Top 10 List of Holiday Favorites

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and with the impending holiday comes a few challenges. How big of a turkey do you need? Do you use an oven bag, or just a roasting pan? Do you make that green bean casserole even though no one but your crazy Uncle Joe eats it? And the biggest decision of all – Who has to be the one adult that sits at the kid’s table?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving and I love to eat turkey. I like the day after almost as much, with cold turkey sandwiches made with real mayonnaise, not Miracle Whip. I love visiting with my relatives, in-laws, and invited guests. It seems like this is the official start to the Holiday Season. It doesn’t matter what religion you practice, there is just something in the air that changes your mood and makes you want to hug someone. And it also makes you want to eat. Not just a meal, not just because it is lunch or dinner time, but it is time to eat things you only eat once or twice a year. Here is my list of Holiday Favorites that for some reason I only eat during this time of the year.
1. Turkey. I don’t know why we don’t cook a turkey other than twice a year. Are they only in season after October? I don’t know.
2. Oven baked rolls. I love them, either white or wheat, but definitely fresh out of the oven and covered with gravy.
3. Stuffing. The commercials for Stove Top Stuffing are great, but for some reason we stick with potatoes the other 364 days of the year. Even better, pour gravy over the stuffing while you are at it.
4. Pie. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, heck I even like mince meat pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and that rum sauce poured on top (it is almost like covering it in gravy!). If you like pumpkin pie, my tip to you is to go to CoCo’s Restaurant and pick up one of their Harvest Pies. It is a variation of a traditional pumpkin pie, with the bottom half being pumpkin, the top half pumpkin chiffon. Once you try this, you will never want just plain pumpkin again.
5. Green bean casserole. The one with the fried onions on top. I don’t like it, but my wife swears by it, so it makes the list. She is the boss of me. Deal with it and move on to #6.
6. Olives. We used to only have the black pitted ones so you can put one on each finger and eat them one at a time. Now we have moved on to the stuffed ones, with garlic or jalapenos in the center. Yum!
7. Cranberry sauce. There is always a minor debate of which is better, the one with whole cranberries or the jellied, gelatinous cylindrical goop that holds its form from the can. We buy both just in case.
8. Nuts. We buy the mixed bag and let everyone pick their favorites. Walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, and those dark brown ones that look like orange wedges. Half the fun is busting them up with the nut crackers.
9. Eggnog. You can drink it plain, or sprinkle nutmeg on top. For adults, mix in a little rum or brandy and you can make it through the evening with a house full of people you only invite over a couple of times a year.
10. Holiday cookies / sweets. My grandmother was Norwegian, and she would bake a variety of cookies, fudge, and rum balls that would make a diabetic fall into a coma. Fortunately she passed on both a love for these traditions and the recipe books to make them. I have my son help to make them now, so the tradition lives on.
I hope you enjoy this list, and I also wish you all a happy holiday season. Don’t forget the most important part of this season: everything is good in moderation. And if you overindulge, the local gym is counting on you to sign up in January anyway. Look for the specials to be popping up soon. Seasons Greetings!