Thanksgiving Eve

I don’t feel that I obsess about food, but often I will call home to inquire about the menu for the evening meal. Sometimes options are given, and I get my choice. Usually though, I am expected to eat what is served, and I usually do. However, it is nice to know ahead of time whether it’s one of my favorites or not. And if not, I can ready myself for the coming culinary experience.

When we are invited over for dinner I will ask my wife, Rhonda, what we will be having.

She rarely knows and yet will never ask.  The closest she gets is asking if she can bring anything. A few questions wouldn't hurt.

On one level, I am merely wondering (but not obsessing). Secondly, I need to know if I should starve myself and go there hungry (or not “spoil my appetite,” as my mother used to say), or should I pack a lunch as I may not like what is offered for dinner. I think it’s just nice to know.

This is true during the holidays as well.  There are some traditional holiday meals where you know with certainty what will be on the table: hors d’oeuvres are a good way to end the year and start a new one; ham is served at Easter; Independence Day is celebrated with a picnic or a barbeque; Christmas and Christmas Eve is anyone’s guess and usually left up to the host and family traditions; Thanksgiving is perhaps the most predictable meal of the year.

For many years, when we were first married and the kids were little we would travel to the middle of Wisconsin to celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. For a meal away from home you could not do better. Julia Child and M.F.K.

Fisher would have begged for her recipes. I feel like Pavlov’s dog as I salivate at just the thought of sitting at her table.

But, eventually other obligations arose and traditions changed.  Even though we no longer go to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving I am still well fed in Minnesota.  And from what I hear even the traditional turkey dinner is no longer a sure thing at the meal of giving thanks.  There are tales where cold soup and lentils are served instead of the big bird trimmed with cranberries (can ridges still imprinted), dressing, smashed potatoes, breads, pumpkin pie (Festal or fresh) and so on.

My friend, Jeff, has developed a means to manage the risk of not getting a proper meal at Thanksgiving, and perhaps the best part of his plan is that no embarrassing situations need arise.  He never makes a fuss by asking the host ahead of time and he’s not disappointed when an eggplant soufflé is set before him.

This is because he celebrates the night before. That’s right – Thanksgiving Eve. I gathered from our phone conversation that his wife is a willing partner in this trend-setting activity. Having the whole meal the night before was born from his desire to guarantee a generous helping of proper leftovers for the following day or two. A wonderful arrangement it seems.

All this talk about food has made me hungry, even at midnight when I am trying to put this column and me to bed.  I am blessed to never have to go to bed hungry. I am aware of how much I have to be thankful for – my family and friends, my health, my home, my job, peace in my own country and peace in my home. But tomorrow I am going to ask Rhonda about her menu plans for our Thanksgiving dinner. Just to be sure.