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I nervously asked my new hubby what I could make for Thanksgiving for him, what did his family make that he liked? I was waiting for oyster stuffing, or something totally off the wall. He thought for a minute and said "do you think you could make the celery with cream cheese in the middle?"... Why yes, I think I can handle that...

One year, when I was about 10 or 11, the stove in the house broke on Thanksgiving day, and the area we lived in, there was nobody to come fix it. So my Mom pulled out the camping equipment (we had one of those Coleman camp stoves) and did the turkey on a charcoal Weber grill, and the sides on the camp stove. The turkey was so good that she still often does the turkey that way!

My favorite thanksgiving story happened last year. My uncle haphazardly ran the kitchen that morning and ended up burning the stuffing and dipping his fingers into my aunt's pumpkin pie for a taste. The stuffing was delicious and the pie was just as good. It made for a great laugh and great story.

Last year's Thanksgiving was loads of fun for me since it was the 2nd time for me hosting it. This year will be my 3rd. My in-laws insisted upon bringing the fresh turkey when they came down on Wednesday night. They live in a farming town, so I knew the turkey would be fresh and tasty. Unfortunately, they told the turkey farmer we would have a huge crowd (not true - only 12 people) at our house so he gave us the biggest turkey he had. 24-26 pounds of it! I could barely get it in the oven with my medium sized roaster and it was so top heavy and slid around the pan. It was quite the workout to get it in and out of the oven. It also took forever to roast. We didn't eat until after 2pm!

This year they're under direct orders to not bring me a turkey greater than 20 lbs. Alton Brown's Brine recipe is a winner, even the huge turkey from last year tasted great.

Last Thanksgiving, my boyfriend and I prepared a traditional, multi-course Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people in Munich, Germany (at which I was the only American). Although grocery shopping for traditional ingredients was interesting (why, oh why, was it so hard to find chicken stock?), I would have to say that buying and prepping the turkey was by far the most amusing part. A friend had pre-ordered the excessively large turkey (almost 20 lbs.) from a local butcher, and my boyfriend and I went to pick up the bird. We did not have a car and there was no way we could balance the huge bird on a bicycle, so we carried it by hand in a large orange crate that the butcher gave us. It was quite a site to see the two of us carrying a turkey through Munich in the middle of the afternoon. When we got home, we realized that the turkey was too big to fit in the sink or the refrigerator. Our only option was the shower, and after a thorough cleaning of the tub, we rinsed the bird using one of those hand-held shower heads -- one person holding up the bird and the other hosing it down. The shower was then scrubbed again. The clean bird was then placed in the imported brining bag with imported brine and was stored on the balcony overnight. Fortunately, it's cold in Munich in November. Thankfully, our friend in Munich had an oven large enough to fit the bird (although barely), and in the end, the dinner was delicious and a ton of fun!

My favorite Thanksgiving memory, hands down, is the first time I ever cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my family -- when I was 12. My mom's a brilliant Cantonese chef, but doesn't bother with...well, any other cuisine, really, so the only way my campaign for an Americana Thanksgiving would succeed was if I were to make the entire meal.

So, I did -- just the basics/classics, no special twists or anything, but everything was edible, no one died, and I've been doing it ever since! This is my 11th year making the family meal, and while the menus have grown much more ambitious and eclectic, there are some standbys that the family still requires -- mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, that the turkey remain whole (I almost did individual turkey pot pies last year; promptly vetoed), pumpkin and apple pies. The rest I'm allowed to change at will, which is always interesting. Thanksgiving was the first big, big meal I cooked for my family, and remains my favorite of the year. (Chinese New Year's Eve is solely my mother's responsibility.)

Our family alternates hosting the gathering between my home and my brother's; who lived on an island serviced only by ferries to get on and off. It was my turn to provide the pies (pecan, pumpkin and cherry). Brother, our host, would provide the bird, dressing, spuds and veggies. Sister, various nieces and nephews would provide the rolls, sides, beverages and predinner snacks. My family arrived first with the pies and a few snacks; just in time for a windstorm to down a few trees and take out all the power on the island (including the power to raise and lower the landing slip for the ferries). There we sat with no power to cook the main meal and most of the sides, rolls and snacks on the other side of the water.
Thanksgiving dinner that year was unadorned pies split between us. A generator got the ferry ramps working the next day so we escaped to safety but the power came back much later, just in time to flip on the lights so you could see the garbage can lid opened as the bird got an unceremonious burial in the trash... ;~(

I am hoping this Thanksgiving will be our most memorable yet -- our first baby is due this Thursday! I've been preparing all the Thanksgiving food in advance, just in case we are in the hospital on the holiday itself.

Obligatory "First Thanksgiving I ever cooked, didn't find the giblets" story, unfortunately. Was the first one, and I didn't get the bird thawed enough before cooking (couple days in fridge just not enough, decided to just cook the thing anyway). Found the neck in the body cavity (took me half an hour to wriggle it out, frozen and all) - but could not figure out where the giblet package had gotten to, as the skin over the neck cavity was still frozen. Found 'em after we roasted the thing. (Yes, we ate late. But it was yummy anyway.)

My cousin drover her brand new minivan to Thanksgiving. Made it the whole way until the final stop.... when the baked beans and a lime jello dessert went everywhere. Massive cover-up commenced to hide the destruction from her husband.

The first time I deep-fried the turkey -- in the side yard, in the snow, for my son and his college classmates. Make that two turkeys (once you go to the trouble of heating up the fat, why stop with one?). We all took turns baby-sitting the cooker, in the cold and snow. It was delicious, delicious.

Last year, my boyfriend and I were together, alone, for thanksgiving for the first time in 7 years. I made the whole spread... my first roast turkey ever. It was slightly sad that we weren't with family but very sweet that we had time to be with each other.