The story telling that centered around the turkey was different from all the other holiday dishes since it didn’t take place at the dinner table. This story was special and was told during the preparation stage. At other times of the year, Thanksgiving, special anniversaries, the turkey could be prepared many different ways, with a variety of flavorings and herbs, from barbeque to citrus, the dressings and cooking techniques could vary. However, for the holidays there was only one way to make a turkey, roasted with a cavity filled with aromatic vegetables and skin basted with a constant smattering of butter along with the gravy produced as the turkey cooked. I can still picture my Grandmother, Mother and Aunt Betty in the kitchen cutting carrots, celery and onion. They would tightly pack the inside cavity of the bird (after a good dose of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder). The turkey would sit regally in the pan with room for the juices to flow underneath and a well-greased piece of aluminum foil to sit loosely on the top. The first hour of cooking, the bird would cook in a very hot oven in order to give it a boost. The temperature would later be turned down a bit so the bird could finish cooking more gently. The turkey was never to sit directly on the bottom of the roasting dish, because it’s never good to “stew in your own juices”! My family always believed that stewing in your own thoughts only brought about anger and fear, so it would make sense that they suggested that would make for a ‘tough bird’.
Now the reason the holiday bird had to have the carrot, the onion and the celery, aside from the taste, was really a stretch, but it was what I was repeatedly told growing up. The carrot was to signify that ‘the elusive carrot’, the fact that what you are dreaming of and wishing for is already with you, even though you may not realize it. Each of us should be grateful for what is, for the present, the now. The elusive carrot is a myth, the goodness and sweetness of life is already inside you if you would just take notice. The onion, well, once an onion is cooked, it no longer makes you cry, so there was the hope that the new year should contain no more tears. Even painful times, however, may be transformed into something that eventually adds goodness. The celery, this was the funniest of all. After all, “you should always get an increase in your celery”!!
The seasonings were never really discussed except that the arguments would go back and forth as to whether there was enough. My Grandmother could never have enough salt. If I didn’t know better, I would think she was responsible for the Morton Salt saying, ‘when it rains it pours’, because when she was in control, it sure did!!
The butter and gravy that would be used to baste the turkey, gently and carefully, for as long as the turkey cooked signified the reality that all through life you need to take care, stay covered and don’t dry up - keep wetting your appetite for knowledge. It also illustrated that sometimes situations required a bit of “buttering up”. Keeping an eye on the turkey and keeping it moist for as long as it cooked was equated with taking care of yourself and your loved ones all through your life. Don’t ever take your eyes off what is important, don’t forget to pay attention, for if you do, you could, heaven forbid, turn into a shriveled up, tough old bird!
The Cranberry Sauce
The cranberry sauce doesn’t have its own page since the cranberry sauce is rarely served. It is the forgotten part of most of our holiday dinners. We would eat dinner and when clearing the dishes from the table, someone would always yell out, “We left the cranberry sauce in the refrigerator!” At that point, my Dad would always say, “we’ll just have to start again!” Everyone would laugh.
The cranberry sauce was the comic relief. It was the break in the action that signified a time out. By not being served, the cranberry sauce was the constant reminder that no single year will serve everything possible. It was the constant striving that next year would be complete. After all, the desire to work for everything you want is important, but always remember that even when something is missing, you should still be fulfilled by what you have.
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