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.
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.”
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| Students made everything from fresh ingredients and share their "labor of love" with the public. |
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.
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.
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| 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/