Happy Thanksgiving!
I happen to like Thanksgiving. Always have. It’s a holiday for anyone and everyone in this country—except, of course, people who hate turkey. There are quite a few of those curmudgeonly folks, but I’m happy to report I’m not one of them. Even if the turkey ends up dry and overcooked, it’s nothing that a little gravy and cranberry sauce can’t fix. And although the turkey is the centerpiece, it’s the accompaniments that make the meal.
My theory on turkeys is that they’re like children: you coax them along and just do the best you can, but as long as you don’t utterly ruin or abuse them, they have their own innate characteristics that will manifest in the end. A dry and tough bird will be a dry and tough bird despite all that draping in fat-soaked cheesecloth, a tender and tasty one will withstand a certain amount of abuse.
One year my brother and I were cooking at my parents’ house and somehow we set the oven on “broil,” an error that was only discovered an hour before the turkey was due to be done. It was one of the best turkeys ever. Another time the turkey had turned deep bluish-purple on defrosting and was so hideous and dangerous-looking it had to be abandoned. Another terrible time, that has lived in infamy ever since, my mother decided turkey was passe and that we’d have steak on Thanksgiving.
Since I like to eat, I am drawn to the fact that Thanksgiving is a food-oriented holiday with a basic obligatory theme (turkey plus seasonal autumnal food) and almost infinite variations on that theme. Sweet potatoes? Absolutely—but oh, the myriad ways to make them, some revolting, some sublime. Pie? Of course, but what kind? And what to put on it, ice cream, whipped cream, or both?
For me, there are three traditional requirements—besides the turkey, of course. There has to be at least one pecan pie, although eating it in all its sickening sweetness can put an already-sated person right over the top. The cranberry sauce has to be made from fresh cranberries (it’s easy: cranberries, water, and sugar to taste, simmered on top of the stove till mushy and a bright deep red), and lots of it (it’s good on turkey sandwiches the next day, too).
The traditional stuffing in my family is non-traditional: a large quantity of cut-up Granny Smith apples cooked in fair amount of sherry as well as a ton of butter till a bit soft; and then mixed with prunes, almonds, and one Sara Lee poundcake reduced to crumbs by crushing with the hands.
Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that has a theme that is vaguely religious—giving thanks—but has no specific religious affiliation. So it’s a holiday that unites. It’s one of the least commercial holidays as well, because it involves no presents. It’s a home-based holiday, which is good, too, except for those who don’t have relatives or friends to be with. One drawback is the terribly compressed travel time; I solve that by not usually traveling very far if I can possibly help it.
The main advantage to hosting the day is having leftovers left over. The main disadvantage to hosting the day is having leftovers left over.
I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, filled with friends and/or family of your choice, and just the right amount of leftovers!
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous post, slightly edited.]
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I will be having my annual Turkey day next weekend. It’s a bit complicated here. I have to search around for sweet potatoes and buy up cranberries whenver I find them. And I stock up on pumpkin filling and American brown sugar when I visit the states. Germans have no idea what a 20lb turkey looks like, so I have to buy smaller ones and figure whether I will need 2 roasters, one of which will be handled by a friend because I only have one oven. Everyone loves the meal, which is why Turkey Day has become an annual feast. It’s not quite like being home, but it’s pretty good.
I forgot to thank Neo for pointing out the treacherous path Bush had to tread when talking about Islam post 9/11.
Truer word have not been said before. Well played, ma’am; well played.
Have a happ(urp)y Thanksgiving.
KRB
And a very happy Thanksgiving to you, Neo. The one aspect that you only touched on is the family gathering. The multiple generations (we have most of our children and grandchildren); the happiness at seeing one another; and not having to mess with gifts.
Your stuffing sounds amazing – like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard of.
Most importantly, a time to sit back, reflect and give thanks for all of our blessings. What more could one ask.
Again, happy Thanksgiving and please keep up your great work
When I think of the things and people I am thankful for you are one of those at the top of the list.
A Blessed Thanksgiving to regulars here.
And a Huge Thanks to Neo for her incredible work and thought on this Site.
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And, with the world more and more on fire, may our Repub
Party come to sanity: Delete Donald. Nominate
Marco or Ted. For Godsakes!!!
Happy Thanksgiving all. Very nice springlike weather where I am.
Next year we will know by the time Thanksgiving comes around whether we have much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving.
A wonderful holiday that can be celebrated without reservation by everyone.
I will be blessed to have all grand children in attendance; the whole family, except for one daughter who will be attending to any new babies who make their appearance–as she usually does on holidays. So, special thanks for all who forego family gatherings to keep us safe or well.
Giving thanks fro neo and all her commenters. I get much more from your blog than I could ever give. It is a blessing. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Happy Thanksgivjng, Neo, and many thanks from one changer to another.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I’m wondering whether anyone else has been noticing that in recent years more and more people have been taking off more and more time for Thankgiving. I live on a cul de sac street with 25 houses on it and at least 15 of them have been empty since Last Thursday!!
It will be a happy Thanksgiving Day in spite of our postponing the feast until Friday to accommodate 2 guests who are unable to arrive today. So, we are washing outside windows, cleaning gutters and are thankful for the moderate weather that allows us to do what we put off earlier in the fall. Happy Day to everyone.
I use those plastic “oven bags”. They seem to work well.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hesitate to mention this, but the graphic at the top was “Freedom from Want” by Norman Rockwell. It was commissioned by FDR to accompany his socialist “four freedoms” program. This painting represented the “right to an adequate standard of living”, to wit:
The rest is history…
Happy Thanksgiving, Neo and everyone. Our feast is tomorrow. I spent today on preparations and pie-baking while Mr Whatsit walked our daughter’s dog in the woods and our grown children and their spouses and our grandchild spent the day with in-laws. That works – that way everyone gets everything. This is my favorite holiday: nothing but food and thankfulness and togetherness, and who cares when. I hope all of you spend these fine glowing late-autumn days in peace and plenty.
Happy Turkey day one and all
What an oppressive image of women slaving for nothing and being forced to kill and burn animals for a hetero-normative evil racist privileged group that should not exist…
Happy Thanksgiving..
don’t forget to tune into the indian video that describes the massacre that the holiday really was, and listen to feminist and American Indian Elizabeth Warren tell us about maize… and the multicultural Eden that white man destroyed that was the realm of the noble savage (while we forget the Spaniards).
Given that women will not be free until the institution of marriage is destroyed that image drives the studies courses people in college CRAZY… its akin to a satanic cult dancing naked around virgin goats… cant you see that too? 🙂
President Obama delivered his Thanksgiving address this morning, including a political lecture on Syrian refugees. He told Americans that Syrian refugees were just like the pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower.
Everyone, except 1 son, 1 daughter in-law, and 2 granchildren have cleared out; it was a great day of family and food. Family is everything. Mrs parker and I are blessed; we are all blessed. In my corner of Iowa we escaped freezing rain so that is a blessing also.
Best wishes to neo, her family, and all of you hang around this blog of sanity. Be of strong heart.
Speaking of food, Neo, I happened to notice that Werther’s Original caramels don’t list cocoa or anything I could identify as chocolate in their ingredients.
Nick:
Oh yes, Werther’s caramels are a favorite. So much so that I can’t allow myself to buy a bag, because I will eat the whole thing within the day.
…actually – due to “environmental reasons” (our power was only restored late Wednesday, after being off 8 days from downed lines all over our neck of the woods: bit of a disaster, that …could have been worse, cleanup still ongoing …for example, there’s 60-70 feet of our neighbor’s fallen pine tree in our backyard – missed the house, thank G_d), we ended up having stuffed steak for our modest Thanksgiving repast.
My wife had to improvise on her own (as I was otherwise deployed, laying waste in the backyard with a chainsaw). And it was brilliant.
I mean, stuffed steak: who knew.
Offline for the entire day yesterday so this is first opportunity I’ve had to post.
To our hostess and all commenters, both regular and casual:
Best wishes for the holiday weekend and my hope that your Thanksgiving celebration was happy and meaningful.
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