by Steve Buehre
19. November 2009 04:09
I decided right after we moved into our house that it would be great fun to host Thanksgiving Dinner for the first time. I didn’t think much of it, my family of 8 were going to drive down from Chicago and stay with us for 3 days. So there would be a total of 10. Piece of cake, I can handle that. However, someone forgot to tell me until 4 days before Thanksgiving that their own mother had invited that whole side of the family to our house as well; thinking how fun it would be to have a big family dinner. Oh Joy! Well, the final tally came to 26. 26 hungry people all with their own traditional thanksgiving expectations! This was a huge jump for me considering up to this point I had never cooked for more than 8. Speaking of jump, should I? No, “that’s ok” I told myself, “don’t panic.” I can do this. I just need a little help.
My saving grace was that every Thanksgiving our wonderful chefs from Kahn’s Catering prepare lots of Thanksgiving meals for our customers. You got it. I placed my Thanksgiving Day food order that very next morning because there was no way, I was about to go shopping and prepare food for 26 people. Keep in mind I am running a retail store and during this time of year, it is consuming more than 60 hours of my week. I decided I was going to make my own turkey because to me that was the simplest, I just had to put it in and take it out of the oven. The yummy homemade sides that everyone loves so much were going to be the challenges so I let our talented chefs at Kahn’s Catering take those on for me.
What did I get? Mashed Potatoes w/ caramelized onions, the famous Kahn’s Chicken Sausage Stuffing (oh, my god, this is the best), Loaded Sweet Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole. I have to admit, I felt a twinge guilty that the only thing I was really making was the turkey, but I got over it really quickly, since it allowed me to spend time with my family that I only see a few times a year and less time with my oven. And the icing on the cake - clean up was a snap. Leftovers went onto plates and the pans just got taken out with the trash. It was truly one of the best Thanksgivings ever! So we have continued this new tradition and it has become a great family favorite. In fact, I don’t think my family would even let me make my own stuffing at this point. It is that good!
So my message to you is be sure to spend as much time as you can with your family this holiday season. If we can help you do that let us know. We'll happily prepare just a few or all of your Thanksgiving Dinner needs. Check out this great Holiday Menu that we'll have available right through the New Year. If it is party platters you need check out our party platter menu where we've assembled our most popular selections into one effortless entertaining guide. I think this year I'm going to get a couple of these platters for game time later on in the weekend. I'm sure with that and a couple of beers on the coffe table, I can keep the whole gang happy the entire weekend.
Wishing you and your whole family a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.
Steve
