Sunday, November 15, 2009

Don't Hate Me, but...

...can I let you in on a little secret? We're friends now, right...? I know you, you know me, we joke, we pal around... you like my cupcakes, I like your comments... we're good. We're tight. If you needed a kidney, eh, well, maybe let's just say I know somebody who knows somebody that's got two kidneys too many. Maybe that neighbor across the way's got grass that's just a little too green for you. It'd be kinda funny if, I don't know, maybe tomorrow they find that a random brood of particularly territorial gophers have suddenly taken up residence. You know, that sort of thing.
If that is in fact the case, then let me continue with my little secret. It's nothing, really. Nothing to get all worked up about. No biggie.
In fact, forget I said anything. I don't have a secret. There's nothing to tell. Except...I don't like Thanksgiving food.
There, did you catch that? What? You missed it? OK, well, here it is again: I really, really don't like Thanksgiving food.
Still nothing? Ugh. Fine. This is the last time though, OK?
I REALLY, REALLY, MOST DEFINITELY AND COMPLETELY DO NOT LIKE THANKSGIVING FOOD.
You still there? Whacked your jaw pretty hard on the keyboard there, huh? Still reading? Well, keep going.
It's true, I really don't like Thanksgiving food. Let me clear something up before going on, though: I am NOT saying I don't like Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is by far one of my favorite holidays. It's right up there with Christmas and my birthday (Yes, my birthday is a holiday. National Shrimp Scampi Day. Mark it down.) The only problem I have is with the food.
When I was growing up, we didn't exactly have traditional Thanksgiving dinners. My childhood consisted of an overbearing, overprotective, fresh-off-the-boat Italian father who controlled just about everything I did from what I wore to what I ate to how I did my hair. When it came to food, American cuisine just didn't cut it for him. Some of my most relished memories of my childhood were of stealing away to friends' houses for a taste of some real American food like Kraft macaroni and cheese or Hershey's chocolate milk. I recall my dad coming back from a business trip only to find Kraft Parmesan cheese in the fridge (What?? My mom was a working mom taking care of two kids while dad was away. Kraft Parmesan was easier than pulling out the giant hunk of imported Parmigiano-Reggiano [Ugh, sorry...I always hear Giada de Laurentiis saying that whenever I say it]) and throwing it away whilst yelling at us that it would make us glow in the dark if we ate it.
Needless to say, my childhood was filled with Italian food and a lot of it. Don't get me wrong -- I'm very happy about my Italian heritage and I love love LOVE pasta to death (that's for a whole other post, though), but it just means that there were a lot of American foods that never really got a chance to show off to my tastebuds.
Like Thanksgiving food.
Not all Thanksgiving food gives me the ooks, though. Most of the main dishes get the cold shoulder from me: turkey, sweet potatoes (Yes, yes, even with the marshmallows. Go figure on this cupcake combo being one of my favorites), cranberries, stuffing, and gravy (ew, ew, ew). I've started to warm up to mashed potatoes, though, and I can do green beans, too. Since Thanksgiving at my aunt's house is a potluck, though, I usually bring a pasta dish and skate through dinner on that.
My real Thanksgiving meal, the meal that is the epitome of what a Thanksgiving meal is supposed to be, happens after all the dinner plates get stacked next to the sink: pie. Oh my good heavens above can I eat pie. I'm not talking one slice here. I'm not talking two. I'm talking 9, possibly 10 slices of pie. You see, at our Thanksgiving celebration, each person has a designated role (i.e., me - pasta, mom - famous broccoli, cousin Michael - inordinate amounts of pie in every flavor imaginable).

When Michael makes his pies, we're talking A LOT OF PIE. Twelve, maybe fifteen pies. Pumpkin pie. Pecan pie. Sweet monkeys do I love pecan pie. Berry pie. Berry cobbler. Cheesecake swirl pie. Crazy happy yum pie with delicious on top. I can't even think straight I'm getting all nutso thinking about how ridiculously hopped up on sugar I'm going to be in just a couple weeks (only to inevitably crash later on the nearest couch or relatively stable horizontal surface).

Anyway, regardless of my distaste for the traditional food of this amazing holiday that celebrates both giving thanks and gorging oneself on anything within arm's reach, I wanted to share with you my FIND OF THE DAY (courtesy of my loving ♥Executive Cupcake Analyst♥):

Apparently, this recipe collection came as a little bonus for his subscription to Sirius XM Satellite radio. They sent it out to all their subscribers and, naturally, he sent it to me so I could scroll immediately to page 41 to check out the desserts. I wanted to share the wealth, though, so click, scroll, download, save, print, or do whatever you want to do with this little gem.

Whatever you decide to do, though, we're still friends, right...?



17 comments:

  1. don't worry! I'm in the same boat ;) my favorite part of thanksgiving is the pumpkin pie! have a great weekend xoxo

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  2. Oh now I got to have giblet gravy and stuffing that has been baked into little balls ( not real big on the regular stuffing myself either).. but now pecan pie.... oh I can put away some pecan pie... LOVE IT

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  3. So, now I am curious, what will your menu consist of this Thanksgiving?

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  4. Blasphemy Miss DOT!!! Simply Blasphemy. I can say no more. *sigh*

    Just kidding....

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  5. Maybe we should form a club or support group for holiday lovin' people who don't feel the slightest urge to gorge themselves at the Thanksgiving Feast. I've always felt like a bit of a black sheep at Thanksgiving since I really don't care for Turkey. I like roasting turkey and carving turkey, but would be fine never eating it again. I've tried to keep things exciting by trying new side dishes every year. Last year I was thrilled with a baked artichoke heart dish and a gruyere/spinach dish. Your pie smorgasbord sounds heavenly. I'm with you on the Pecan Pie! I will continue to eat it until I'm green in the gills!

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  6. Wait wait. I'm still recovering from you secret confession.....

    I'm not sure if I can get over it.

    If we can in fact be blog friends.

    What kind of a person doesn't like turkey?

    TURKEY.

    Seriously?

    Sigh.

    I'm going to TRY to overlook this little "quirk" of yours. I'm gonna try. Because frankly, I like you. You are delish. Your writing is delectable and your cupcakes are mouth watering.

    So we just won't discuss our difference, okay?

    It's better this way. ;)

    BlogBaby

    P.S. Thanks for stopping by for my SITS day and for adding me to your blog roll I truly appreciate it!

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  7. OMGoodness! I can't imagine not liking THANKSGIVING food! mmm... but I can see where you're coming from. I don't really like just anyone's Thanksgiving food, well... no one's, but my own. ooo, I could be in trouble with that comment, like my mom. :)

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  8. Love your humorous take on life. Yea for the poop being off the nav bar.

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  9. I have to tell you... that I love your blog. I laughed so hard at all the pictures you linked and the way you word things is priceless :P

    And my husband makes the best Key Lime Pie I've ever tasted... we love pie too!

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  10. Even though you're crazy I still love ya! :)

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  11. Guess what? I think turkey is disgusting. Stuffing is weird - bread is not meant to be soggy! I like sweet potatoes, but hold all the sugar and marshmallows. See? You're not crazy!

    PS - I'm obsessed with all things Italian, we went to Italy for 2 weeks for our honeymoon last June. It was AMAZING!

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  12. Oh, the humanity! ;-) I guess I'll just have to look forward to your post about your Thanksgiving desserts. That's the best part anyway! :-)

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  13. I don't really like thanksgiving food either! Hooray, I've found a non-thanksgiving-food-liking-friend :)Pies....yum yum (except for pumpkin, yuck. I hate all things nutmeg and clove). I am pretty sure Adam married me for my chocolate pecan pie. I make it every thanksgiving. You can ask him, he'll probably say the same thing :)

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  14. I get it- I'm not the biggest thanksgiving food fan... except for stuffing and apple pie. I could just eat that for thanksgiving and be set. Of course, I have to eat thanksgiving food twice in that weekend due to having to visit both my husband and my parents! That is overwhelming.

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  15. i'm not big on thanksgiving food, either. i live off of the mashed potatoes and veggies and a little bit of dark meat. turkey's gross. i love ham but i just don't really like the whole big meal thing, either. i actually tried to get my family to just do desserts this year. needless to say i didn't win.

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  16. Yes, I can vouch for that - she doesn't like Thanksgiving food. She also doesn't like Italian wedding food - but that's another story!
    Love, Mama Dot
    PS Thanks for returning Bon Apetite!

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