A few weeks ago, we got an email from a local farm saying they were now taking Thanksgiving orders for heritage turkeys. โThat is awesome. Letโs do it!โ Andy said. For about a millisecond, I was on board, until I remembered that when it comes to the turkey, itโs not my call to make. Andy and I have free rein to go all rogue (within reason) on the sides โ adding anchovies to roasted cauliflower or oranges and mint to the cranberry sauce โ but my Mom owns the turkey and gravy. If itโs going to be anything other than a 14 1/2 pound Bell & Evans bird, itโs Mom who has to sign off on it. And letโs be honest, if you own the turkey, you own the holiday. My sister hosts, my brother brings snacks and pies, my father is on wine patrol, but my mom is President and CEO.
And also Secretary. I like to think that the reason why Thanksgiving teeters on the happy side of the chaos spectrum in our house is because of my motherโs Post Feast Analysis System. Every year, on the morning after Thanksgiving, she grabs her legal pads (sheโs an attorney and I donโt think she ever leaves home without them) and starts taking detailed notes on the holiday: Date, menu, number and names of attendees, temperature, who cooked what, who bought what and where, what she needs more of next year, what she needs less of,ย what worked, what didnโt. Naturally, Iโm not nearly as fascinated by the menu as I am by the details that surround the menu. What makes her system awesome is not just that it reminds us that we ate sweet potato casserole in 2011 and 2012 โ itโs the little detail that my then 9-year-old niece requested fewer pecans in the casserole next time around. Itโs not just that we auditioned a new cranberry sauce last year โ itโs that my then 11-year-old niece was the one in charge of spearheading it with me. (Mom was also sure to note sheโs not willing to give up on her old-school sauce just yet.) Of course, I look to the notes to see how I can improve my performance next time. Last year I did a couple things right (I provided โsuperbโ homemade stock for the gravy โ which was like getting a gold star) and also a few things wrong (in the mashed potatoes department: a simple โtoo muchโ). But at least I didnโt mess up the turkey.
Hereโs a sneak peak of my momโs post-game report. Is there any question who I inherited the recording gene from?
Love. Perfect. (I would never do this, but itโs so cool and such a great record to have)โฆ
This is perfect. I want to read all of them!
I love that! Your mom rocks!
Would love the recipe for your delicious stock.
i keep notes, too! did not know you could have too much mashed potatoes (we like to mix them with leftover brussels sprouts, a little cheese and bake for Bubble & Squeak the next day). I donโt do any fancy birds b/c i always think my butterball turkey is delicious. maybe itโs the abundance of wine clouding my view, but by the time plates are full and gravied, no one really notices the turkey.
I do the same thing. It was my husbandโs idea and it comes in really handy when planning the holiday. I also take notes on all my recipes now indicating what I might have changed and did it work or what I should do differently next time!
I want your mom! My mom was always such a control freak about each and every elements, not allowing others to bring things or make much (other than pies, because my sister is without question the best pie maker) that a fair analysis would only prove self mocking. Your family tradition โ while perhaps controlling in its own manner โ is so much more fun and useful.
I always write down menus for holidays and parties we have at our house so I can refer to them for ideas. My notes arenโt quite as detailed, but I love the idea!
Your motherโs handwriting looks so much like my motherโs! And as a crazy listmaker, this is so much up my alley โฆ hmm, maybe I need a new notebook to start recording Thanksgiving details.
My mom is a lawyer, too, and she is such a recorder. Our Thanksgivings have never been traditional as we always traveled with my dad to other countries for work during the holiday (and ate in a nice restaurant), but I can very much understand the detailed records of all other things: gift-giving, birthday celebrations, etc.
WOW. I donโt get to host โ and since the year we made green bean casserole from scratch we are no longer asked to bring anything other than olives and pickles. My husbands family has NO taste.
Well, now we know what likely inspired your Dinner Diary! I love it!
Margit โ The chicken stock recipe is in my book, in the last chapter called โLove is Homemade Stock.โ If you donโt have a copy, Iโm sure the library does! Enjoy!!
http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Story-begins-family-table/dp/0062080903
I love the post-mortem notes (attorney here too)! I make a very detailed menu each year with a timeline starting from eating time and working backwards to the weekend prior + reminders about the frozen pie crusts in the freezer. We host both sides of our family + some others for about 25-30 guests, and I have a 4-burner stove and 1 oven. Notes are key! Definitely adding a โday afterโ section in my Thanksgiving book.
Jennyโ I was slow to realize that taking 90 seconds to comment is no hardship and means a lot. I have read your blog weekly for at least a year and havenโt commented, and now that I have a blog I realize itโs encouraging to know people are reading. So, while this post is interesting to me (as is anything about food, which is why Iโm a devoted reader), I canโt tell you how many times Iโve said, โwow, thatโs a great idea,โ or, โI never thought to add [different ingredient],โ and never took the time to tell you. So thanks for lots of good reads, and I promise to show more often in the future that Iโm grateful for your efforts here.
Thanks Barb! Nice blog!
Fantastic! Totally a system that my dad would dig. But my mom completely owns Thanksgiving too. And there shall be no system changes without her sign off!
:0)
I absolutely love the pic of your momโs notes! What a great system and great record of your familyโs Thanksgiving dinner.
This is the type of insight only family friends know, making your years of logging meals seem [a tad] less extraordinary than those of us that know you simply through the blog. Ah ha! Not only do I love how your family has nailed task-designation ( itโs as though Thanksgiving is a surprise each Nov in my family), but I revel in the details & energy put toward the meal. God, I just love it! I care so much less about eating than I do about planning the Thanksgiving meal.
Oh, this is too awesome! Like mother, like daughter, eh?
for the last couple years the turkey person has been the one that orders (and more importantly pays for) the โTurdukinโ. She made the mistake of surprising everyone with one three years ago at xmas.. Hense she owns one either xmas or thanksgiving every year since. Cause the turkey person in our familyis the one who provides the table and coat check.
About 35+ (has it been that long) my mother-in-law ( who has 7 kids and a million gโkids and great gโkidsโฆshe has passed away many years nowโฆbut) every time the whole fandamily got together โฆat least once a year either xmas, thanksgiving or easter she would drag out a tablecloth she made out of a large flat white sheet and everyone at the meal had to sign the tablecloth. And the next time the tablecloth made an appearance the signatures were embroidered. We signed our names and our kids names with the date. One year my husband spilled his sisters red wine all over the table. And that even got embroidered into the cloth. Its been years since Iโve seen it. I wonder who has it? I should ask someoneโฆโฆ
Iโve always wanted to duplicate this but never have.
Wow โ like mother like daughter ๐ Send a shout out to that mom of yours!
I keep little notes too ๐ Every year Iโm sooooo glad I did. I started as my mom slowly turned over the reins to me many years ago simply bc it was the only way I could remember the recipes since so much of what we cook on Thanksgiving only gets cooked once each year. ๐
loved that last lineโฆ since that was what I was thinking the entire time I read thisโฆ I just started my own dinner journal thanks to inspiration from you!