Holiday Cooking

It’s that time of year again. Families are coming together around the dining room table to give thanks for things they have had over the past year. With all of your family gathered in one tight place, it makes it hard to keep nerves from fraying. One word about your dry bird from Aunt Sylvie may be enough for you to dive at her throat with the carving knife. However, you can alleviate some of the drama from the chaos of your Thanksgiving dinner by choosing to draw dishes out of a wine glass.

This allows all of the cooks in your family to have some input on something, while taking some of the stress of putting together the entire meal off of the hostess. With a little planning and foresight, you can make it a fun way to alleviate Thanksgiving tension, and make a game out of the men guessing who made what, and which dish is their favorite. The first step is easy. Write down the names of all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes on a slip of paper.

The hostess will take the main dish–the turkey, which leaves the rest of the dishes to the female relatives in the family. Place all of the dishes on a folded slip of paper into a large wine glass. Also add a wildcard to the glass–one woman is responsible for running around, gathering ingredients, and entertaining the men. This wildcard person also gets a bottle of wine as a “consolation prize”. Next, after the names of the dishes are drawn, the female guests will then draw time slots. The time slots will be the amount of time they are in the kitchen with just herself and the “windcard winner” putting together her dish.

After all the dishes are made, and everybody is gathered around the Thanksgiving table, the competition begins. It will be up to the men in the family to choose which dishes are their favorites–aside from the turkey. Remember, the cook for each dish is kept secret, so the men won’t know who made what. Whomever has the most votes after the feast is the winner, and receives a prize of the hostess’ choice. Creating a little Turkey Day competition can be a fun and effective way to keep people from becoming edgy on Thanksgiving. It allows all of the women cooks of the family to have in put about one dish. And it adds a little interest and flare to the table. By the end of the feast, you may have a new tradition on your hands!