Happy American Thanksgiving!
On this holiday, many families tend to cling to their traditions. Although my husband, in general, is an adventurous cook, on Thanksgiving our menu never deviates from turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green peas (with butter-sauteed mushrooms), biscuits, and pumpkin pie.
The family of one of our sons, on the other hand, isn't much into turkey dinners. They serve meals that some others might consider a bit far out for the occasion, such as sushi.
This year we're breaking with custom in that we're not cooking dinner at home, with only the two of us in the house now. We've accepted an invitation to dine with one of our other sons. He has promised us leftovers to take home, a major factor in our decision whether not to prepare our own feast. We'll see how it works out.
For several decades, Thanksgiving weekend meant the Darkover con, later renamed ChessieCon, north of Baltimore. Meeting with like-minded fans was one of the high points of the year for me. Alas, the first live gathering after COVID had such disappointing attendance the con committe decided it would be more fitting to let the tradition die a dignified death rather than try to drag it out for a few more years. I miss it. On the other hand, I don't miss the frenzy of rushing around on the day after Thanksgiving to get on the freeway for an hour's drive. It's kind of nice to have a relaxing post-feast-day weekend (and not have to skip the first Sunday of Advent at our church).
Warm holiday wishes to all --
Margaret L. Carter
Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.
Posts
Thank you, Margaret. I am experimenting with mixing diced sweet potatoes with fresh cranberries (plus Braswell Jalapeño jelly). My main dish is oyster stuffing with portabello mushrooms chopped and folded in. For roughage, I am mixing chili kidney beans out of a tin with garbanzo beans, rice and barley all cooked from dry in beetroot juice.
ReplyDeleteSounds exciting! Mamma used to make oyster dressing for Christmas. I liked everything about it except the oysters. :) I'm a big fan of cranberries and mushrooms (not together in the same dish, of course). One local custom we haven't adopted is sauerkraut for Thanksgiving, brought by German immigrants to Maryland. While I like it very much, I consider it a side dish for sausages and hot dogs, not turkey. Sort of funny story: On his last sea duty assignment, as captain of the USS Reid, my husband was gone over Thanksgiving. That was the last time I cooked a turkey by myself. (It may have been the only time; I can't recall.) Being apprehensive of undercooking it, I allowed extra roasting time -- so much that it fell apart when transferred from pan to platter. I reassembled it as well as possible and took a picture of the intact side. Thanksgiving is an excellent holiday for everybody because we can all, religious or not, think of something to be grateful to someone for. Also, yummy food and no gift pressure.
ReplyDelete