Living 2 Eat |

Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Foodies,

Wow… what an incredible past couple of days.   Food, food, and more food.  I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed each and every bite.   Living in the city it is rare that I get an honest to goodness Southern feast complete with family, friends and fun times.

My immediate family was scattered this year – parents went to my sisters in Arkansas, brother went to his in-laws, and I headed to Lake Placid for Thanksgiving with my grandmother and cousins.   Being single, I am blessed with the ability to be somewhat of a free agent during the holidays.  Over the years I have enjoyed holidays with good friends, and extended family.   This year, I was so thankful for the opportunity to be in the company of countless relatives (some that I have not seen in a very long time).

Our meal was nothing short of blatant gluttony.    As Southern Baptists, we do not imbibe, but we often overeat.   Since gluttony is rarely preached upon in the Baptist church, we can overlook a day or two of extra calories, carbs and sugars.

The meal time began with everyone holding hands, a scripture reading from the Bible, and everyone sharing what they are thankful for.   Cousin Mary Lou started off the circle of thanks and told how she praised God for having a wonderful Christian mother who taught her the importance of faith and family.   I gave thanks for being with my extended family and being able to meet some of them for the first time.

After a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving, it was time to eat… and eat we did… the kitchen counters were a makeshift buffet and not an inch of counter space could be seen.   Here is a sampling of what I feasted upon:

Fried turkey breast

Roast turkey

Smoked turkey

Fried venison (aka Bambi; deer meat)

Macaroni & cheese

Stuffing (my grandmother makes this and it is wonderful)

Candied sweet potatoes

Sweet potato soufflé (with an incredible topping)

Turnip greens

Squash casserole

Creamed corn

-         A table of appetizers included fresh fruits, spinach dip with bread chunks, boiled shrimp and several other things.   I didn’t spend much time at this table because I was saving room for the main course.

-         I cannot begin to even tell you what was on the dessert table as I was so full that I did not eat one more bite of anything after my second plate of food was consumed (our plates were the very large Chinet platters).  I was stuffed.  But, several cousins raved about the red velvet cake.

NOTE:  all of these items were fresh, nothing canned and nothing processed.   The ladies (and gentlemen) in the family are all excellent cooks and all take pride in their culinary concoctions.

Cousin Cecilia reported later that evening that the potato salad and deviled eggs were forgotten in the refrigerator. 

A Southern family gathering is always a treat.    Our meal was huge as each dish was prepared in huge pans akin to what can be found at any industrial kitchen.   We are big eaters!  Needless to say, we had enough food left over that 50 people could have eaten and probably not emptied the pans.  

Regardless of the economy and world happenings, I am rich…  surrounded by family, able to celebrate my faith and give thanks, and have plenty to eat.  Praise God for His goodness to all of us.  

Ben