab says

      December 01, 2008 at 1:29 pm

      I loved reading about your mishaps... makes me feel a bit better about my own.
      As long as I don't burn anybody but myself, I think I'm good. 🙂

      And Splenda... blech.

      Reply
    12. Sab says

      December 01, 2008 at 9:29 pm

      I loved reading about your mishaps... makes me feel a bit better about my own.As long as I don't burn anybody but myself, I think I'm good. :)And Splenda... blech.

      Reply
    13. Keely says

      December 01, 2008 at 5:31 pm

      That turkey is a tricky bird. You'd think he doesn't WANT to be eaten.

      Reply
    14. Keely says

      December 02, 2008 at 1:31 am

      That turkey is a tricky bird. You'd think he doesn't WANT to be eaten.

      Reply
    15. Paula Constable says

      December 01, 2008 at 6:28 pm

      I have never hosted Thanksgiving or cooked a Turkey. After reading your funny post, I am sure it will be a long time before I attempt.

      Reply
    16. Paula Constable says

      December 02, 2008 at 2:28 am

      I have never hosted Thanksgiving or cooked a Turkey. After reading your funny post, I am sure it will be a long time before I attempt.

      Reply
    17. mary beth says

      December 01, 2008 at 7:31 pm

      Too much food is better than too little. Thanks for sharing your stories 🙂

      Reply
    18. mary beth says

      December 02, 2008 at 3:31 am

      Too much food is better than too little. Thanks for sharing your stories 🙂

      Reply
    19. Poof says

      December 01, 2008 at 7:58 pm

      Wow. When I first started reading, I thought about my own mishaps, smiled, and wondered if yours were worse than mine. Yours aren't worse, they're just MORE. That's a lot of mishaps! You deserve some sort of award.

      Reply
    20. Poof says

      December 02, 2008 at 3:58 am

      Wow. When I first started reading, I thought about my own mishaps, smiled, and wondered if yours were worse than mine. Yours aren't worse, they're just MORE. That's a lot of mishaps! You deserve some sort of award.

      Reply
    21. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins says

      December 01, 2008 at 8:52 pm

      I'm so glad you posted this list. I goof things up in the kitchen all the time! Tip to the wise - do not try a sweet potato recipe that calls for maple syrup instead of brown sugar. You'll basically end up eating a big pan of mushy mapley yuckness.

      Reply
    22. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins says

      December 02, 2008 at 4:52 am

      I'm so glad you posted this list. I goof things up in the kitchen all the time! Tip to the wise - do not try a sweet potato recipe that calls for maple syrup instead of brown sugar. You'll basically end up eating a big pan of mushy mapley yuckness.

      Reply
    23. Melanie says

      December 02, 2008 at 9:39 am

      OM! That was too funny. Thanks for sharing your mishaps. I had a similar one with the turkey last year. It was not done and took two extra hours to cook and we still had to microwave part of it. So instead of eating dinner at 6:00 we ate at 8:30. Our friends from Indiana had come down for the week. I was so embarrassed!

      Reply
    24. Melanie says

      December 02, 2008 at 5:39 pm

      OM! That was too funny. Thanks for sharing your mishaps. I had a similar one with the turkey last year. It was not done and took two extra hours to cook and we still had to microwave part of it. So instead of eating dinner at 6:00 we ate at 8:30. Our friends from Indiana had come down for the week. I was so embarrassed!

      Reply
    25. Eli's Lids says

      December 04, 2008 at 10:55 am

      That was funny! Especially the oven mits and cranberry candle... I can totally picture that happening to me!
      http://elislids.blogspot.com

      Reply
    26. Eli's Lids says

      December 04, 2008 at 6:55 pm

      That was funny! Especially the oven mits and cranberry candle... I can totally picture that happening to me!http://elislids.blogspot.com

      Reply

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