The great Thanksgiving Debate (blog) TV-4 (comic)

Well the turkey will be landing in just a few days. My wife has already started preparing for the big meal. I’ve been doing my part by sacrificing my body and being a taste tester. This weekend the Food Network (one of my favorite channels) was all Thanksgiving themed. Giving tips on how to make your Turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. Then the great debate broke out in the Miller household, to have mashed potatoes or no mashed potatoes?

Now I am a northern boy at heart, and there weren’t too many holiday dinners where we didn’t have mashed potatoes. So I’m all for it of course. But that is one of the differences between the north and the south. Since being down here, they have sweet potatoes and potato salad. But no mashed, at least in my wife’s family. So what is the gravy for? Everything else that is on the plate. The other difference is the stuffing or dressing. This Akron boy had stuffing on Thanksgiving, right from the turkey. It was perfect to mix in with the mashed potatoes and gravy. Down here they have cornbread dressing, just as good mixed in with the turkey and gravy. The big part of the debate came when we discussed the green bean casserole. Not that it was a north or south thing. My wife just doesn’t care for it. I however use it has the foundation on which to build the rest of my meal on, plus I add some of that green bean delight to my salad bowl so I can be sure I’ll have some when I go for seconds. What? Did you think I was going to use my salad bowl on salad? Salad is a waste of Thanksgiving time.

I finally said that since she was making the Thanksgiving meal it would be up to her if there were mashed potatoes or not. I figured if they were there along with the sweet potatoes, cranberries, bread, and turkey that would be a bonus. She decided she would make both stuffing and cornbread (BONUS!). But I had to put my foot down on the green bean casserole. If it came down to a matter of northern and southern peace I might have gave in. But, it was a matter of her taste and that is just not a good enough argument. Plus some traditions you just don’t mess around with.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

McRib

When I was a bachelor, I would tell people I had my own four food groups; Cereal, Pizza, Fast Food, and Snack Cakes (preferably Little Debbie). Not only because did they taste great, but also the convenience of preparing them. I would typically prefer to just pull through the nearest drive thru window on the way home. I sometime think that if you add McDonald’s fries to any meal, it will taste better. The golden arches will forever be a part of American culture. But I also became a decent cook during those years of single living, so good in fact I developed, what I consider, a good taste in food. Here is a little cooking tip; take the packet of the cheese powder from the Mac N’ Cheese and add it to your popcorn. Now that’s gourmet.

So as much as I would love to hang out with Ronald McDonald for the day, I have to disagree with some of his menu items. I do love the Chicken McNuggets, but you do have to wonder what part of the chicken they come from and if it is in fact all chicken. Really if you think about it, when was the last time you heard someone call them by the full name of Chicken McNuggets, even kids just ask for McNuggets. My dad use to say they taste like cardboard. But if you add enough ketchup and barbeque sauce, anything will taste good.

So I guess when McDees thinks about the Holidays they think ribs, because the McRib is back. I saw this on the sign going to work, “We’re Thankful that the McRib is back.” This is the true definition of McFake. Think about the last time you had ribs. What is part of the ribs? The bone! The RIB BONE! Some how, and I think it was that big purple thing they call Grimace, McDees has produce some sort of animal that does not have a rib bone. If you look at the sandwich it will appear it has the shape of some rib bones, but it is all meat, I think. That can’t be natural, nor is it good. I have a theory that if you take all the sauce off of the McRib and compared it to the McNugget, it would be the same substance. Other than their hamburgers, the clown really does not serve meat. They serve McShapes, they put this substance in some sort of Play Doh machine and if it looks like something, they grill it or deep fry it and serve it to the public. You know why they can get away with this? Because they have the whole country addicted to their fries. I don’t care what you put in the bag just make sure you give me the biggie size fries. And a Diet coke, I’m watching my weight.