Keep Thanksgiving stress free – get take out

Here we go again–it’s Thanksgiving and we are indeed thankful for so much. But for cooks and hosts, this is a busy, maybe stressful time.

Full confession– I’m that cook. Cooking turkey is stressful for me. Do I dare say this during this hallowed holiday? One reason is, shhh…I don’t like turkey. Also, in recent years I’ve lost confidence in cooking that bird perfectly.

For the last 15 or so years, we’ve invited very old friends–friends we started serving in the Foreign Service with at the same time. Friends that are so familiar they are really family. (Like, there is no hold barred when expressing their opinion.)

And for the past five years, when I take out my turkey everyone oohs and ahs. But when I carve it, my one friend always goes: “Eeek, it’s not cooked.”

“It is!” I say, year after year.

“It’s not! It’s still pink!” She says authoritatively, asking her husband to come and agree with her.

“The thermometer said the inside is 165 degrees!” I stammer.

“Put it back, it’s not cooked,” she orders.

“Microwave it,” she adds, as if it is a favor to me that this is such an easy solution.

And I do because she’s not going to eat it. And every year, for the past few years, my husband tells me she made it too dry.

What’s the use of explaining? I have it from the USDA that pink doesn’t mean that the turkey is not cooked. But who wants to fight during Thanksgiving? (Even when I am right.)

Just look at this website, if you, my dear reader, think the same as her. Funny thing, in that post, it even says families argue over this very issue.

Just to reiterate: “The color of cooked poultry is not always a sure sign of its safety. Only by using a food thermometer can one accurately determine that poultry has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout the product. Turkey can remain pink even after cooking to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. The meat of smoked turkey is always pink.”

I want to say, hey, I write a food blog. I know better because I have researched this, buddy. USDA is on my side. But instead, I roll my eyes, look at my other guests–who have witnessed this bickering before–and, to maintain peace for the holiday, heat pieces of turkey in the microwave.

Since the mid 1980s I’ve cooked Thanksgiving for large groups. This tradition has been one of the happiest of my hosting experiences. For all the years we lived overseas, Thanksgiving has always–always–been an opportunity to share. We invite single people who have no family to spend this special day with. We also invite new friends made in our host countries.

Many non-Americans are unfamiliar with the history behind it. So we made it a family tradition to narrate the story of Providence when native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to survive. The result of a good harvest was cause for giving thanks with friends or strangers. Yada yada. Likewise, we tell our guests, we thank our host country for welcoming us into their land. Nice, right?

But since returning to the U.S. we no longer narrate this. Instead, before our meal we gather together and share what we are thankful for and then say a blessing. I do love these moments. But this tradition of fighting over pinkness? It ruffles my feathers.

I’ve tried to do better. I’ve used oven bags. One year I butterflied the turkey and bake it that way. One year I invested in a roaster and cooked the turkey in my garage. Long gone are the days when I’ve followed the Joy of Cooking method to roast turkey. (Cover with cheesecloth, baste with oil over and under cloth; it’s weird but really good.)

Now somehow all I remember about Thanksgiving is, “IT’S STILL PINK!” Last year, I think I asked if she would cook the turkey. (I made roast beef.)

Enough already!

This year, my children can’t be home. My son is in Ranger School. And my daughter is home with an in-law who had cancer surgery last week. And with my kitchen about to go into renovations, and one friend giving us early notice he can’t make it this year, I ghosted my critics and didn’t invite anyone. Ha! Not very Thanksgiving-ish, but…ahhh…what a way to go!

I was determined to make this as easy as I can. I do have friends visiting from Singapore so there will be four of us. As a compromise, I suggested cooking two chickens to Ted but he acted like we were going vegan so I took the easiest way out with the best solution–I ordered a fully cooked turkey from my chef friend Todd.

All I did was drive in my car, pick up the food and come home. Todd even carved it! And it’s beautiful!

This is such a treat. Many supermarkets now offer this. You can get just the roast turkey or the whole meal with all the trimmings. Watch the other shoppers elbow their way around gathering their different ingredients (which they still have to go home and cook) while you breeze by with your dinner, all in a package.

To personalize it I roasted veggies, Brussels sprouts, parsnip and carrots,. I made a new Cranberry Relish I heard on NPR, (very good, by the way, and quite easy.) It’s raw cranberry blended with horseradish and onion. And I made Apple Pie from scratch.

And I used my favorite packaged Idahoan Mashed Potato. All you do is heat up two cups of water, add contents and stir. Done in 2-3 minutes. It’s delish!

To warm up cooked sliced turkey, Todd said, cover tray really well with foil, and re-heat for about 30-40 minutes in a oven at 275 degrees. It remains moist and as good as freshly roasted. And it’s soooo much more relaxing.

A simple feast for four of us: