It's Just a Big Chicken

     It's really just a big chicken but like many large things size can be intimidating so if you are the one charged with cooking a turkey and you've never done it, well, all I can say is really, it's just a big chicken. This year I expect there will be many, many first timers who always relied on someone else to cook the turkey.

    For those of us in the U.S. Thanksgiving is all about being with people, whether they are your family or not, and it's all about food.  It's not about gifts or wish lists or candy canes, it's about the turkey.  It's about walking into the house if you are the guest and smelling that once in a year aroma and if you are cooking it's all about spending the day smelling that aroma.  Whether you are the one spending the whole week ahead of the holiday shopping, prepping, making lists, setting the table and shining the silver or if you are the one who shows up with a pie, it's all about two things, your family and friends and the turkey.  It's about bringing out your best dishes, the once-a-year china.  It's about looking over recipes for new ideas that just won't fly because this is a day for traditions.  This is the one day you are supposed to have everyone's favorite side dish there for them, even if that one person is the only one who eats it. It is not a day for trying anything new.  It's about dressing a little nicer, showing up hungry, bringing an apron so you can help with the dishes.

                  The turkey is the star of the show, center stage, taking a bow,

    This year will probably see most of us breaking with tradition as we find a small frozen turkey breast at the store or warm up a frozen dinner while we Skype, FaceTime, Zoom with our families and friends.  It will be quiet.  It will be solitary.  It might be daring if you've done the homework in preparation by isolating for the two weeks ahead of time, taken everyone's temperature, wore masks and promised no hugging.  As of today, we aren't sure what's going to happen with our little family.  We are taking it day by day and in the end it will be the one who cooks the turkey who makes the call because it takes awhile to thaw out a 26 pound turkey that's really just a big chicken.