Thanksgiving Mishaps

blondiex46

I have done thanksgiving 4 about 35 years, with 5 kids the oldest being  40 and 20 year old twins,  i knew this year like last year i couldnt do it. One of the twins said tat he wanted to do it and my oldest  son said hd would help. George  (twin) got up at 8am and peeled potatoes. Then him n the twin went out to grandparents  4 breakfsst. Steroids  r keeping me up, went 2 sleep at 330am, intending to put turkey in at noon to eat at 4. Woke up at 135pm ran downstairs and tom (oldest son n grandson ) we playing n he had put the turkey in..so we hung they started making rolls n vegs n tom said mom when is the turkey done, sai no idea, he said there is a popper, so i said look for it, cant find it, well maybe there isnt one, no bag says so...i said been in there long enough take it out.  So then they said mom no meat where is all the turkey meet, went in the kichen no meat on the

 plate i started cutting, going crazy, lifted the turkey up n he had cooked the turkey upside down n there was the popping thing, we were laughing so hard

But it turned out awesome,  memories 

springwatch

Not a thanksgiving story, as we don't have that holiday this side of the Atlantic, but a Christmas turkey story.

My mother was doing the dinner for our family, including my highly critical grandmother - her MIL. My mother made a special effort and had bought a huge presentation plate for the turkey which she very carefully arranged with turkey,stuffing, etc. My grandmother who was already sitting at the table when the turkey was brought out asked to see the plate of turkey close up before it was placed in front of my father for carving. My mother brought it around to her and trying to be helpful tilted the plate towards her to afford a better view. The 13 lb turkey slid off the plate and landed in my grandmother's lap. It would take me too long to describe the chaos that followed but we did salvage enough of the dinner to eat and my grandmother had her dinner in my Dad's dressing gown.

Another little story that happened yesterday, your Thanksgiving. It was a normal day here so I had chemo but they sent me down to radiology to check out why my port keeps blocking. It was a long, long day especially as my daughter and I had to take my 2 year old grandson with us. He was very good until we went from the chemo ward down to radiology. We were sitting in the waiting room when he announced, "I've done a poo! Yes, there is definitely something in there." Everybody laughing. When I came back from seeing the radiologist he was becoming very fractious (no nap all day) and started whining so I said he could come to the changing room while I put my things back on. in a loud voice which definitely carried to the waiting room he announced, "you have two nipples!" Raucous laughter followed.

april485

OMG, what a great thread! One year my Mom came a day early to help me prepare TG dinner cause I was having 21 people that year. She had just put a coating of vegetable oil all over the huge bird and rubbed it in meticulously so that it was all covered (makes for a perfectly browned skin, try it!) and then she asked me where my salt and pepper were. I told her that I had a container of kosher salt (I use that exclusively when I cook) in a bowl in the cabinet next to the stove and the pepper mill was on the back of the stove. Well, she did not ask which cupboard I meant and went in the right one instead of the left. I keep baking supplies in the right one. She pulled a container out that contained GRANULATED SUGAR and completely coated the bird with it. Then she added pepper. When the bird came out, it was VERY brown, almost black and kind of gooey looking skin...LOL.

Everyone LOVED it and thought the skin was the best part. Said it was sweet and nutty tasting. I realized what she had done as soon as I tasted it. I said "Mom, what cupboard did you take the salt from" and she pointed to my baking cupboard!

It all worked out in the end.

Then there was the Xmas eve at my Mom's when the septic tank backed up and we had a house full of guests and it smelled like a sewer at our house..LOL

Gotta love the holidays!

Thanks for a fun look back Caryn!

Spookiesmom

If my mom did dinner, not drunk auntie, we had sage dressing, and oyster dressing for my dad. That always brought the question, is there too much sage in it? Mom never measured anything, like so many wonderful cooks don't

ruthbru

All these stories have dredged up a mishap memory from when I was a girl. My parents, who were wonderful and welcoming people, would invite people from their church who were alone for holiday meals (and other meals too, our table was always full on Sunday with elderly people, college students etc., etc.). Anyway, one Christmas (maybe it's okay to include Christmas mishaps too) they invited the new intern at the church and his wife to eat with us. Well, they turned out to be not very pleasant people. The fellow had thinning greasy black hair which he had combed into a swirl on the top of his head. The wife had long red hair, down to her waist, which she would flick as she pontificated on various subjects. Very pompous, snobby, holier-than-thou types (I don't know whatever happened to them, but I sure hope he flunked out of Divinity School and is not out there driving people away from the church by being a pastor!). Anyway, the meal was finally over. I helped my mom clear the dishes and serve the dessert, which consisted of several kinds of pie, each piece mounded high with homemade whipped cream. I brought out two pieces at a time, and as I set the husband's down with my left hand, the plate in my right had tipped and, in slow motion, the pie slid, whipped cream-side first, off the plate and onto the hair of the wife.....she was jabbering away and didn't notice, but the rest of us watched in horror as the whipped creamed pie slowly slid all the way down that long red hair to the floor (a Freudian 'slip' ????).  It brought a rousing end to what had been an otherwise dull evening!!!!

MelissaDallas

I'm having a hard time deciding who wins...

Tina2

These stories are priceless. I've read most of them to my partner and we've laughed and laughed.

Thank you, all!

exbrnxgrl

Tina,

What I love best, is that despite the mishaps, we all went on to have wonderful holidays (and great stories). It's important reminder that the spirit of Thanksgiving transcends even the worst culinary disasters.

Caryn

proudtospin

Caryn, what I enjoy most is that you started the thread for some fun and you are not into negative thinking about all this crud you have!  You are inspiring, thank you for cheering everyone up by bringing the jollies to us all!

MinusTwo

Caryn - thanks for starting this thread.

Biggest mis-hap was my son's first year in college. He brought home everyone left in the dorm and we had no idea how many were coming. We didn't have enough potatoes, so as my girlfriend & I were mashing, we kept adding instant flakes from a box, then more milk. The potatoes had the consistency of thick Elmer's glue. And of course the kids never let me live it down.

My first married Thanksgiving we were far away from all family in grad school & celebrated with another young couple in the same situation. Both of us came from families where LOTS of cousins & strays were always invited to eat on Sundays & holidays. Neither of us had a clue how to cook for only 4. We had turkey AND ham and each of us cooked all four family's traditional side dishes in quantities for 12. I had a small apartment sized refrigerator & only a card table - they lived in a trailer. We cried about all the wasted food.

exbrnxgrl

proudtospin. Minustwo and everyone else,

No thanks needed. Those who've "known" me for a while know I believe laughter, and especially laughing at ones own missteps and mishaps, is fabulous medicine. It is not always easy but my greatest motivation for looking on the sunny side is that looking at the dark side, for me, is letting bc rob me of who I am. Rest assured, I am quite normal and have seen the bottom of the pit, but do whatever I need to do not to stay there. I simply can't give what good days I have away.

Ladies, start breaking out the Christmas mishap tales. I don't celebrate Christmas, but you can do a lot of damage with latkes and a menorah

proudtospin

I complete agree with you, you are my idol, I spent the holiday with a bunch of negative thinking folks who assume the worst with a c diagnosis and intend to stay away from them in the future!  unless I can convert them~~

glennie19

What have YOU caught on fire with a menorah??    LOL!

One year synagogue had the Hanukkah party on the 8th night,,, probably fell on a Sunday or some non-school night,,, so imagine EVERYONE with their own personal menorah lighting all the candles.  Talk about a fire hazard. Nothing happened,, but I've noticed that every year since,, the party is always on an early night,,, so less candles, somewhat less of a fire hazard.

stagefree

great topic Caryn ) enjoying it in Turkey hehe .. Don't overcook.. I might burn!

Hugs

Ebru

exbrnxgrl

Ebru,

I was waiting for you to jump in and make Turkey pun! Can you entertain us with any stories about culinary mishaps from your lovely country?

Caryn

Claire_in_Seattle

Best latkes are fried in goose fat. I am not Jewish, but my ex is, and the years I made a goose for Christmas, we had the most wonderful latkes afterwards. You also need to make your own fresh apple sauce for the latkes.

susan_02143

Duck fat works well too. I make rostis regularly, but duck fat is reserved for special occasions.

*susan*

Anonymous

Caryn,

Thanks for opening this up to everyone. I really enjoyed all of the funny stories.

You've got a great sense of humor and you contribute so much to all of us.

Beppy ツ

exbrnxgrl

Just plain old canola or corn oil for me. My bubbe might have used chicken fat, but I never saw or ate goose while growing up. Maybe no geese in her shtetl ? I do make my own applesauce from time to time (I do it each fall with my class), but my mother never did. So, for latkes, only replicating my youth makes me truly happy

Romansma

Still laughing at the cat flying out of the fireplace

Leah_S

Another one who never had goose fat (or chicken fat) for the latkes - plain old oil was fine, and we had a choice of sour cream or applesauce with them. Most people had both, but I'm an applesauce girl and my father was adamant that it had to be sour cream. Hence both.

In Israel donuts instead of latkes are the custom. I'll take both.

My mother made stuffing with saltine crackers or matza. Just to add another option for all of you!

Leah

proudtospin

I too am partial to the cat flying out of the fire place~~

lilylady

This is a hilarious thread. Makes me feel so much better about my own boo-boo

I had  a lovely oven fire Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. I put 4 sticks of butter inside the oven to soften-didn't have the oven on but I was disinfecting all the counter tops so thought hat was a good place at the time. Later in the day I decide to bake the first of my pies so turned the oven on to 400Deg and went to take a quick shower while it preheated. Completely forgot the butter though...

 It melted and then the paper wrapping fell onto the stove bottom and caught on fire. I came out of the bathroom to find the entire house smoked up-the detectors screaming their heads off-and I was totally unaware. I wasn't in the shower that long-just long enough for a disaster. Got the fire out-opened all the windows-had to go to the creepy basement to get a ladder to get the smoke detectors to shut up.

 Had to leave the house because the smell was so bad. Let everything cool down then had to wipe the whole thing down then turn on the self-clean-which made everything smoky again-and even stinkier than it was. But this time I was smart enough to stay nearby. What a mess-I gave up on the pies and went to bed with most of the downstairs windows open-it was 23 degrees out-but couldn't stand the smell .

  Dinner wasn't at my house thank goodness. Pies got done ans learned a big lesson.

exbrnxgrl

The cat story is definitely hysterical. We only fried latkes in oil as it symbolizes the reason we make latkes in the first place (miracle of a single nights oil burning for eight nights). And for sure no goose or chicken fat because then sour cream wouldn't have been an option. Like Leah, however, I'm an applesauce fan.

glennie19

Applesauce fan here too.

proudtospin

I may have to give one of the awards to Lily~~

cat is still up there though~~

april485

Cat wins the Oscar as far as I am concerned. What a visual! Meow! LOL

heartnsoul76

Haha, she flew out above the flames like she was wearing Superman's cape! Can't figure out how she defied gravity. I guess her adrenaline kicked in - I know mine would!

GG27

My vote goes for the cat too!

mel147

I have to agree...the cat one was one of my favorites, too!