Reminiscing

So, I've spent the majority of today surfing the net for food related topics - all pregnancy-tinged, of course. I woke up and decided to act depressed today b/c of what happened yesterday with the brown discharge. I still haven't gotten dressed. Jake ended up having a football day again today, so it wasn't like I had to entertain anyone anyway. I flipped on the Food Network and it was one Thanksgiving 'leftover' themed show after another. It's most definitely my favorite time of the year - for cooking, that is. Did I tell you about the time I cooked a feast for 15 people, when only two people were eating in reality? Wait - I'm talking about every year I've cooked for Thanksgiving, which has been almost every year since I've been in DC from the time I was 18 years old (with the exception of the times I went home with ex Charles- barf. And the one time I went to Marsha's cousin's house. ).

Let's see: Thanksgiving '97: I think this was the year I went to Marsha's cousin's house, where I had probably some of the most amazing food I have ever had in my life. The standouts that I can still recall are the red velvet cake, macaroni and cheese (the kind with the big, swollen macaroni) and greenbeans and potatoes. Or was it greens? I don't remember. I am still on the hunt for a recipe that will take me back to that day. I even tried out 2 or 3 at a time at home in California one holiday - what a disappointment. This actually may have been the day that my love affair with food mutated into a love affair with cooking. I was amazed at the portion sizes this man (Marsha's cousin) was able to cook, and how he was still able to preserve the integrity of the flavor. Shit, what an integritous flavor it was. He was the first person I had met who called himself a cook. My mom is a cook, sure. But there was just something pure about his love for cooking...moms tend to be cooks because of necessity, and then end up having a love-hate relationship with cooking as time wears on.

Thanksgiving '98: Uh, I think this was the year I went home to Nowhere, Pennsylvania with Charles. Stove top stuffing (or stove top-like stuffing) and dry, unseasoned turkey are all I remember. Peace out to the fam if you come across this and put the pieces together - sorry, I'm a food snob.

Thanksgiving '99: I don't remember what I did this year. Did I go home with Charles again? Perhaps. Oh wait - Now I remmeber. Charles came home with me to California, where we had the typical dinner my Mom and other family members cook every year. Good stuff.

Thanksgiving '00: This was the year that my brother came down from New York to join me in DC. We hadn't spent very much time together prior to the holiday, aside from a weekend trip I had made to NY earlier that year, and had an absolute blast. I remember both of us being high and drunk pretty much the entire time. And this marked the beginning of my overpreparation of Thanksgiving food for years to come. I made a huge turkey (mom-style, which I refuse to deviate from - it's the best); ham (my extended family doesn't eat pork, so I've never had a ham at Thankgiving. I don't know why I wanted it at this particular junction); macaroni and cheese, green beans and potatoes, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes...I probably made more shit but I can't think of what. In any case, the portions were just ridiculous. I remember sharing with the next door neighbors to try to get rid of it.

Thanksgiving '01: I had moved to NY to live with Charles, and was pretty much obsessed with recipe collecting and cooking at this point. I made the mom style turkey, but also some chile-rubbed turkey recipe I found in bon appetit, complemented by a chorizo, butternut squash and cornbread stuffing recipe. The chile turkey left much to be desired, but the stuffing will be in the repertoire for years to come. I even made it for the fam at Christmastime - and have been put in charge of making the stuffing since. I leave out the chorizo and substitute italian turkey sausage...left out the squash...and I think this year I'll leave out the sausage as well. I think I'm a stuffing purist. The cornbread recipe and seasoning it what kills this recipe. (i.e., right now I'm watching Food Network and Rachael Ray is making Apple stuffing? Gross).

Wait - is this the year I flew down to Jamaica? Stuff is starting to run together, so maybe I'm skipping something. I did go to Jamaica the Thanksgiving that I made the chile turkey, but I think I made the food before I left. I was highly upset when Charles told me that he and his friends ate the chile turkey four days after I had prepared it - at which point I'm sure it was doubly disgusting. I was pissed b/c other people would have seen it as a representation of my cooking.

Thanksgiving '02: I'm drawing a blank. One of the prior years may have included another year at Charles' family's house. I think Thanksgiving '01 is actually Thanksgiving '02. and Thanksgiving '00 is actually Thanksgiving '01. I don't know.

Thanksgiving '03: I moved back to DC to go to law school. Georgetown, guess I haven't mentioned it before b/c this is only my second blog, and I have fortunately managed to avert the topic of law school. It will come up soon. It's inevitable. Finals, accepting offers...ok I'm not going to start. Anyways, I was living in MD with a roommate, who went to NY to spend Thanksgiving with her parents. Charles came down, and I cooked a magnificent meal. It was reminiscent of the first meal I cooked for my brother - but fine tuned and that much richer and decadent. It was amazing. One of our friends came over as well, and we all ate together. There was wine and beer. A lot of it. I believe that would be the first time I ever cooked for more than one person, aside from myself. I made breakfast the next day, which was also amazing. This was the year in which I cooked my best shit, undoubtedly. Just all around. The stress of the first year of law school probably helped.

Thanksgiving '04: Still living in MD. But a guy I had met in London wanted to come visit me. It was his first time in America. It wasn't a very fun trip at all, in my opinion, for many reasons. My roommate's parents were in town for the first half of the week, so we had to stay in a hotel. He had certain expectations of American and DC in particular that were hard to meet. And we had a second cultural barrier, as he was from Sudan and transplanted into London for 8 years. Also, I was pregnant. But I didn't know it yet. So his constant cigarette and weed smoking was sickening. And I couldn't escape whatever stresses I was feeling at the time, because alcohol made me sick. It was just a horrible time. Anyway, we went back down to my place in MD, and I cooked the typical feast. It was amazing, again, but I don't remember it being as good as '03's meal. He was complaining the whole time that I was spending too much time in the kitchen. We went to NY afterward so that he could see the big city, and came back down. The night we came back down I decided to go get a pregnancy test and foudn out I was pregnant. It was just a bad holiday.

Thanksgiving '05: This year, me, Jake's mom, and Jake are driving down to NC to his father, brother and sister's place. I'm a little apprehensive - just because of the good impression I'll have to make. And I'm pregnant.