For many, the act of preparing the meal and all that it entails provides a sense of satisfaction and the ensuing accolades are appreciated.
However, there are people who have no desire to wrestle a 20-pound bird into the oven, or to peel and mash multiple pounds of potatoes, or to come up with a bunch of desserts to pacify finicky guests.
For the wannabe chefs out there, go for it.
For everyone else, start looking for a relative who will invite you to dinner or someone else to cook your meal or a restaurant that’s open on Thanksgiving.
Locally, there are restaurants that will happily accommodate the need to feed without any advance preparation on your part, other than picking up the phone and ordering the meal.
Clem Mikeska Bar-B-Q has been smoking customers’ Thanksgiving turkeys and selling turkey, dressing and hams for the holidays since the restaurant opened more than 40 years ago, said Stephen Mikeska, Clem’s son.
The barbecue establishment doesn’t put together a package deal, but does have side dishes available for sale, he said.
“Most people call ahead to place the order, but we do have some who will just walk in,” Mikeska said.
The date for customers to bring in their own turkey to be smoked has passed, but Mikeska is still taking orders for their turkeys. Tuesday is the pickup date.
So far, at least 100 orders have been placed, he said.
For 15 years, the Oxbow Steakhouse in Belton has offered holiday meals to go that include turkey, dressing, two sides and a dessert. The restaurant also sells smoked turkeys and hams.
Last year, the OxBow prepared 65 holiday meals to go, and this year the number will be about the same, Lynn Glover said.
Everything is made from scratch and it’s not unusual for a person who ordered one pan of dressing one year, to order two pans the next, Ms. Glover said.
“It’s not that they ran out, but because it was so good,” she said.
Ms. Glover admits she’s a pushover and will customize a customer’s dressing, providing one pan or dressing with sage and another without, or one pan of dressing with green pepper and one pepper free.
Ms. Glover said she thinks people just like the ease of having the meal prepared for them. They can have the dinner at home, but there’s no mess and no fuss.
There are some who have never prepared a turkey or dressing, she said, and the thought of having to do so is frightening.
One customer Ms. Glover got to know after catering a party last year is not only ordering her Thanksgiving dinner from OxBow, but she’s also having the restaurant prepare a meal for the night before.
“I think it’s the ease of the process, being able to enjoy your family because you’re not up at 4 a.m. getting the turkey in the oven,” she said. “You can enjoy your holiday meal without all the work.”
The Oxbow will be open Thanksgiving Day, so the Glovers don’t get to celebrate the holiday.
“We celebrate Christmas on New Year’s Eve because that’s when we allow ourselves to slow down,” Ms. Glover said.
