I’ve been planning this for over two weeks now. A whole turkey, minestrone soup, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and cider-glazed carrots. I looked outside and it was snowing. Dad is halfway done plowing the driveway while my mom is cleaning up the dining room for the big event. My aunt is watching Chinese drama while my sister is at her boyfriend’s place for brunch. She’ll be back soon. It’s been well over 12 years since the whole family got together. I remember while I was back in Vancouver on vacation, I met up with my cousin. We haven’t seen each other for 8 years. When we finally got down for a meal (a sober meal) we talked about how the only time the entire family got together was either a wedding or a funeral. Which sounds very depressing to say but because back then when we were kids, we always had a family get-together twice a year to catch up. Now we rarely do that because we have busy schedules and some family members have beef with each other (I don’t know why but it is what it is). This Christmas is extra special because everyone agrees to meet up for one evening to finally catch up. I want to make this a meal to remember.

The turkey was in the oven for over an hour now. I opened the oven, removed the foil, and began basting the turkey. The turkey returns to the oven and it’s time to cut all the vegetables for tonight. But before I start on that, I must grab my speaker and play Christmas tunes (because it’s Christmas of course). The speaker is on. Now we can get to work. An hour has passed by and all the vegetable cuts are done, the potatoes are boiling, and the turkey is almost done. I removed the turkey from the oven, basted it one last time, and cooked it uncovered for a nice, crispy finish. Half an hour has gone by and the turkey is fully cooked and the potatoes are tender. I removed the turkey from the oven to let it rest and removed the potatoes from the stove. I began working on the minestrone soup. Luckily, it’s mostly simmering all the vegetables until it’s tender and then add the pasta

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. My mom opened up the door. “Hi! Merry Christmas!” It was my sister’s boyfriend and my sister. My mom was curious, “You’re late Eric. What happened?” My dad came in, “He and Jessica helped me shovel the driveway.” They hung their jackets in the closet and went to the kitchen. “Merry Christmas Alex. Damn, it smells so good in here.” I turned away from the stove to chat with Eric. “Thanks man. Hope you’re doing well. How’s work?”. “Work is doing good, working from home is nice, but I get easily distracted so I go to the office now and then.” I shrugged. “That’s fair. Anyways I have to get back to the stove. I’ll talk to you soon.” He went to the living room with my sister to watch “Home Alone”. I went to the stove to check my soup. All the vegetables are nearly tender. I added the shell pasta so it will finish cooking with the veggies.  I quickly finished my mashed potatoes with cream, butter, salt, and pepper. 

I went to the living room to catch the last bit of the film. Right when I sat down on the couch, the doorbell rang. My sister went and opened the door. She shrieked with excitement. I ran to the front door. It’s Andrea, Vinny, and their son. “Holy shit,” I said quietly, trying to not curse out loud. My sister and I hugged them and my sister carried their son while they. “How are you, my favorite cousin?” My sister replied, “It’s doing great. We just finished watching Home Alone.” “Not you Jessica. You’re Erika’s and Allyson’s favourites” She’s talking to me. “It’s doing great. Finally finished my studies so I’m working as sous chef.” “That’s great!” She replied. “ I’m so happy how far you come; following your father’s footsteps.” I hugged her again. “It’s so nice to see you again. It’s been so long.” I tried not to get choked up while saying it. “Same here Alex. After this, let’s keep in touch.” Andrea brought Vinny and her son to my parents in the living room. They chatted. My dad has their son on his lap. “So what’s his name?”. “His name is Ezikel. But you can call him EZ.” Andrea said. “I’m surprised that your Chinese is still pretty good,” I said to Andrea. She laughed. “I’m surprised too. Worse case, I got Vinny here for backup.” Vinny chuckled. I asked Vinny “So how’s the dad life treating you so far?”. “It’s going very well now,” he said. “In the beginning, we just took turns sleeping and taking care of him. But now we can both sleep in peace 90% of the time.” I nodded. I see across the room and I see my sister playing with EZ. I tell her “You know if you guys want to play, you EZ, Eric, and Vinny can go outside. It’s still snowing.” “Great idea,” she replied. She went to the closest with Eric, Andrea, and EZ and grabbed their jackets. When they opened the door, Andrea’s brothers, David, and Jackie, and Jackie’s wife Charmaine were about to ring the doorbell.

“Hello, Hello. Merry Christmas!” They said. “Hi!” My sister replied. “We’re just going to play in the backyard if you guys want to join,” “We’re good thanks. David just got work and I slept in. We’ll just hang around the house until food is ready.” David and Jackie put their jackets in the closet and went to the living room to talk with my parents. David was catching up with my parents and my aunt while Jackie and Charmaine chatted with me. “What’s up, chef? How’s the grind?” Asked Jackie. “It’s doing great. Working hard and still studying.” Jackie was confused. “Seriously, why?” “I’m studying some things I like to learn. Culinary leadership fundamentals, cook mentorship. I’m currently studying psychology safety. Because I want to keep my cooks.” I laughed. He and Charmaine laughed. “Fair enough,” Charmaine said. “By the way, I finally watched “The Bear”. Both seasons,” I said to Charmaine. We’re both fans of The Bear and we talk about how good the show is.

The last group of people came in. It was my uncle from Saskatchewan with his wife, two daughters, and his son-in-law. They were the most excited because they hadn’t seen my family for an extremely long time. “Oh my god, hi. Merry Christmas!” They put their jackets in the closet and gave me and my family a hug. One of them hugged me so hard that I think my spine just cracked. But it’s fine. I’ll suffer it later. I looked at the time. It’s 6. I almost forgot to cook the vegetables and make the gravy.

Good thing I already seasoned the potatoes, carrots, and Brussels sprouts ahead of time. I put the vegetables in the oven. In the meantime, it’s time to make some gravy and glaze. I began working on the glaze. When I turned on the stove all I heard across the kitchen “Yo chef, you need a hand with anything?”. It was Jackie. “I’m doing fine right now. If you want, you can try out the mashed potatoes,” I said to him. He grabbed a nearby spoon and tasted it. “Tastes amazing chef.” “Thanks,” I said while I was grabbing things I needed to make the gravy. Jackie was looking at my unfinished glaze. “What’s this,” he asked while trying out a spoonful. I stopped. “No no no. Don’t taste it yet,” I said quickly. “It’s still very,” Too late. He tried it. He immediately spits out. “Sour,” I finished my sentence. Jackie immediately grabbed a glass of water to try to clean his mouth. I chuckled. “Here,” I said. I grabbed a small bowl of my mashed potatoes. He took a few bites from it. “Better?” I asked. “Much better. Thanks.” Said Jackie. He took the bowl to the living room where everyone else was. I continue working on the glaze. 

Over 20 minutes have gone by and the glaze is reduced and finished. While that was reducing, I was halfway done with making my gravy. Using the leftover juices from the turkey, butter, and flour, I added the beef broth to the gravy and waited for it to simmer and reduce. “Woah Alex. Something smells good.” It was my two cousins from Saskatchewan Erika and Allyson with her husband Ryan. I smiled. “Thanks, guys. And thanks for showing up this Christmas.” “No worries. I know it’s been years,” said Allyson. Ryan came up to the stove and smelled my glaze. He immediately went back and started sneezing. “Dude. What is that?” He asked. “That’s my glaze. Why are you smelling that of all things?” I asked him, without laughing. “Why the hell this is so strong?” He asked. “I’m putting on top of carrots. It’s supposed to be a glaze for them. Not a drink.” Allyson and Erika laughed. Ryan went and grabbed a tissue and blew his nose. “Well, dinner is almost ready. Can one of you guys grab everyone outside to come inside for dinner?” I asked. “ Ryan volunteered. “I’ll go,” he said. “You sure babe?” Allyson asked Ryan. “It’s really cold outside.” “No, I’ll go. I need to get some fresh air to clear out my nose.” She chuckled. “I’ll just call all the old folks in the house to the dining room then,” she said while walking out of the kitchen. “Hold on. You’re calling Jackie and David old?” Erika asked. “Old enough,” Allyson yelled in the hallway. “Erika. Can you help me set up the table?” I asked. She nodded.

Erika helped set up the table of 16 people while I brought the turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy into the kitchen. “Now that’s a well-cooked turkey,” said my uncle. “Thanks, chef,” I replied. “So you’re carving the turkey?” He asked. I shake my head. “You can do the honors,” I said to him. “I’ve done enough here.” He chuckled. “Sure thing.” He grabbed a carving knife. Soon after my aunts, David, Jackie, Andrea, and my parents took a seat around the dining room table. Not long after everyone else from outside was just about to hang up their jackets. Erika and I grabbed the vegetable. I grizzled the glaze over the carrots. “And that’s that,” Erika said. “Thanks for having us over again.” “No problem,” I replied. “So remember when you said in Vancouver that you wanted to see the entire family get together? Is this what you remembered of what we all wanted?” She paused. “Everyone is a little older. But it feels like home,” she smiled. I smiled too. “Sounds good to me. Let’s hope this isn’t the last,” I said. “Now come on. We don’t want to keep them waiting.” We grabbed all the vegetables and went to the dining room to start the Christmas dinner.