It all hit me when a huge puff of smoke rolled out of the oven door. I knew then and there I had neglected my cooking self for way too long.
The Thanksgiving crowd (minus 9 guests that changed plans the day before) had arrived, all standing there around our kitchen island in anticipation of the meal, drooling, and licking their chops and waiting for the goodies to appear.
The big meal was hinged on my contributions.
What was I thinking? I hadn’t cooked a big meal in years. Not 30 years, but close to it. The candle I had burnt before had been unlit for quite a bit. I guess it was time to test the smoke detectors.
Mr. did most of the cooking and prep work. He made the turkey the day before and 2 pies and cheesecake.
For my birthday he gave me the opportunity to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal. I got to set the table. I love that part.
And I got to play with the camera to prove Mr. and I could pull off Thanksgiving meal yet again.
I went to grab my mother’s recipe card, aka, the treasured, handwritten one that she had made for me when I had to cook Thanksgiving dinner for our guests back in 1990. It was gone, had disappeared and I couldn’t find it anywhere. We probably accidentally threw it out when we finished up the kitchen remodel.
I cried.
Then I got over it. And tried to remember how to make it from memory. Funny thing is, I can still see the card, just can’t make out the fine details.
After realizing everything that I was assigned to make all required completion at the same exact time, I asked Mr. for help. He then stepped back into the kitchen and made two casseroles, while I made gravy and stuffing. I even solicited help from a guest to complete the potato mashing.
All I had to do was to make sure the green bean casserole had toasted French onion rings on top. Easy, right?
I opened the door, reached into the oven with the container in my right hand, went to give it a shake and accidentally hit the top of the oven with my hand. As I recoiled my hand, not burned ‘cuz it happened that fast with the reminder of how hot ovens get, I subsequently shook most of the remaining rings all over the bottom of the 350-degree oven instead of on the casserole dish.
Oops…
While the guests stood around laughing and talking, not noticing my faux pas, the oven rapidly filled with smoke and small flames. I looked up into the room, fanning the oven mitt that I should’ve worn, dang…it was getting quite cloudy and hard to see the crowd standing next to me.
Gradually the guests noticed a growing billow of smoke around the room each time I opened the door to check to see if the smoke had somehow magically disappeared. And then Mr. noticed and came to my rescue. He pulled out the aluminum foil that was placed on the bottom of the oven to catch spills, and the burning and smoking gradually stopped.
Thank goodness our new high-powered range vent worked and all the new windows functioned properly and opened easily. And that the snow outside had stopped long enough to leave the windows open for the smoke to clear.
And, yes, thankfully all the casseroles tasted just fine with an extra smoky flavor that went well with wine.
And smiles were had and tummies were filled.
And (I) we survived another holiday meal together. It was heart-warming for sure.
Stay tuned…I’ll be back to share the story of this year’s budget tree and how to shoot fun photos with holiday light bokeh…
PS – Happy Holidays to you and your family and friends. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m taking it easy with my blogging efforts since I turned 55 and probably for the rest of the year. That’s the other thing I’m doing for myself to survive the holidays – I’m going with the no pressure, just blog for fun and giggles approach.
It’s not Thanksgiving without a few flames!
It’s a hearth warming experience, that’s for sure! Your video you shared for the 3rd is awesome!!
In the end, it’s the love and family connection that counts and this whole story filled me with warm feelings of the season! happy belated Thanksgiving, Ms. Wonderful!
💋💋💋😍
Yes, indeed! Aw, thank you! I’m sorry for the delay in responding – I found and rescued your comment from my Spam folder. Dang WordPress! I appreciate your kind wishes xxxxxxx!
Phew…it was getting dark in there!
😂💋💋💋
Sorry…but, on the fiery side of things, it seems the darkness helped you steam up some hot collaboration ;-)!
Haha! I cooked up.the whole collaboration plan while stuck in there…. 😉😂
LOL – glad I could assist you in your steamy venture! 😉
Glad you Thanksgiving went off without a (noticeable)hitch. Love the candle and remember having one similar. Have a great week.
Thank you, Anita, it was a memorable one that’s for sure! We received the candle as a wedding gift…I can’t remember what they are called, do you know? We’re determined to not just let candles collect dust but to enjoy them burning brightly for our 30th year together. I hope you’re having a great week too! I loved the poem you shared, such a nice reminder for us all.
Thank you. Weather pleasantly tolerable(above freezing), hope the same for you. Stay warm.
Stay warm is right – your glowing lights warmed me today, I finally got by to see the lights you shared for the glow prompt. So pretty!!!
Reminds me of my mother’s stories of inviting guests who arrived on the right night but she thought it was the next night, and the time she invited people over and had forgotten to turn the oven on … anyway your photos are really lovely: the table and the goodies look lovely! How wonderful that the kitchen was done in time! BTW, I could easily have fit into that empty chair …
Ah, your mother was a great at timing just like me, eh? Thank you for the kudos. And YES – you’re always welcome here, your stories would’ve been so grand to listen to!
That’s a good approach to blogging Shelley, no pressure. I’m glad your home didn’t fill with smoke, oops! Beautiful photos of the family in your dining room, such a lovely home guys! 😎
Thank you, John! No pressure at this time of the year is a welcomed gift! I hope your trip to Michigan is memorable and joyful! Safe travels to you!
New kitchen nearly on fire!!!🙄😥 Get a fire extinguisher in for Christmas dinner 😉. You had enough snow there to put it out xx
I know – I was almost ready to pull the extinquisher and ruin the whole meal. 🙁 We do have plenty of snow we could toss on a fire, that’s for sure!
Glad to know you have a fire extinguisher lol 😉 You don’t want the fire fighters round for xmas dinner😉😁
Yes, we’ve got that covered and the fire station is less than a mile away. I hope we don’t ever have to invite them to our house on those terms!
No you dont lol 👨🚒👩🚒
Wow that seems like a lot of food! Looks yummy except for the green bean casserole. My husband asked me to make one a few years ago and no one ate it. Never again.
We had planned for 15 and only 7 showed up, so yeah, we had lots of leftovers. Thankfully the kids brought their own tupperware containers so they could take leftovers home. We’ve been eating the rest for every dinner since. The green bean casserole is a favorite here in Northern Wisconsin. There were no leftovers for that! 😉
My hubby is from Wisconsin so maybe that’s why he wanted it?
That’s right – yes, he knows how yummy it is!!! It’s tradition in our neck of the woods!
PS – congrats on 1000 posts!!
Looks wonderful–even if a little smoky to start off! Yum!
Thank you, it all turned out just fine. My hair stunk like smoke even after washing it…! 😉
I’m glad you recovered nicely
Thank you, Dan – as DIYers it was reassuring to see the range vent work properly! 🙂
Mary has a recipe for kugelis (a Lithuanian dish that’s like latkes but in a loaf form) that she got from her mom. She thought she had lost it, then found it in an old cookbook she hadn’t looked at in a few years. It’ll turn up.
And hey, what’s Thanksgiving without a food disaster or two? One year, one of her teaching colleagues told Mom that she put her turkey in the oven at low temperature the night before, and it’s ready right around midday. Mom decided to try it, and it was done at 7 AM…
I hope you’re right on the recipe. We searched everywhere we thought it could be. That sounds like an interesting dish…kugelis. I don’t think I’ve ever had it. Glad Mary found the recipe.
LOL – you’re right, every big meal has to have something go wrong. That’s one early bird that catches the gravy…..! 😉 There are so many recipes out there to try, it’s no wonder food poisoning happens each year on Thanksgiving. We were pleasantly surprised that cooking it the day before turned out to be the moisted version of turkey we’ve ever had!
I’ll say a prayer to St. Anthony that you find the recipe.
We’ve discovered that food tastes better if it has a night to sit.
Aw, thank you, I’ll let you know if the prayer worked!
We’re impressed with how the turkey did taste better resting for a day!
Thank goodness indeed for that new vent and the windows and the not falling snow. Good for you for getting back in the holiday cooking game! It’s not easy. 😉 sorry about the cancellations.
Yes, we were happy for all of that! It turned out well, and the meal is lasting a LONG time, so no need to cook and rekindle the burnt smell in the stove yet. 😉
😂 Thanksgiving leftovers are so nice!
Yes, indeed. And I won’t need to eat turkey for another 360 days!
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving story. Good food, good company, and no matter a couple of mishaps, all was lovely in the end. 🙂
Thank you, Barbara! It was a good day and we’re thankful, that’s for sure!
Good on you for deciding to blog for pleasure 🙂
Thank you, Brian. It helps me feel less lost in a crowd. 😉
Now your stove mishap would be something that happened to me as I have no cooking credentials. Mr. has spoiled you, but that is okay – everything still looked delicious and I am sure tasted just as good as it looked and you had your family gathered around the table, so I would say dinner was a success.
Aw, thank you, Linda, I did think of you and wonder if you’d be proud of my ability to recover from the cooking mishap ;-)! It was a meal to remember.
Having burned slice-and-bake cookies one time, I know I could not take on a big meal with multiple pots and pans and having everything magically finish at the same time. I made my usual one-pot wonder (green bean casserole just not baked, and flame-grilled chicken strips inside that pot and stirred up. I was laughing as I forgot I bought Stove-Top Stuffing mix … after the meal was done, many hours later I was reading a friend’s e-mail and she lamented she forgot cranberry sauce – I said “oops, I had some downstairs, but I forgot the stuffing!” I was engrossed in a book, one of two I read last weekend. I enjoyed my R&R.
LOL – it is a challenge to get all the stuff done at one time. It gave me extra appreciation for my MIL who normally hosts the meal! Your day sounds like it was a perfect R&R kind of day. Way to take care of yourself!!
Yikes, that was quite the tale to tell.
9 people changed plans the day before? Did you blacklist them?
What a phenomenal collection of photos there!
And it all happened in a matter of seconds. Yes, weather does that here in Wisconsin, so I won’t blacklist them this time. And my brother who’s a overnight driver fell asleep and slept right through the day into the next morning. I cut him some slack for needing rest too. They just missed out on the best meal ever! 😉
glad it worked out so well
🙂
and liked all of this leading up to the ending heart
although I a sad you lost the actual card – but in the end we cannot keep everything – so it was nice to see you coped. Do you have other items like that to still save?
I have a recipe for oil-fried little waffles – it is in the back of Tetley Tea box (piece of it) and I laminated it – and it reminds me of my dad
Thank you, Yvette. I’m still sad. I do have other recipes (a lot, in fact), but that one was different. It is fun to see the old cards and handwriting. That was smart of you to laminate yours and keep it safe! That’s a nice way to remember your dad!
🙂