It Could Have Been a Recipe for Disaster

So I was working on Thanksgiving dinner for one of my professional athlete clients. With only 10 guests I expected an easy prep day. I had planned to be done by 5:00 and had visions of a discussion with Bacchus in front of the fire. But then whenever I expect something, it never happens the way I expect it to.

My cell phone rings. A feeling of dread, similar to the feeling you get when you hear the theme from Jaws, overcomes me.

Hi, this is Debbie.

Hi Deb, it's Shayne. I thought I better call you to let you know I invited a few more guys over.

Uh, OK. How many more did you invite?

Well, there will be about 20 now.

So do I need normal serving sizes or linebacker serving sizes?

Better count on large linebacker serving sizes.

YIKES! I'm starting to hear Jaws in stereo.

No problem. I'll have plenty of food and you don't have to worry about a thing.

It's late afternoon, the turkey has been in the brine for 8 hours already, the cornbread has been made and is crumbled ready to make dressing. Earlier in the week I fought my way through Costco and several grocery stores to get all of my supplies so I didn't have to go out on Wednesday. And here it is late Wednesday afternoon and I need to double my food production.

First things first. Send sweet husband Tim to the store. Take our turkey out of the refrigerator and add it to the one in the brine. Make more cornbread. Take a pantry inventory and see what additional side dishes I can come up with. As a Certified Personal Chef and owner of Yummy~issimo! Personal Chef Service in Cincinnati, it's not unusual (my tribute to Sir Tom Jones) to have the client change the menu or number of guests at the last minute. So I pull Plan B out of my apron pocket.

Here's the final menu and, yes, there were plenty of linebacker sized servings for everyone.

2 Roasted Turkeys (28 pounds worth) stuffed with Clementine oranges, apples, fennel and celery
Mashed Potatoes with homemade Turkey Gravy
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Roasted Root Vegetables with fresh herbs, olive oil and Parmesan cheese
My world famous Cranberry Chutney ~ for this recipe go to my Yummy~issimo! website
Creamed Spinach Gratin
Orange Green Beans
Baked Sweet Corn Casserole
Southern Braised Collard Greens
Citrus Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Cinnamon Glazed Carrots
Spiced Pumpkin Pie
My Grandma's Bourbon Pecan Pie
Double Deep Dish Apple Pie

My butcher was out of fresh turkeys on Friday ~ go figure ~ so sweet husband Tim and I went out to dinner. You know, there's something kind of nice about somebody else cooking for you, serving you and doing all the dishes!