Max Thanksgiving
Here it is everybody, that time of the year that purports to be one of the best holidays- Thanksgiving! What originally was a celebration to honor the pilgrims’ freedom from the Church of England is now an occasion for families to gather and spend a couple of hours enjoying the pleasure of each others’ company. Yet, have you ever sat down and thought really about what draws you back each year? Surely, it cannot be your uncle’s increasingly more boring stories about taxidermy. Could it be the hilarity of seeing your grandmother bite into a corncob and leave her teeth in it? For me, it is the Green bean Casserole that my grandmother used to make. It was this reason alone that prompted me to find out more about some people’s favorite thanksgiving foodstuffs.
The Turkey: Everyone loves this lethargy-inducing dish, which has been a favorite ever since the time of Lincoln.
Contrary to popular belief, Turkey was NOT, in fact, part of the First Thanksgiving. The Indians primarily brought deer, wild boar, and rodents as their gifts. Here is a link to the history of turkey.
The Mashed Potatoes: Everyone loves a creamy mountain of gravy-covered potatoes. In my opinion, there are few things better than diving fork first into a snowy pile of these smashed spuds.
Cranberry Sauce: While this was never my favorite item on any menu, it is other people’s so I thought that I would give it a shot. This is apparently a great thing to top some turkey and dressing.
The Dressing: Now this is an item that I can sink my teeth into, literally! A good plate of traditional cornbread dressing is one of the best things out there. And I do mean dressing, people; stuffing cooked inside the turkey can contaminate the food and create salmonella due to the difference in cooking times.
Green bean Casserole: The above recipe was the closest one that I could find to my grandmother’s. This dish was the one that kept me coming back, year after year, to meet with people that I had no honest interest in seeing again.
Food holds power over people, especially if it is food that someone, like my grandmother, spent years perfecting. While it was not the case with me, food can be even better still if you eat it with those who mean a lot to you. Have fun, people.
