I love to cook. My mom and brother love to cook. So does my son. We are a family that cooks. When there's a potluck, we enjoy figuring out what delicious dish to take. My brother memorized our family pecan pie recipe years ago.
Not everyone cooks, however.
I remember a female attorney I worked for bragging how she couldn't cook a thing. I always thought that was such a shame, since she had two little boys. Poor kids ate a lot of sandwiches and cereal, she admitted. Lots of takeout.
I digressed.
Not everyone invited to a Thanksgiving feast should take food. If you can't cook, don't try. You don't want your family to suffer.
When my dad died a friend of mom's brought a bunch of food to the house the next day. My brother and I thanked her profusely. As soon as her car was out of the driveway the debate started. Should we eat it? [NO! She was a terrible cook.] Should we give it to others in the family? [NO! They were suffering enough already.] Should we give it to neighbors? [NO! We liked the neighbors.] Feed it to the dog? [NO! We didn't want to make the dog sick.] Compost? [NO! Mom and Dad didn't have a compost heap.] It went in the trash.
So if you cannot cook and you have to contribute something, volunteer to bring sodas and ice, or paper plates and cutlery, or napkins. Volunteer to do cleanup duty. Offer to decorate the table -- and get on Pinterest, fast.
Offer to bring the pies. Most grocery stores offer ready-made pumpkin and pecan pies, or there are Edwards pies in the freezer section.
Even better, go to Honeybaked Ham and pick up a couple of lbs. of ham and/or turkey, or an entire ham. Or go to a local place like we have here, Matthews, and pick up food made skillfully by professionals.
Don't try to learn to cook, though. Not when the pressure is on, like that.
It's a day to give thanks, not fight over the bottle of Tums.
