A Kitchen’s Thanksgiving

This is a story about Thanksgiving from the perspective of all the different kinds of food and kitchen items that are involved in preparing a Thanksgiving dinner.  The story begins with the opening of the refrigerator.

A bottle of vinegar exclaims, “Everyone, hold your stomach in.  She has returned from grocery shopping.  We need to make room for the turkey.”

The refrigerator door opens and closes a number of times as all the items are placed inside.  A few items are removed momentarily and placed on the counter while the refrigerator is re-arranged so that everything can fit inside.

After the door closes, the bottle of vinegar excitedly says, “By the size of the turkey, it looks like she is going to be hosting a large Thanksgiving dinner.”

The butter says, “It also looks like she is going to be making a number of dishes.  There must be at least a dozen sticks.”

A can of corn that is stored in one of the cupboards welcomes the canned yams and cranberries as they are placed on the shelves, “Welcome!  You are in for a treat.  She makes the best sweet potato side dish with granola and cinnamon.  I also heard she is going to try out a new cranberry sauce recipe.”  

Fresh vegetables are placed inside the refrigerator including tomatoes, long asparagus spears, and red potatoes.  The asparagus will be steamed and topped with a light butter sauce.

The countertop is filled with a number of bottled sodas, a loaf of fresh bread to make the stuffing, and a variety of sugars and flours.

In the dining room, a large tablecloth is placed on the table.  The table is set with china, silverware, napkins, as well as a number of silver serving dishes that are only used on special occasions.  A couple of candlesticks are placed on top of the table.  A floral arrangement will eventually be placed in between them.

After the table is set, one of the plates says, “It’s so nice to be set on the table.  It is going to be a big Thanksgiving dinner.  You can tell by all of the serving pieces.  A few of the small crystal bowls have also been taken out of the cabinet.” 

The hostess places a few kitchen appliances on the counter including a large stand-up mixer, blender, and electric knife.  The electric knife says, “This is my favorite holiday.  It’s the one holiday where I play one of the most important roles.  I hope they don’t forget to sharpen me.  I tend to get a little rusty, but once they start carving, I quickly remember how to cut each slice evenly.”

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the hostess begins making a few of the dishes.  She makes the sweet potato side dish, the stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and another side dish using the red potatoes.

The refrigerator is constantly opened and closed as different foods are selected to make the dishes.  The vinegar looks over to the side of the refrigerator where the mustard, ketchup, and salad dressings are located and cheers them up by saying, “Don’t feel left out.  You will be used the day after Thanksgiving to make sandwiches.”

The day before Thanksgiving, the hostess visits a bakery to pick-up a few pies.  Once she returns, she places them on the counter.  The pumpkin pie turns to one of the pies and says, “You must be the custom-made pie.  She always buys three.  She buys a pumpkin pie, a cherry pie, and a custom-made pie.  Which type of pie are you?”

The pie says, “I’m a turtle pie.  I’m made with walnuts and chocolate.”

The pumpkin pie says, “That sounds good.  When the guests are asked what piece of pie they want, you are going to make it hard choice.”

On Thanksgiving morning, the hostess wakes up early and begins preparing the turkey.  She carefully washes the turkey and places it onto a large roasting pan.  She lightly coats it with a mixture of butter, oil, and herbs.  She adds a number of spices on top of the turkey and places the stuffing inside.  She places a large piece of aluminum foil on top of the turkey and places it back into the refrigerator.

The vinegar says, “What’s wrong.  If she is planning to serve Thanksgiving dinner around 4:00 pm, you should be in the oven by now.”

The turkey says, “The recipe calls for a few spices she forgot to buy.  She’s running to the store to get them.”

The vinegar says, “I’m not sure what else you need.  You smell delicious.”

The hostess returns from the store, finishes preparing the turkey and places it into the oven.  As the turkey bakes in the oven, she checks on it periodically.

At 3:00 pm, the guests begin to arrive.  At around 4:30, they move into the dining room and take their seats around the table.  The turkey is brought out and they begin carving the turkey.  Each guest is asked if they would like a piece of light or dark meat, and is served a piece of turkey.  Then, they begin filling their plates with the side dishes commenting on how good everything tastes.  For dessert, they enjoy a piece of pie with a small spoonful of whipped cream on top.

After the guests leave, the leftovers are placed back into the refrigerator.  The vinegar says, “The food must have been very good.  There are not a lot of leftovers.”

After the hostess finishes cleaning up and leaves the kitchen, the kitchen sings a song.

Turkey and stuffing
Sides and sauces
And, pies for dessert
She makes us into her favorite dishes

If they run out
If they don’t turn out
She simply returns to the kitchen
And, makes something else

After they finish singing, the serving dish that holds the gravy says, “That was a lot of fun.  I can’t wait until next year.”