November: a time of changing temperatures, bare trees, and terror for all turkeys in America. Art-wise, there is only one piece that fits the bill for this festive season—Norman Rockwell’s Freedom from Want. This piece depicts a classic family feast, with a gorgeously-roasted turkey as the centerpiece of an elegantly-set table. But wait! While this painting may be the most famous, Rockwell painted plenty of other unique Thanksgiving-themed pieces. Let’s jump in and see what tips and tricks we can glean from this master of humor to create a perfect, Rockwell-style Thanksgiving.
It all begins, of course, with the turkey.
For an elegant, Rockwell-inspired main dish, you’ll want to catch the bird yourself—no paltry, store-bought meat for this feast! To catch your turkey:
- Choose a suitable weapon for turkey-vanquishing; preferably one a few sizes too large for you, so that the turkey will be intimidated.
- Gather a group of friends (pets optional) to cheer you on and watch your victory.
- Locate a turkey. (Look for a plump bird with full, fluffy feathers)
- Approach slowly, looking the turkey full in the eyes until you’re close enough to grab it..
- When it charges, run for your life.
Now that your main course is procured, it’s time to cook! Grab that apron, turn on the oven, pull out your pots and pans, and get to work! After several grueling hours in the kitchen, you’ll doubtless find yourself frantically stirring half a dozen pots, keeping an eye on the turkey, and trying to roll out pie dough all at the same time. When you begin to stir the cranberry with your rolling pin and sprinkle flour on the mashed potatoes instead of the counter, you know it’s time for an all-important taste-testing break. You want your meal to taste its absolute best for your guests and family, don’t you? So now is the perfect time to slice off a little piece of pie dough or cornbread. After all, what if it were poisoned? You’re doing your family a favor.
And for those who were previously shooed from the kitchen for their youth or inexperience, this is the perfect time to make a reappearance! With enough pitiful glances and “mother dearest’s,” they’ll be able to wheedle just about anything from that fount of all delicious blessings (aka, the kitchen).
Finally, the preparation is finished! Your job, however, is not. After making all the food, you’ll have to serve it to your hungry family too. Of course, you already know how wonderful it tastes from your midafternoon snack (quality control, people!), but your guests don’t, and they’ve been awaiting the meal with watering mouths for hours as incredible scents waft from the oven. Now, serving the meal should be fairly easy compared to the task of cooking it all, but here are a few tips to help you along.
- Be sure to take plenty of pictures of the food (from all possible angles, lighting scenarios, etc.) before allowing your guests to eat it. Not only will you have a pictorial record of every dish (a record which you will never, ever have any need of), but you’ll also increase your guests’ anticipation (and annoyance).
- Hide the mac ‘n’ cheese, biscuits, and scalloped potatoes until after your guests have already been served the dreaded broccoli, creamed spinach, and green beans. Reasons obvious.
- Throughout the meal make sure to press seconds on everyone present. Not only is this your sworn duty as host, but it will also ensure that when dessert time comes, there’s a greater chance for several people to be so full they’ll refuse, leaving more dessert for you.
- (Bonus tip) Feed scraps to the dog. He will become your best friend for life.
At long last, the food has been cooked and the guests served; now you can fill your plate and finally sit down. But wait! There’s one last thing to do before you devour that hard-earned meal. You must pray, of course.
There’s a last lesson to glean from Rockwell’s Thanksgiving paintings, and this one comes from his 1941 Saturday Evening Post Cover, which shows a girl peeking at the turkey instead of being focused on her prayer. There are two important lessons to be gleaned from this.
First, we learn how easy it is to be distracted from God with all the good things He has given us. It’s important that we put our focus not on the beautifully-roasted turkey but on the One who roasted it. (Bad metaphor, I know. Many apologies.) In the midst of so many blessings, let’s pause and be thankful that our God is loving enough to give us such a beautiful, bountiful world instead of taking it for granted.
The second lesson (far more important) is this: never take your eyes off the turkey. No matter how well you think you cooked it, you never know if it’ll get up and waddle away if you’re not careful.
Now get out there, catch a few turkeys, try not to get chased in the process, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Photo Credit: https://fineartamerica.com/