menus november 26, 2013

 Tradition, which is always old, is at the same time ever new because it is always reviving -

born again in each new generation, to be lived and applied

 in a new and particular way.

Thomas Merton 

Thanksgiving, which seems at first bite to be a particularly American Holiday, turns out to be a particularly human holiday, which we celebrate

in a particularly American way.

 Around the world, and across time- ever since people have been harvesting, they have made a tradition of celebrating the harvest.  National Geographic even has a travel guide to the ten best harvest festivals this planet has to offer! 

Imagine! Skipping around the globe, going from one feast of gratitude to another- 

now that's a great itinerary.
how about starting with the flower harvest in Madeira?

Our National Thanksgiving traditions started, as anyone who has attentended a primary school play knows, with our buttoned up, buckled down ancestors, the pilgrims. (Buckles on the hats, buckles on the belts, buckles on the shoes...really, our ancestors seemed to live in fear that minds or middles or feet might loosen up a little). But is was Abraham Lincoln who fixed a National Day of Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November.

This was viewed by some in the South of 1863 as yet another aggressive attempt by the Yankees to impose their Northern customs on an unwilling South.  In response, an underground movement began- a determined effort to take that forced day of thanks and turn it instead into a feast of guilt and bitterness.

this custom of the anti-thanks Thanksgiving
  survives and thrives in many families to this day.

The children of these families, determined to gather for Thanksgiving in spite of something, sometimes grow up to make really funny and/or really sad movies that skewer, stuff and roast on a spit all the things that go wrong and right with this glorious Holiday.
 Wow. I ought to have been more careful before searching  these links to lists of Thanksgiving movies-

Because now I sorta just wanna hang out watching
movies about Thanksgiving instead of getting ready for Thanksgiving.

Our own family has celebrated Thanksgiving in too many places and circumstances to have customs fixed very firmly in place- we've spent the day in Southern Hemisphere summers and Northern Hemisphere winters, on paper plates and china plates,  in hospital rooms and living rooms, with families of origin and families of friends.

Over the course of our many and varied Thanksgivings,  there are a few things that have emerged as habits particular to us,

including:

Tradition 1:
I dither and fret for hours between cornbread and white bread, pecan and pumpkin,
 eventually deciding to cook all of them, realizing at the jingle of car keys that
 we're going to be late to someone else's house,
or at the jingle of the doorbell that I forgot to clean our own.

Tradition 2:
 I end up implementing the advice of one of the most
charming hostesses I ever met:
Just do the best you can, light a candle, and smile.
(thanks Lori, that was great advice)

There are, of course, some food customs as well, and they include some of the things that we'll be eating this week:

Wednesday: Pumpkin soup and salad

Light and easy rules the day. At least light and easy rules the days not ruled by feasting. Instead of buying and cooking a butternut squash for butternut squash soup, try this land-o-lakes recipe that uses a can of pumpkin puree (which is mostly butternut squash anyway). Call it butternut squash soup, if that makes it sound more appealing. A small salad of bagged spring mix with shaved or grated parmesan and pecans will finish the meal.

Thursday: THANKSGIVING!!!!!

This is the first feast for us- a relatively simple one, with just a few of us around the table. Since we won't need that glorious golden turkey carved at the table moment, we'll go with Mom's upside down roast turkey. The bird roasts, as the recipe says, breast side down. Upside: all the juices run into the breast meat during roasting. Downside: it's not as traditionally pretty as a breast side up bird. Chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and corn pudding will weigh down the table too, and as for dessert, we'll decide on that when my dessert pro daughter gets off of the plane.

Friday: Tomato basil soup and macaroni and cheese

It's not quite time for leftovers here- we've still got a feast to prepare- but we will need something quick and easy. This Alton Brown mac and cheese recipe is one of the most downloaded in food channel history, and my daughter and I are eager to try it out.

Saturday: THANKSGIVING PART TWO!!!!!!!

Another feast, this time a pot luck with some members of the extended family. More turkey, more dressing, more green bean casserole and more of whatever the dearly beloved bring.  One all-important addition: Our daughter has given fair warning that if Aunt Libby is not bringing her cornflake and pecan topped sweet potato casserole,  we might as well all eat at Subway. See? this is the doom that falls upon those who discover a truly sensational side dish. They are sentenced forever to bring that thing, even if they'd rather try something else. Sorry Libby. 

Sunday: Leftovers

If I knew what was going to be leftover, I'd tell you our plans for transformation. Since we are destined to live in culinary uncertainty until Saturday night, I've linked above to a fun site with lots of interesting ideas (turkey soup with stuffing dumplings, anyone?) and you can find other beyond-a-turkey-sandwich options here and here .

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone-

I hope the day is packed solid

 with Traditions that sustain you.

Even if the customs that you're used to give way.

even if you can't be in your customary place

with your customary people,

surrounded by your customary things,

I hope you're sustained

by a tradition of grace.

And fed by the beauty of a tradition

that calls for the sharing of a harvest,

the sharing of a home,

the sharing of the celebration 

of what it means to have enough.