Jaymes

No, I don't think that was what he was saying at all. What he was saying was that the Thanksgiving tradition many consider "quintessentially American" and (implicitly) "timeless" was actually bound to a particular era: the Thanksgiving spread so many (white folks) serve is actually the 1950s version, not something universal. As we have seen in this very discussion, not even the turkey is universal as a Thanksgiving centerpiece, though it remains the iconic one. Aside from that, there are all sorts of variations on the theme, all as American as salsa and marinara sauce. If there is anything universally American about Thanksgiving, it is the fact that on this one day, friends and family gather together mainly for the purpose of breaking bread together and counting their blessings. (That point is mine, not Tyler Connoley's.) As for bristling at the value judgements (deleted here), did you notice that I remained unflappable in the face of yet another Southern assault on perfectly innocent Midwestern bread stuffing? Did notice your commendable unflappability for which I...um...commend you. Actually though, I believe that, in direct contradiction to what I think was gfron's spouse's point (he/she appeared to be saying that Thanksgiving is all about WHAT you eat so if whatever you're eating is of the 70's, it can't be the "quintessentially American" experience because it's only a quintessentially white folk baby boomer experience), although Thanksgiving is about coming together for a grand and lavish celebratory meal, it doesn't really matter that much what exactly your grand and lavish celebratory meal consists of. So in fact, I agree with you. I DO think that Thanksgiving is the quintessential American experience, NOT the quintessential baby boomer experience, and I think that the exact menu is pretty far down the list of the reason why. You can have your Funyuns or little pastel marshmallows or whatever. You can shoot a wild turkey and make an effort to be totally "authentic" or have lasagna or enchiladas or bbq or Kentucky Burgoo. I'd never take it unto myself to declare to people that might not know enough to disbelieve me that Thanksgiving only belongs to one group of folks based on my opinion of what they ate. I guess what I'm trying to say in my silly, convoluted way, is that gfron's spouse is wrong.

I don't really get gfron's spouse's point, either. I guess she's saying that if a custom or tradition evolves, it's no longer a custom or tradition worth having. Turkey was on the menu of the very first Thanksgiving but I guess in order to be true to the original tradition (rather than some "baby boomer" version), I should have gone out and shot mine, rather than just picking it up at the local super. And as for the "moldy salad," aka "the green stuff"... Assuming she's talking about Seafoam Salad, I do love it. We don't serve it for Thanksgiving because we serve Waldorf Salad that day and, at some point, enough is surely enough. But I make it a lot and serve it with fried chicken, or pork chops, or ham slices. And during the last miserable six months of my mother's life, it was one of the very few things she'd eat. Good for her, too...chock full of cottage cheese and pineapple. I have very fond feelings about that "moldy" stuff.

My daughter has adopted this method as her own family tradition. She says that regardless as to how it tastes, it's utterly fabulous because it gets the men out of the kitchen. And off of the sofa. And even, best of all, out of the house entirely. And it's something they willingly do in order to contribute to the meal, a huge step forward from the way she was reared. And the turkey is no longer her responsibility so if it's raw and undercooked or dry and overcooked, nobody can blame her. So all in all, she says, it's just about perfect in every way.

Well...uh...uh... Salsa? The sausage apple ring does have a texture similar to meatloaf, but coarser, what with the apples and sausage and all. The top browns and gets crispy, but the inside doesn't. And about those smoked oysters with scrambled eggs... It's really surprising how good that is. I guess I scramble about six eggs. Add your cream okay WATER and scramble as usual, except when the eggs are beginning to set up, so about half scrambled, dump in a small can of undrained smoked oysters. I've never added anything else. Remember thinking when I first got this recipe years ago that onions might be good in it, too, but then tasted it and it's obvious you need nothing more. I do always have a little bottle of some kind of hot sauce handy to shake over it after it's on the plate. This probably would serve about two folks in pj's. And sometimes when I'm doing my "scrambled eggs three ways" thing, I'll scramble some canned asparagus in one of the selections and serve them alongside. They seem to go together pretty well. I've never paid much attention to the brand of oysters. I think they're all pretty good.

Not sure if these ideas will be helpful... They are simplicity itself, you can make them ahead, but you do have to keep them warm. I used to give a LOT of brunches. And my most successful menu was the sausage apple ring, a selection of various scrambled eggs, and then the typical fruits, french toasts and/or other sweet breads, bloody marys & mimosas. For the scrambled eggs, serve three types. One with a can of smoked oysters scrambled in (and this sounds yucky, but it's really wonderful and you should try it anyway late one Sunday morning); one with some onions, tomatoes and chiles; and one plain. Sausage Apple Ring 2 lbs good quality bulk sausage (and it HAS to be the best quality; cheap sausage makes this dish far too greasy) 1 1/2 C cracker crumbs 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 C evaporated milk 1/4 C chopped white or yellow onion 1 C apple chunks Combine all ingredients, tossing well with a light hand to combine, but try not to mash the meat or the apples. Press into a 6-cup bundt pan or mold. Bake 350 1 hour. You can bake this for 30 minutes the day before and refrigerate until time to serve. Then bake final half hour and serve.

← Already? Wow. Impressive! Actually, I did write a cookbook (really more of a recipe collection) years ago. Never went into a second printing because I spent all the profits from the first printing!

I made them every Thanksgiving when I had my kids at home. But last few years, got lazy. My favorite recipe: 20-30 small white boiling onions 1/3 c. butter, margarine or oil 3 T flour 1 1/2 c. whole milk 1 C shredded American cheese Chopped peanuts Peel onions and cook in a large amount of boiling salted water until tender. Set aside to drain well. Put oil or butter in large saucepan. Over medium heat, add flour and make a light brown roux. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly until all milk is added and mixture thickens. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is creamy. Carefully fold in onions. When onions are heated through, turn into serving dish, sprinkle with chopped peanuts and serve immediately. Edited to add - these are delicious and I often make them to serve with steak, roasts, ham, etc. Too good to have just at Thanksgiving. In fact, at Thanksgiving they seemed to get a little "lost" what with all the other good food on the table.

Why don't you take a pasta course next year? I'll bet everyone would enjoy it. Especially when you tell them that it's a tradition in your family. Most folks like incorporating new traditions. For example, we never had tamales for Christmas in our Irish/Scots/American family. But then we spent a few years living on the US-Mexico border. And now it ain't Christmas at our house without some tamales.

The fact that Macy's has been parading on Thanksgiving since the 20s would suggest pre-boomer, pre-jello salad-era popularity. Not to mention George Washington's 1789 proclamation. ← And in addition to not seeing any "Funyuns, gelled [sic] cranberries, or mini-marshmallows" or "Jell-O salad" on Norman Rockwell's tables, you won't find any on my holiday table either. Although I got nothing against any of them. They're just not part of our personal Thanksgiving tradition.

Few drops of toasted sesame oil? That sounds delicious. And speaking of summer, as I said in another thread, around this time of year when turkeys are a loss leader in the markets, I usually buy two extras, and have the butcher saw them in half. Then I wrap the halves and store them in the freezer. In the summertime, I drag them out one by one and smoke them on the grill. Served with a wonderful congealed cranberry & apple salad, it's a delightful summer meal.

Well, my spouse has corrected me via HIS BLOG. Apparently this is the quintessential baby boomer experience. Don't know if your spouse is a baby boomer, but that hump follows me by a decade. And I assure you that Thanksgiving is, and has been, the quintessential US experience, for a very long time. My 87-year-old father is fond of talking about what was essentially the exact same holiday and menu (minus that green bean casserole, I suppose) when he was a boy. And I remember my grandmother, born in 1885, talking about what was essentially the exact same holiday when she was a child. And hasn't your spouse ever heard of Norman Rockwell? He was sure no baby boomer.

Nice.

"Browbeat"? Obviously you've never been married.

Ah yes, but how about the turkey dressing? Did y'all have turkey and gummy white bread stuffing? Or turkey and heavenly cornbread dressing?

There was a great Italian restaurant in Tucson - O Sole Mio. Started in a small strip mall, but was so popular that they built a nice big restaurant. I absolutely loved their cream of spinach soup, and I've tried to replicate it without success. Also the old Tack Room, which I understand is no longer there. And down in Nogales, La Cava. The best.

And let's just hope he doesn't say, "Cleveland."

Creamy turkey a la king ladled over homemade biscuits. Yum.

So, any run-ins yet with egg flower/drop soup?

It must be difficult to be a food writer and always under pressure to come up with something new and different to say.

Our family never really had a problem disposing of leftovers from Thanksgiving turkey dinners. In fact, often said leftovers never even made it out of the fridge, since my family was very adept at "head in the fridge leftovers nibbling." Were we the only ones?

Perfect summation.

For the cranberry sauce, you might peruse this thread. It's got lots of good ideas and suggestions: Cranberry Sauce

When people ask me what is my very favorite meal of all, and people do, you know, I always say that it's the traditional Thanksgiving meal. My turkey isn't dry. It's moist and juicy. And it's covered with a very flavorful gravy flecked with bits of giblets and neck meat. It's served with cornbread dressing made from scratch, cranberry relish laced with orange and port, caramelized yams (not mashed), peas & mushrooms, green bean casserole (not my personal favorite but some members of my family like it so I fix it), home-baked honey ham, and for cool and crunchy, a classic Waldorf Salad and a relish tray, and rolls and butter. For dessert, pecan pie and pumpkin pie. As I said, this is my very favorite meal and I and my family wait all year for it, and for the leftovers that we consume the next day. One year, I just hadn't been feeling well, and I didn't want to cook, so I got the entire family, myself, hubby, three kids, and we went off to the fanciest restaurant in town, where they were having a Thanksgiving Buffet. It was a glorious spread, with everything anyone would ask. As we sat in our large family booth, eating this sumptuous meal, I cheerily asked everyone if they were enjoying themselves. My twelve-year-old son said ruefully, "Well Mom, it's good. But this is NOT the stuff from which tradition is made." And I heartily agree. I never tried to pull such a stunt on them again.

This thread, and mention of the Collins Street Bakery in Corsicana reminded me of something I wrote a few years back. Here it is:

Not in Ontario thats for sure. The cheapest I've seen turkey is 1.79lb and thats for Utility. When I'm shopping in Port Huron, I see many Canadians buying the cheap turkeys. I usually buy one or two and bring it back as well, but I won't do that for the Seniors. We're doing the turkey roasts (boneless) this year for their xmas meal again. 3.70lb frozen. Obviously, I don't know about Ontario, but in the States, frozen turkeys are almost always offered as some sort of draw to bring in customers during the holidays. Many stores say that if you buy $25-50 worth of groceries, for example, you get a turkey free. And my advice wasn't for the Thanksgiving dinner itself; but rather, to stick in the freezer to have cheap meat available for the next six months or so. I always buy at least two additional frozen turkeys while they're on sale. I do have the butchers cut them in half. I wrap the halves separately and put them in the freezer. I drag them out throughout the year, and cook them in various ways. Sometimes I just roast a half in the oven for a family dinner, and use the bones and leftovers to make meals such as Turkey al la King, turkey spaghetti, curries, turkey soup, etc. I can get a week's worth of meals from one of those halves. And then in the springtime when the weather turns warm I'll cook one out on our bbq grill, and serve it with a congealed cranberry-apple salad. But of course, if turkeys never go on sale in Ontario, that advice wouldn't be quite so helpful.