What was I thinking ... host Thanksgiving at my place? (And a recipe for sweet potato casserole)
I was temporarily insane last month. That’s the only reason I can think of for agreeing to host my family's Thanksgiving reunion this year.
When my mom told me that my entire family was getting together up here in North Carolina for Thanksgiving, she said she thought we’d have it at my aunt and uncle’s house in Denton. “Oh no, let’s have it here!” I piped up. “I can do the turkey and everything!”
What was I thinking?
Clearly, I wasn’t. Not only did I not take into account that we are talking food for 25-30 people, we’re talking chairs, tables, plates, entertainment and drinks — and probably a few other things I still haven’t thought of yet.
As of last week, I was officially panicking. I tossed and turned in bed, running calculations in my head — pounds of turkey divided by 30 big eaters times cans of cranberry sauce.
Should I make one pan of dressing or two? How far in advance can I boil sweet potatoes and make the cassserole?
And what about plates? I haven’t even thought about plates! I don’t think we own 30 plates, let alone matching plates. Maybe everyone can just stand around and eat directly from the serving dishes, since we won’t have anywhere for them to sit, either.
Then, this weekend, as I was getting some cleaning done in advance, it hit me: It doesn’t really matter.
There’s always too much food at Thanksgiving — if we run out of turkey, there will be plenty of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie to tide people over. I’ll go out and buy some what we call “fancy china” — heavy-duty disposable plates will save my dishes and my time.
And although I’ll still spend hours peeling potatoes and baking cornbread, I’ve realized that the load will likely be lessened by my mom and grandma, and it will give us time to catch up — something that doesn’t happen a lot when you’re three states away.
If I spend the holiday running around like a turkey with its head chopped off, I’ll miss the best part of this Thanksgiving. I won’t be listening when my dad tells funny stories about him and his siblings, or when my brother turns beet red as we tease him about his girlfriend (who happens to be attending this year).
I might miss some bit of wisdom from my mom or grandma, or I won’t hear about how my cousin Tonya’s pregnancy is going.
And I really don’t want to sacrifice all that, worrying about making this a Martha Stewart Thanksgiving. After all, if I burn the turkey, that’s just fodder for future Thanksgiving storytelling.
Mom’s secret sweet potato casserole
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup butter, melted
Mix sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour into a baking dish. Mix nuts, brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. Mix in melted butter. Sprinkle over potatoes. Bake at 375 degrees until brown, about 25 minutes.
