Thanksgiving, a bit late.

Buckle in, kiddies, it's gonna be a long one!

This Thanksgiving the husband and I ate at his mother's house. Now, I have nothing against the woman personally, but it has to be said that she can't cook meat. Side dishes, veggies, cold items, all good. But I can't tell you how many classic meat dishes - meatloaf, pork chops, pot roast - my husband hated when we first began dating because he thought that they were "too dry." So yeah, the bird was dry, but otherwise we had a good time and plenty of good food. We were also sent home with a huge bag full of dry, flaky turkey.

Next weekend the two co-authors of this blog, moi and the fabulous Dez, are getting together for an event we have dubbed "The Turduckening." Neither Dez nor I have ever tried turducken, and we are very eager to. As I will be leaving for St. Kitts to begin vet school soon, this seemed like a good time to have a get together with our close friends and say to hell with the expense and just do the damn thing. So Dez is preparing the birds and gravy (side note: this quote from Dez exemplifies why she and I are such good friends. "Hell if I'm NOT making gravy out of the pan drippings of three different poultry."), and I am contributing cranberry sauce and stuffing.

Homemade chicken and noodles.

My mom was never a big cook. She knew how, but she didn't enjoy it. Probably because she would get home from working a 7am-5pm shift in the emergency room being vomited on, bled on and having crackheads swear at her and throw their soiled bedpans at her, only to have to cook dinner for two self-absorbed kids who were completely oblivious about what her day had been like. But one of the things that I remember her seeming to take an inkling of pleasure in preparing was her chicken and noodles. This was something that she'd spend a little more time and care on, and it showed in her demeanor when she'd make it. It's a dish that is forever associated for me with calm, relaxed evenings at home watching TGIF, and going out for ice cream later.