Monday, November 23, 2009

It’s Monday – Where’s YOUR Bird?

At lunch today, I overheard two young girls talking about Thursday’s big meal. One, a newlywed, was preparing for her very first Thanksgiving and expecting about 20 people. She sounded quite nervous.

“What do I do if I like burn the turkey up?” she asked her friend.

“You go out for Chinese,” the friend said, not missing a beat. This made me laugh because I immediately thought of the family in A Christmas Story. I heard “fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra” in the back of my head the rest of the afternoon.

They chuckled, too. Then, the friend got deathly serious. “So where IS your bird?” she asked her chum. The look on the girl’s face was priceless. She paused and then finally said: “It’s, um, in the freezer.”

She barely completed her answer before the friend’s drilling began. “So, how big is it?” This time, the response was quick: “It’s like HUGE! It’s 20-something pounds.”

Uh-oh. I could see it coming. And then it came. The friend sliced her like a dagger: “You know that turkey should be in the refrigerator, right?” Another priceless expression. I was starting to feel bad for her.

By that time, my lunch had arrived so I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Trust me though, it’s not one you want to be a party to if you’re the girl expecting 20 people for dinner and your turkey the size of an 18-month-old is still in the freezer on the Monday before Thanksgiving!

Granted, she can still get by. Much better for her that this conversation was today and not tomorrow or, God forbid, Wednesday

My “bird” is resting comfortably in the bottom of the new refrigerator. But, I’ll have a bit of reading to do before he makes his way into the oven – not on turkey preparation but on HOW to use this new appliance! (We’ve used the stovetop exactly once and the oven, never.) I’m no Betty Crocker, but this is one meal I’ve got down. Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it.

I just need to learn how to use this stove!

If you need some turkey tips, new recipes or holiday entertaining advice, you can always check out one of these sites:
· Turkey Roasting Hints and Tips
· About.com’s Turkey 101
· Your First Thanksgiving Dinner
· Thanksgiving Menus
· Cooking Safety

8 comments:

sewwhat? said...

What kind of stove is this? It looks so sleek, are you sure you want to slob it up with turkey fat? Good luck!

happileah said...

Wow..that's a sparkly over there!
Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Jayne said...

What a great-looking stove. I guess you survived your trip to the store to buy the turkey? lol

Vicki said...

I put mine in the fridge this morning. It's only 11 pounds and we're actually not going to eat it on Thanksgiving anymore. I called Walter Reed today and we're going to have Thanksgiving lunch with the wounded troops there. I'm really excited about it. So we'll fry our completely thawed out bird on Friday :)

Vicki said...

Oh yeah, and your stove rocks!

Why S? said...

Your new stove is beautiful. You're going to hate the first gravy spill.

We're vegetarians so for years we created a special holiday meal that called for phyllo dough. Well, of course for years, I'd forget to take the phyllo out of the freezer until the morning of the big meal. Then I'd have to sweat it out whether or not it would be useable when its time came.

When you only do it once or twice a year (and within a month of each other) it makes the lesson hard to learn.

Kate R said...

Sigh. That story has been reality at my house too often. I forgot & didn't move my 11 pounder to the fridge until early Monday morning. I guess I keep my fridge too cold b/c I've learned from past experience that this will not be enough time, so I'll be doing the cold water sink thing YET AGAIN on Wednesday night.

Have you taken the plastic off the handles of your new fancy schmancy appliance yet, lol? I can't believe you haven't been cooking up a storm in that beautiful appliance.

NV said...

sewwhat -- It's a Frigidaire. Thank you! And no, not looking forward to globbing it up. But with an unexposed element, I have to think it will be much easier to clean!

Leah -- Thanks! Right back atcha.

Jayne -- Thanks! I did survive. It was sheer bedlam though.

Vicki -- I think it's a wonderful way to spend your day. Good on you. And be careful frying. That can be dangerous. And thanks! I'm starting to forget when it wasn't here.

Why -- Thank you! Yeah, gonna be a little anal on this first big cooking event, that's for sure.

Kate -- Ours is thawing quite nicely, almost ready for tomorrow morning! And no. THe plastic is still very much in place for now ... :-)