The Turkey Queen

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Scary and drool-worthy all at the same time

So I’m no secret that Alisa scares me more than a little.  She’s just so darn crafty, creative, smart, GOOD at household-managament matters…When she starts to throw out terms such as “baked brie” and “bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin with balsalmic glaze” (see below), I start to feel more than a little intimidated.  This is scary stuff, people.

BUT…after reading her post and recipe solutions, I kind of forgot my terror of her, and am just left looking for a rag to wipe up my drool (not joking, sadly).  Also?  Alisa, I am coming over for Thanksgiving dinner.  Prepare to be stalked.  And please get an extra can of the cranberry sauce for me.  I love that stuff.

Need some cool, more unique ideas for your Thanksgiving meal?  Take it away, Alisa!

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Um, yes please.

My mom has been hosting a beautiful and traditional Thanksgiving at her house for as long as I remember and it is a BIG DEAL. She sets the table with the family heirloom china and the sparkling silver on gorgeous gold tablecloths. She’s does her own fresh flower arrangements for the table décor. She makes a 25+lb turkey that she puts in the oven at some ungodly hour like 4am. It comes out perfectly moist every time. She lights the candles on the table just before everyone sits down together and the whole scene looks like something straight out of a Better Homes & Gardens Magazine. It’s magical.

But we do have a few Thanksgiving traditions that are slightly less glamorous. For example, we buy the canned jellied cranberry sauce and we serve it in the heirloom china bowls still molded in the shape of the can. The can shape is VERY important. I don’t know why. I think it’s to bring a little trashy to our classy affair. Or maybe it’s just the way we’ve always done it. In fact, the first year my husband spent Thanksgiving at our house he was in the kitchen and asked if he should mash it up. The Turkey Queen went all “Off with his head!” because she thought he had ruined the beautiful can shape.

My mom also makes these amazing yams with pineapple, nuts, brown sugar and toasted marshmallows on the top. Without fail, every single year, my mom gets sidetracked and the next thing you know we have flaming marshmallows. So someone scrapes round one of marshmallows off, adds a new layer and pops them back in the broiler. And on more than one occasion, they’ve gone up in flames again. That’s when we started buying two bags of marshmallows, just in case. And we’ve actually had to break into a second bag.

But this year, my parents are coming to my house for Thanksgiving. This is my first time hosting Thanksgiving for my family and I am excited to start some new traditions I can call my own. For starters, there will be no flaming marshmallows and probably no turkey. (Because how can I compete with the Turkey Queen?!) Plus, we do have ONE Thanksgiving tradition in our house already; we make gourmet food. I love to cook (especially with wine) and I love nothing more than to whip up something special for the people I love. I’m attempting a pretty outrageous menu this year (and since you may have heard the rumors that I’m the anti-Meredith in the cooking and crafting departments) I thought I’d take a minute to share my gourmet menu with you. It is not a traditional dinner, but great traditions begin with something new. May you be inspired to try something new this year too!

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Hold the dessert. I’ll be right over.

Appetizers

Baked Brie and Fruit Platter

Jalepeno Popper Dip

Main

Crockpot Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Glaze

Garlic Shrimp with Dipping Broth

Herbed Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin

Roasted Vegetables

Rosemary Garlic Biscuits

For dessert, I’m baking the standard Pumpkin Pie and an Apple–Blueberry Crisp. I like this Apple Crisp recipe, but I usually add some fresh blueberries.

To be completely honest, I have only attempted ONE of the recipes on my menu previously so there is a slight possibility we’ll be eating cold cereal for Thanksgiving dinner. I love a good challenge though, and with the grandparents in town to love my kiddos, I’ll have my husband sous chef by my side. What could go wrong?! Follow me on Twitter to find out if anything goes up in flames. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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