By DENISE HERSCHEL
Thanksgiving 2020 will be remembered as a holiday like no other with coronavirus cases surging again and the CDC urging Americans not to travel. Yet, despite the fact that this Turkey Day will look a lot different from years past, with smaller family gatherings, there are still many reasons to celebrate, according to students at Alphabets Preschool Center in Asbury Park who recently explained their culinary plans as to how to cook “the best Thanksgiving turkey” for this traditional but unusual upcoming holiday.
“First, you have to buy the turkey at the pet store,” said three-year-old Asher Jose who had his idea immediately met with sharp disagreement from classmate, four-year-old Erick Argueta who proclaimed, “No, you don’t buy it there! You buy it at Walmart!”
Once the twosome reached a mutual agreement as to where to do the turkey purchase, the next topic of discussion was what to put on and in the turkey to enhance its flavor. Three-year-old Mikayda Jeudy stated that “bananas” were the best choice to be put into the turkey while five-year-old Hazel Weston said, “you need to put salt, pepper, chicken, rice and potatoes in it.”
And four-year-old Isai Vasquez wanted an ornate touch added to the turkey insisting that “a beautiful flower be put on top of it.”
As for what temperature and for how long the beloved bird should be cooked in the oven, students’ answers were quite varied with four-year-old Hassan Sample suggesting “the turkey be cooked at one to two degrees for five minutes” while four-year-old Serenity Thomas stating that hers will be cooked for “only two hours.”
And when asked who will be responsible for prepping and cooking the big bird, four-year-old Elijah Fortune said, “My dad knows how to make everything! Turkey and eggs…do you want me to call him?”
But four-year-old Cinthya Harris disagreed saying that “Mommy cooks the turkey in the oven because Mommies cook everything for us.”
As for side dishes to accompany the gobbler, Hassan Sample, 4, “likes to have meatballs” while Cinthya Harris prefers “tacos on the side.” But Kevin Toribio-Ruiz suggested that if “the turkey’s not good, just get tacos to eat instead.”
But when all is said and done, there was one final request from Serenity Thomas who asked if she “can please taste the turkey when it’s finished?”
And, perhaps the most important question of the day was from four-year-old Fiona Coar who asked “why kids should know how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey?”
“You shouldn’t ask kids if you don’t know how to do it,” she said. “You should ask a mom or a dad. Moms and dads make turkey but I will put the good stuff in it!”
