Thanksgiving

Yes, I know what the true historical origins of Thanksgiving is and yes I am aware of the higher meaning of God's blessings that are greater than any of us deserve.  That said, let us talk a little about the food. Like it or not, this day is also a time that good food is usually ingested in large quantities.  I thought I might just give some insights into how I will be scheduling my feasting throughout the day.  First of all, breakfast is not your friend on this day.  This day is about lunch and dinner and the many mini meals in between.  I may have a small bowl of cereal just to get the hunger juices going.  Do NOT have a big breakfast and miss out on the opportunity to have more room available later when its Thanksgiving goodness time.  This particular collection of foods will not come around for a long time so be smart. Now some people like to bring salads and fruit trays and such to these gatherings.  Don't waste your tummy space.  Today is about meat and casseroles.  I personally like the dark turkey on the day of Thanksgiving and save the white meat for leftover sandwiches and such in the subsequent days. Now stuffing is an art.  Nobody likes a really dry or a mushy dressing.  Just the right moistness in the stuffing makes all the difference.  You can even throw some little chunks of turkey in that if you want.  The main casseroles you are going to want to look for are green bean, corn, and sweet potato.  Now, the sweet potato casserole is sweet enough with the brown sugar and potatoes, you don't need to throw any marshmallows on top of it.  Make sure you get plenty of those French's onion strings on the green bean casserole as well.  If you want to go for some bread, I got no problem with that.  Just make sure you don't eat a bunch of it in the beginning or you will fill up too quickly.  I nice bit of Jiffy cornbread fits in well while you are taking in some of those casseroles.  PIES!  You need a good selection of pies.  The staple of course is pumpkin pie.  You got to have at least one piece of that.  The others vary by taste but I would definitely have to go with egg custard, apple, then cherry pies.  If you can't get them all in after your meal, spread it out throughout the afternoon.  If your house is anything like mine, those desserts just sit over there all day and makes for easy grazing as you are able.  Other tips, make sure you have a big enough plate.  If you know your going to your cheap cousins house and they are planning on using those little paper plates you probably want to bring your own.  You don't want to have to take 3 or 4 trips to get what you could have in 1-2. Don't go too crazy with the drinks either. A little bit here and there to cleanse the palate is all you need.  So, take these tips to heart when you go to your Thanksgiving feasts. Prioritize and manage and you'll thank me later.