Most Thanksgiving or Christmas movie scenes involve the man of the house carving the turkey at the table. With that perfect turkey shown as the centerpiece.
Do people really try carving the turkey at the table and would you believe more men are actually cooking Thanksgiving Dinner?
Remember that perfect table scene from Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” with the anonymously sent prize bird?
If you want to try the whole dinner yourself but are a little afraid try my book called “I Can Cook… Turkey Dinner”. It will take the guess work away from cooking Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. It comes complete with a grocery list, how to set the table, what size turkey to buy to how long to cook it for all the details are covered. All the steps necessary to pull of a perfect turkey dinner are in the book including a time for a nap so the cook would be well rested when guests arrive. Okay if you’re a guy instead of a nap – go watch the PVR!
“Home for the Holidays” directed by Jodie Foster reminded us of the crazy family. Some of us don’t even want to be the same room as some family members for 5 minutes let alone a whole formal dinner. That yearly turkey dinner seems to be cooked by the same person year after year and sometimes it seems like ‘deja vous’, didn’t we just do this yesterday?
And don’t worry, if it is your first time cooking the book will help you get the bird out of the oven before it looks like the turkey from National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation”, it won’t deflate when pierced with a fork.
Not all movies had a chance for that perfect turkey table setting, remember Jean Shepherd’s “A Christmas Story”? The dogs were the only ones to enjoy the bird.
Here’s the menu: Roast Turkey, Sage Stuffing, Gravy, Mashed Potato, Brussel Sprouts/ Mushrooms, Corn Niblets, Glazed Carrot Stick, French Cut Green Beans & Cranberry Sauce.
So why not try to cook Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner yourself? Everyone may be as happy as ‘Dr. Seuss’s Who’s in Who-ville from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”….ending it with….”And he, he himself, the Grinch – carved the roast beast.”
The book is available to purchase on-line at: www.veenacooks.com Oh and I don’t think carving the turkey at the table is a good idea so on the website is a video on how to carve the turkey so it looks presentable at the table.
Veena Thompson
Veena (Sahay) Thompson was born in Suva, Fiji Islands in 1966. Her parents moved to Creston, BC, Canada when she was 6 months old. Veena’s passion for cooking started at a very young age, turning out cinnamon buns from scratch for her 4 siblings at the age of 8. She cooked her first turkey dinner at the age of 12. After fully cooking the turkey she discovered the neck, giblets and liver packaged inside the turkey.Veena's Appearence on Canada AM
As a Red Seal Chef, Veena has taught cooking classes for Scott Town Continuing Education, she has appeared on several television programs doing demonstrations and talking about her first cookbook. Plus articles about her cookbook have appeared in magazines and newspapers across Canada. She also wrote the weekly food column for The Surrey Leader newspaper for three years.
In 2004 Veena completed her Canadian Food Service Nutrition Management certification and now works for Compass Group Canada -Morrison Healthcare at a seniors residence managing the foodservice for 170 residents.
You can find her website at: www.veenacooks.com
