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Carin’s Pre-Thanksgiving Movies
Written by Carin Allen   

Watching Pre-Thanksgiving MoviesThanksgiving can be an overwhelming prospect to the young and uncertain in the kitchen.  Often this is the first time the dreaded in-laws are coming to eat.

High expectations, family dynamics and trepidation in the one’s cooking skills can be a recipe for disaster. The older and wiser are also apprehensive about the holiday - - so many things can and will go wrong. After all, how many movies are there about Thanksgiving?

I found out, and give you six titles. (I found more, but these are ones I have actually watched and enjoyed.)  If you have time, rent a couple of these.  Watching Hollywood’s take on the travel, preparation and family dis-function at Thanksgiving may help you realize that your family isn’t so bad after all. 

The Travel:

The quintessential travel movie is Planes Trains and Automobiles. Although a bit dated (1987, before widespread cell phones), this is an amusing tale of getting there and the things we will do in order to survive.   Anyone who has traveled can relate, and I think military folks will recognize every single person in the movie.

Dutch is also a traveling for Thanksgiving movie, as well as a getting to know you film.  Wisecracking kids seems to be the rule instead of the exception in Hollywood, but this oldie from 1991 captures adult sanity as well.

The Preparation:

Gourmet Magazine recommended What’s Cooking, from 2000. Centered around 4 families in LA at Thanksgiving, most of the movie is about cooking. There are recipes in the bonus material on the DVD. Some big names in Hollywood are in this little flick, and I found it fascinating. Getting along:

Getting along:

To truly appreciate your own family, you need to see how other families work, or don’t work. For that I recommend Home for the Holidays from 1995 with Holly Hunter, Robert Downy Jr. and so many more names you will recognize.  Can’t we all just get along? This is more or less a comedy.

\For a truly dark family dynamic, see House of Yes with Parker Posey, Freddie Prinz Jr, and 3 other interesting characters. Some of the drama could be lost on younger (under 35s) folks, and I strongly advise no kids in the room for this one. Made in 1997, this is a scary, funny, quirky film.  My favorite line “I am going to baste the turkey and hide the kitchen knives.”

The fuss:

By now you have heard that song on the radio, played each year at noon (generally) Thanksgiving Day.  Why, you may have asked. I did.  So I watched the movie of the same name, Alice’s Restaurant.   From 1969, some of the humor may be lost on younger generations. 

But for nonsense and awareness, this is a tasty little number. Not all of the “actors” can act, and not all of the buffoonery truly happened, but it is an interesting tale. And survivors of military induction centers can appreciate the second half of the movie.

Enjoy.

Carin

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Carin’s Pre-Thanksgiving Plan of Attacks
Written by Carin Allen   
Making Thanksgiving DinnerThis hint is not so much a craft as it is the getting organized and thinking ahead to the next big thing.  I have included some of my sneaky hints, as well.

Figure out how many people will be there, and accept that someone will be horribly late, and two others may be not invited and just arrive, usually on the arm of a family member.  If you don’t have enough dishes, it is good to know that early. You can buy more, borrow from a friend, or ask some of the guests to bring some dishes. And chairs.   I have to put the card table at the end of the dining table and cover with a long “tablecloth” to get us all at the same table.  Past the age when the children sit in another room - - if I even had another room for them to sit!!    The world will completely understand if you set your table Sunday or Monday before and cover it with a clean sheet.  One thing off your list and you know it is done. (I recommend it if you don’t have overnight guests before.)

If folks will be staying at your house before the big day, put them to work setting the table, chopping veggies, entertaining kids (if that is a problem in your kitchen).   Having your guests help prepare the meal make them more tolerant of what is on the table - - after all they had a hand in the preps.

Make sure all of your kitchen towels are very clean the weekend before. Bleach them, or soak in ½ cup vinegar to a gallon of hot water for a few hours then wash. (Someone is liable to notice if your towels are not clean - - the voice of experience here.) I usually spend the week before T-day cleaning a kitchen cupboard each night. Take everything out, vacuum the crumbs, make sure the pots and pans are sparkling and restore. (You only have to do this once a year!!)  This also gives you a chance to assess what condition things are in and whether or not you need to replace or add pots/pans.

Scrub the bathrooms, and make sure there is plenty of toilet paper nearby. Most folks will notice it is low and replace the roll if they can find it easily - - so tidy a bit under the sink.

I bake my pies on Wednesday night.  After supper, I clear away all the decorative stuff I have in the kitchen and get to work. My family helps now that I own one of the cool apple peeler corer gadgets. It makes just as much mess as peeling with a knife, but it does go faster and the “boys” like the gadget-ness.  If you opt to not bake your own, you can put a frozen or bakery pie into your own pie plate, if you are careful. I won’t tell. Just do it the night before when no one is around.

After the pies are in the oven, I chop the onions and celery for the stuffing (dressing- filling depends on where you are what you call it.) One year I baked my own bread with the onions and celery already in it to use as stuffing. Don’t bother.   After I chop the onions and celery, I toss them into a zippy bag in the fridge to saute in the AM before stuffing the bird.

I don’t have much counter space in my kitchen, and my kitchen table is small and three steps away from the work area.  I use cookie sheets on top of open drawers to get just a bit more working room.  Be careful about the balance of the weight.  But you can use this space to put biscuits or rolls on the sheet. Potato peelings go onto a cookie sheet for the compost pile or trash - - don’t, I repeat DON”T try to stuff the potato peelings into the garbage disposal.  They are slippery and don’t act as you want them too.  Nothing is worse than having to scoop peelings out of the sink of dirty water while guests are pining away for food. Trust me on this one!!

If your fridge is full, use the cooler.  I have a soft-sided cooler I keep in the garage with beverages and ice. This keeps traffic in the kitchen down as the folks can help themselves to soda, beer, water, wine and stay away from me. I have a hard cooler on wheels that is kept in the kitchen under the small table. In here I have extra butter, some of the stuff from the fridge that I won’t use the day, and more soda and wine. If you put a bag of ice into the cooler for about 5 hours first, the cooler will stay cold for a long time when you put your cold things in it.  If you have to put the cooler outside, avoid the sun, and make sure the lid is down to keep critters out.

Remember that the turkey will make you sleepy, the cranberries and sweet potatoes are good for you, and only use half the usual amount of whipped cream on your pie (so you can have more later!!). You can use a jar of gravy if you slip in about two cereal spoons of turkey roasting juice for “authentic” flavor. Do this about an hour before the turkey is done, and folks won’t see you, trust me!

Next week we can talk about what to do with all those leftovers.  Remember this pizza commercial “flaming turkey wings!!”?  To prepare, make sure you have on hand some large freezer storage bags, a few empty containers in which to put liquid leftovers, and a box of Bisquick.
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