Monday, December 2, 2019

Day 353- No Stress Thanksgiving-Order it-A.W. Beattie Career Center-Culinary School


I stress every Thanksgiving where the meal is the star of this holiday and my cooking, although adequate, certainly does not shine. In fact, making the dinner is not a “labor of love” for this girl but a stress bomb. Every year I make numerous calls to my girlfriend (who is a stellar cook) because I lack confidence in my ability to produce the expected brown moist bird. When I learned that my son was not coming home for the holiday, I decided to eliminate all the work and worries about achieving perfection and order my Thanksgiving meal from the A.W. Beattie Career Center's Culinary School.



Reflection

Last year I decreased my Thanksgiving preparation and cooking time by trying Archer Farms Turkey that goes from the freezer to the oven-“turkey in a bag” (Day 243). This was a good option but I still had to make all the sides. When I learned that Beattie makes the complete meal down to the desert, I think I heard a choir of angels singing.


Students made everything  from fresh ingredients and share their "labor of love" with the public. 
 I realize that going out for Thanksgiving is another option but our family loves to relax at home and leftovers are a nostalgic part of this holiday.  At first I was a little pensive about picking up a dinner and wondered if it would have that homemade taste but thought “this is a culinary school so they must know what they are doing.”




They sure do know what they are doing. The meal was delicious and the process was so easy. You pick up your meal Wednesday before the Thursday holiday in aluminum containers that can be reheated according to the times on the instructions. With the guidelines, everything was ready at the same time. I heard that angelic choir again because getting everything out on the table together is another source of anxiety.
.
Beattie, unlike other “to go meals,” provides everything that you need  for a complete dinner. We were supplied with a plentiful variety of traditional fixings. You would have thought that I (or someone that was a really good cook) slaved over the stove all day. The white mashed potatoes were creamy, the mashed yams with marshmallows were sweet and the green beans with dried onions were creamy yet crisp.  There was a seasoned corn sweet pepper mix, fresh cranberry relish, stuffing and of course the turkey with both white and dark meat carved and ready to serve with gravy.  There was even fresh baked apple and pumpkin  pie for desert.  I purposely did not  add to the meal and we had a feast with plenty left over.


Everything was delicious and there was plenty for traditional left- overs

This was Beattie's fourth year of  providing Thanksgiving “meals to go.”  The  first year they had 12 orders, the second year 30 orders and this year they sold out with over 80 meals. You have to go on their web page early in November to order meals to serve 2 to 4,  6 to 8 or 12 to 16 persons.


Why not let the students share their “labor of love” and  enjoy a mouthwatering no stress Thanksgiving which gives you extended time to relax with family. That's  my perfect stress free Thanksgiving.   

(Beattie Career Center Restaurant also serves breakfast and lunch every Wednesday and Thursday, while the school is in session. For the menu go here. )

Other Sources 
https://www.beattietech.com/Content2/78https://www.beattietech.com/