While some of the items on my before I turn 25 bucket list have been biggies - like travelling alone, getting my tattoo and running a half marathon - I've also been immensely satisfied with accomplishing smaller life skills, like learning to make a decent cocktail (pouring vodka and juice just does not make you a killer hostess) or yesterday's preparation of a Thanksgiving feast.
I am relatively competent in the kitchen. I love to bake, and the office gets a lot of cookies, brownies, squares, cupcakes and muffins as a result. But, especially since I've been living on my own, I have trouble working up the effort to make a proper meal every night. And a girl cannot live on stirfry, pasta and cereal alone.
So, with my decision to reclaim my holiday enthusiasm - tempered by a bit of that inevitable homesickness - I set about making a full Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. From scratch. And, I should mention, I've never done any of these recipes (except for the muffins) alone before.
I started at 9 a.m., putting together my mother's dressing recipe - which involved cooking rice, mashing potatoes, grating veggies and a whole lot of "mushing" - and whipping up a batch of spicy cornbread muffins, a recipe I'd beta-tested on Friday. Next up was roasting cauliflower, garlic and asparagus while I was in the shower, then it was on to preparing a tarragon, chive, parsley and paprika rub for the turkey and popping all 10 pounds of it in the oven. My roasted garlic went into a vat of mashed potatoes, and then I whipped up a goat cheese and cranberry salad with some homemade balsamic vinagrette. Finally, a large pan of apple crisp to finish off the meal, and suddenly, it was 3:30.
I'm thrilled that I a) got through it and b) that everything was edible! In fact, I got rave reviews. Along with a week's worth of leftovers.
It was a great reminder that even though I'm single, and my family is far away, I can still embrace holiday traditions. And make a kickass meal.
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