Last year I moved into a townhome after my wife and I separated. Her and my kids went to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with her side of the family (it’s something we’d always done even as a family). I was supposed to go to Puerto Rico last Thanksgiving, but that didn’t work out. So I ended up at a friend’s house with their family.

Fast forward to this year, and I now have my own home. My youngest decided that he didn’t want me to be alone for the holiday, so he opted to stay with me instead of going up to Ohio with his mom and brother. He also asked me to cook ham, sweet corn, and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner. I got the smallest spiral-cut glazed ham I could find, and cooked up a can of sweet corn, and made mashed potatoes from a box. I had never done this before because in Ohio there was always the in-group of family that took care of cooking, and I wasn’t part of that group.

My youngest said it was the best meal he had in a long time. He kept going back for more and more ham. As I was cleaning up, he commented how sad he’s going to be when we run out of the ham. His only criticisms were that the potatoes were a little plain in comparison to everything else, and that there needed to be a bitter side to offset the sweetness of everything else. Very high praise coming from him, as he’s still in the picky phase with his eating.

Now I sit waiting for the dishes to finish the wash cycle, while my kid is playing some Roblox game and my dog is laying beside him drifting off to sleep (she got her share of ham too).

Today was a really good day, and it would have been a shame not to share it with somebody.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    14 days ago

    Congratulations and happy Thanksgiving! That’s a decent start to cooking. Mashed potatoes are pretty easy, you can boil or bake with skins left on, even, for future reference. Then smash them in a pot with warming milk, butter, salt and pepper (you can substitute sour cream if you wish, or use milk and sour cream). You can go fancier and add a little garlic, cheese or whatever else you like. With leftovers, you can add egg and make potato fritters (pancake) and top with fried eggs! Start with the simplest version and experiment once you get that version to your liking. You can whip them with a whisk or electric beater to add fluff but keep it minimal, as the starch stiffens quickly.

    • walden@sub.wetshaving.socialEnglish
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      14 days ago

      Ah, that must have been the mistake I made the time I made mashed potatoes years ago and they ended up horribly stiff and hard. Nobody ate them haha. I must have gone overboard with trying to make them creamy and fluffy.

      • Maeve@kbin.earth
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        14 days ago

        Probably. I just use a fork, myself. Also I watch a lot of Martha Stewart videos then wing it with whatever I have that’s available, in ingredients and tools. Experimenting on myself is key to great shared meals, later.

        • walden@sub.wetshaving.socialEnglish
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          14 days ago

          Agree, 100%. I was in charge of Pumpkin Pie today and made 2 practice ones leading up to it. We bought one from a really great local bakery, and I made one. It wasn’t a double blind test, but mine was gone by the time the other one got half-way eaten. Big win!

  • TheOakTree@lemm.eeEnglish
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    13 days ago

    For the bitterness requirement, I highly suggest brussel sprouts, halved, tossed in oil and seasoning, and stuck in the oven (broil) or air fryer. Bonus points if you dice up some bacon, fry it in a pan, and use the rendered out fat to toss the brussel sprouts in, then top sprouts with bacon bits. Bonus bonus points if you lightly candy the bacon bits with brown sugar or maple and then top the sprouts with it.

    It seems like your kid really appreciates having a dad like you :)