Thanksgiving take-out dinners

[Alan Mendelson]

Help. I'm in charge of Thanksgiving dinner... and it's gotta be a take-out dinner.

The last couple of years it was Ralphs, the supermarket chain here in Southern California and while that's OK we are looking for something different and maybe better than what we had before.

Today my wife got a suggestion for Marie Callendar's which seems to have the traditional dinner for $99 with a pie and trimmings. 3 hours of heating time.

I even considered Boston Market? But I have no experience with their take-out except when I bring home their meat loaf dinners, or have chicken there. I do like their vegetables.

A few years ago I took out Whole Foods Market Valentine Dinner and it wasn't easy to handle.

I confess: if it's more complicated than choosing half-power on a microwave, I can't do it.

I did suggest going out to a restaurant but the wife vetoed that. A couple of years ago, our clan all met at Caesars in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving and that was the best we ever had... but not this year.

OK I need ideas!

[Alan Mendelson]

Well, it looks like Boston Market is going to be the winner. We tried the local Marie Callendar's but they had a limit of 80 dinners and reached it before I reached the restaurant. Boston Market allows us to "customize" the feast by adding some of those delicious sides that we love. We're going to skip their pies because we know that one is coming as an office gift to my wife.

We vetoed the supermarket take-out dinners because of a less than great experience last year.

Boston Market suggested a 10am pickup Thanksgiving morning with a two-hour heating time, which will be just fine. It's a full turkey and my wife already has a menu of leftovers planned for the following three days.

[Alan Mendelson]

Well, in about an hour I make the short drive over to Boston Market on Pico in West Los Angeles to pick up Thanksgiving dinner... the full turkey with some extra sides to add vegetables and cornbread. I hope the order is correct. When I placed the order I was told I would get an email confirmation. When it didn't arrive I called to confirm the order... and it was confirmed and the email was sent again. When that email didn't arrive I called to confirm again... and it was confirmed and the email was sent again.

And that's right... the email did not arrive. It's not in my spam folder either. The table is set. The oven is ready for the necessary heating/cooking, and so is the microwave. I was told the order comes in microwave-ready and oven-ready containers, but we have our own including a roasting pan for the turkey just in case.

My wife put me in charge of dinner this year. This is the most nerve wracking time in... well, it's the most nerve wracking time, period.

To all of the family cooks out there, how do you do it?

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Alan Mendelson]

Back from Boston Market. Wow! Lines inside and outside, but organized well. Picked up the order. We had some special sides so it was good that I double-checked. We substituted corn bread for the dinner rolls, and as soon as I got the order home we started munching on the corn bread. Simple heating instructions, reheating will take less than two hours. Portion sizes look good. Glad we ordered extra stuffing. Our stuffing is going into the regular over for a couple of hours because Shelley likes it "crispy." Last year the dinner we took our from Ralphs had undercooked stuffing and Boston Market's stuffing will be just perfect. The aroma of the stuffing is already filling the air.

[Alan Mendelson]

Success! The dinner is finished. There are plenty of leftovers. The dishes have been washed.