Cranberry Thanksgiving (with Dandy Lions)

First things first, to give credit where credit is due, I did not take this pic. It’s Mouse’s and it’s from last weekend when it was still Indian Summer. Today has ended up in the 40s, which is too warm for snow but the clouds this afternoon sure looked like snow clouds to me. Anyway, I love this pic. Mouse, like her moom (aka me), is exclusively an iPhoneographer (I *think*). She has a better eye and more patience than I do to get just the right focus.

So, Thanksgiving during a pandemic? Even though it’ll just be us two for dinner, I’m going to do a version of what we usually cook, more or less with the smallest turkey I can find. I freeze the leftovers.

Turkey? I know it’s easy to order a turkey but I didn’t think it would be easy to order it on a regular Plum curbside grock order (there are other good places to order turkeys but I rejected those for complicated reasons). I was thinking about having my Plum inside connection scout for one but then I got a seductive email about pre-ordering fresh turkeys. I have my eye tentatively on a pre-brined one. The problem is, it’s in-store pickup. But. I could get my connection to pick it up for me or the GG, who is not as much of a COVID Coward as I am, could run over and grab it.

Cranberry sauce? Mine is not fancy but I make it with fresh cranberries. The Plum today had them in their online ordering system but I didn’t quite trust that they were actually in stock. I texted my insider and said, “Next time you are at work, could you take a walk through produce and see if there are fresh cranberries?” She was at work but cranberries weren’t, so she was gonna keep an eye out. Then I looked at Argus and THEY HAVE THEM! If they are gone by the time I put an order in, it turns out that Knight’s Market has them (GG was down there this afternoon).

Chex mix? I make Chex mix twice a year – Thanksgiving and xmas. It’s the only cereal I ever buy any more. I tried Amazon. Rice and Corn Chex? Yes. Wheat Chex? Unavailable and not sure if/when it’ll be in stock. Hmmm… I could get a triple pack of Chex… Maybe… I make mine with mixed nuts, which I’m sure will be easy to get, and sesame sticks, which I can probably get. Usually I buy the last two ingredients in the Plum bulk foods aisle but that was one of the first things they took down back in March. So we’ll see…

An unexpectedly easy thing? Turkey parts for making gravy ahead of time! It isn’t always easy to find turkey legs or whatever at any given store at any given time. I had a hunch I might find some at Argus and sure enough, multiple vendors were selling turkey parts. So I have some thighs in my freezer already! Yay!

All the rest is easy. Potatoes, dressing, and something green, usually.

If I’m feeling extravagant, maybe I’ll order something hors d’oeuvre-y from Luke’s Lobster.

2 Responses to “Cranberry Thanksgiving (with Dandy Lions)”

  1. Margaret Says:

    Perhaps I’ll have pizza for Thanksgiving this year. Still no idea what my parents are doing. I know what I would LIKE them to do. (stay home) I used to always make chex mix for camping and wheat chex were a very important part. Also pretzels, fancy mixed nuts and melted butter with Johnny’s seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Something like that anyway. I haven’t made it in decades.

  2. Pooh Says:

    Speaking of fresh cranberries we saw some when we visited the Vermillion Lifesaving Station west of Whitefish Point this summer. Needless to say, we didn’t harvest any.