I know it's a little early to start thinking about turkey and all that, but Jon and I will be playing host to Mumma, my brother, and sister-in-law this Thanksgiving. Regular readers know I'm from cranberry country, which also happens to be next door to pilgrim country. Our family Thanksgivings have been pretty traditional, with the turkey, gravy, stuffing/dressing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pearled onions, and on and on...and on. Oh! And don't forget the pies. And cheesecakes.
We'll be in New York City this year, not Plymouth County, Massachusetts, so some twists on the traditional are a must. And I'll be doing the cooking, so unless everyone wants to eat cookies for dinner, the star of this year's Thanksgiving is going to be eggplant parmesan.
All this menu planning got me thinking about what others do for Thanksgiving. Do you keep it traditional, go off on an Asian-fusion tangent, or do a bit of the old mixed with the new?
PS: For those who are interested, here are some photos I took of Plymouth Rock and its portico when I was home for the Cranberry Harvest Festival. (I tried to take a few snaps of Mayflower II, but there was a line of tour buses blocking it from view.)
The portico and a view of Plymouth Harbor.
The rock itself. Sorry about the shadows!
sorry g, but i must respectfully disagree with you here. thanksgiving just isn't thanksgiving without turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.
can u tell this is my favorite holiday? i'm a loyal turkey eater. but i'll take a side of cheesecake with my pumpkin pie!
Posted by: IYC | October 21, 2008 at 09:35 PM
Hey G,
I'm up for anything, but maybe a couple gobbler sandwiches for after dinner!
Posted by: BigBrother | October 21, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Turkey is right up there on my list with (UGH!) chicken for foods I can do without! I'm SO happy that we're having eggplant (one of my all-time favorites). Just make sure that you have some of those yummy cranberry cookies on hand...we have to bow to convention at some point.
Posted by: Mumma | October 22, 2008 at 06:02 PM
Boy, am I going to miss you guys at Thanksgiving! It will not be the same without you.....
Posted by: Auntie Anne | October 23, 2008 at 12:02 AM
In-Young: I'll have some traditional elements so that my brother can make gobblers (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mayo, and gravy sandwiches). But handling a big old turkey is...well...*intimidating*! So my T-giving turkey will be of the sliced sandwich meat variety.
BigBro: I'll have gobbler fixins on hand...or we can run across the street to Chelsea Gallery for hot open face turkey sandwiches.
Mumma: You have to be the only person on the planet who doesn't like chicken. Who doesn't like chicken!?!? Looks like you've got plans to keep me in the kitchen all weekend...
Auntie: You and Mumma and Uncle Bruce will all have to come down sometime. I know Jon's going to miss your hard sauce. It's just butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla, right?
Posted by: Oatmeal Cookie Guy | October 24, 2008 at 04:38 PM