The Morning After (not the pill)

Growing up in a household of seven people with no dishwasher meant that Thanksgiving night left not a dry or clean kitchen towel in the entire house. We baked and we baked and we cooked and we cooked. And, thanks to insistent parental admonishments, we cleaned while we cooked--periodically, every time a mess was made, every time a spilled happened, every time we finished a dish, we cleaned.

After dinner, we washed all the dishes almost immediately, taking it in turns to get all the forks and knives and plates clean for the round of desserts. The process was then repeated. We had it down. We had a schedule tacked to the fridge.

I should have made a schedule. I am now taking a break from washing glasses. Just the glasses! Of course, my family never had a Thanksgiving meal of 14, so...

Friendsgiving was a resounding success, at any rate. I've mentioned before that nearly everyone I know in this program is an avid cook, and no meal can better demonstrate that than yesterday's Thanksgiving feast. Turkey (by the way: always brine the turkey. Man!), gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, The Best Pecan Pie Ever, my apple sausage stuffing, hashbrown casserole, homemade rolls, and more and more and more. Which is why today, I am eating only grapefruit and drinking only green tea in between my cleaning and cooking breaks.

I mean, I've gotta be ready to do this again in just over 24 hours. Thanksgiving, Round 2.