Cajun Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! As I write that, I will admit it has been a struggle to think of being thankful today. My husband John Rhodes has been working incredibly long hours (seven days a week for a month now and between 65 – 85 hours a week)… should be thankful he has a job and paycheck. He was supposed to deep fry me a turkey this year since I don’t recall tasting this delicacy (although, my mom, Patricia [Taylor] Smith, tells me I had one in Mississippi at Johnny and Laureen Laurenson’s house one year; however, my memory and taste buds fail me about that). Unfortunately, our turkey was going to go bad here due to John’s long hours, so with some coaxing from my mom, I decided it was time to get this new Cajun adventure underway. According to one Cajun recipe, I made the hot rub using paprika, hot peppers, garlic, etc… you get the picture. Setting the timer for every half hour, I am basting away and smelling the aromas, which made me hungry. The banana bread I made a little earlier, satisfies the hunger to an extent, but it had turned out a little dry so I’m not going for a full coarse there (sending that with my husband for a 1:00 a.m. hunger attack – nice, huh?). 

It has been quite a year… I have been unemployed, he has been unemployed… My oven (given to me by dad and mom – another thing to be thankful for!) sits next to the small kitchen sink / counter. It is close, but not too close; however, does not work correctly. The old, tattered and fake paneling doors to the cabinets makes it extremely difficult to open the oven all the way. With each passing ding of the 30 minutes, I am forced to pull the cabinet doors as far in as they will go while opening the oven to baste this Cajun turkey. Finally, 1:30 p.m. arrives and the grand Holy Grail of Cajun turkey is finished. 

I pull it out of the oven only to not have enough hands to hold the doors in while pulling the heavy pan out that is now full of beautiful, great smelling juices. One can image the scene, which reminds me of the Christmas Story movie… another funny memory (Brittany, my daughter, presenting the leg lamp to Justin, my nephew, last year for Christmas - there goes my A.D.D. as Jarod Adams, a second cousin, would note)…. 

Anyway, to finish the blessed event – my Cajun turkey has filled my oven and floor full of good smelling, dark juices, complete with fingers burned, and me sitting on the floor in the middle of it all… probably hair included in this Holy Grail, now floor-saved Cajun turkey. I will admit, I pulled a Keystone from the refrigerator, sat in my good smelling, Cajun juiced jeans and drank it while waiting for my John to telephone and report that he would not make it home once again for dinner… thankful for once he will not be home for dinner! I leave you with this last Thanksgiving thought - not only was I thankful for that, but also when he did phone, he laughed and reminded me that in the big picture and scheme of life, there are bigger things to fry than a Cajun turkey. I hope your turkey turned out with less hair and you find thanksgiving during this holiday season! –Caryn   

Oh yes, back to the movie of Christmas Story... Caleb (my son) and I are enjoying Happy Wok's Sweet and Sour Chicken!     

Please take a moment to leave us with your Thanksgiving memories or thanksgiving about this holiday season.