Thanksgiving has now come and gone, but the 2020 holiday season is just getting started. Before they set off for their long Thanksgiving break, Elizabeth Poe’s preschool students at Athens Elementary got in on festive celebration by sharing their ideas for preparing the perfect turkey.
“It’s interesting to see how their little minds work,” Poe told the West Virginia Daily News. “Some of the kids got really wide-eyed when I told them what we were doing. But I let them know they couldn’t get it wrong…they would just have more fun.”
And it seems that fun is exactly what Poe’s students had. The more outlandish their cooking instructions became, the bigger the smiles that they generated.
According to Elijah, one must, “put a turkey in the pot. Put it in the oven. Cook it on 300 degrees for a million minutes. Then it will be ready to eat.”
Jaylynn says that if you want your bird to be just right, “Put it in a pot. Shake it and put it in the oven. Cook it on 100 degrees for two hours. It’s almost done, then it’s ready.”
Gemma, however, has a different, more classical strategy.
“Put the turkey in the oven on 400 degrees for four hours. Then it is ready.”
Maci’s method is less about the specific temperature, as long as the oven is “hot.”
“Put it in the oven and turn the temperature to hot and cook it for three hours. Then you eat it.”
Kendall, on the other hand, believes that slow and steady is the best way to go.
“You put it in the oven on 100 degrees for 20 hours,” Kendall explained. “Then you take it out and eat it.”
Now Elliot’s advice for preparing the perfect bird is a bit more confusing. It seems as though he may have skipped the first step of his instructions.
“Put the bones back in the turkey. It goes in a pot and you put the pot in the oven for ten minutes on hot,” Elliot said, possibly also skipping the last step.
Odin may be looking ahead to a promising career in the culinary arts, as his directions aren’t all that far off.
“The turkey has to go in the oven. Set the oven to 400 degrees for three hours. Then it’s ready.”
Tucker’s recipe has something of a “camp out vibe” to it.
“You cook it with beans in a pot. Then you put it in the oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees for 18 minutes. Take it out and eat it.”
The number “18” factors into Caroline’s recipe, as well. However, for her it seems to be more about the temperature and less about the cooking time.
“Put it in the oven and set the oven on 18 degrees,” Caroline suggests. “Cook it for 8 minutes. Then it’s ready to eat.”
Cook for eight minutes at 18 degrees for a cold and refreshing “turkey-cicle.”
Owen appears to be more of a traditionalist.
“Put in the ingredients and put it in the oven. Set the timer for five hours. It’s ready to eat after that.”
Wyatt prefers his poultry more on the rare side, saying, “Put it in the oven. Set the oven to 100 degrees for two minutes. Put it on the table and eat it.”
Kensleigh also prefers her turkey a little pink in the middle. However, she provides a bit more insight into the process.
“It fixes in the oven,” Kensleigh says. “Set the oven to 100 degrees for two minutes. You cut it and eat it.”
Isabella isn’t one for all the flash and pageantry. She sticks to the basics.
“Put it in the oven and cook it a lot. Then it is ready.”
And then there’s Landon, who appears to be something of a renaissance man.
“You have to skin it and then put it in the oven,” Landon advises. “Set the oven from one – 100 for 123 minutes. Then you take it out and eat it. I like the legs of it.”
It is fair to say that Landon is in good company with his meal preferences.
When asked about her plans for the upcoming Christmas holiday, Poe said, “I hope to do something with a holiday ham, but we’ll see what the kids want to do.”
Whatever culinary masterpieces Ms. Poe and her students come up with next, we’re quite certain they will be delicious.
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