What Are Your Must-Have, Non-Negotiable Meals for Thanksgiving?
Hello and welcome back toWhat’s Cooking? , an open thread where you can share your brilliant thoughts, tips, recipes and opinions on all food related matters. This week I would like to talk to you about what violates Thanksgiving – you know, things that just have to be on the table so you don’t lose your mind.
Nostalgia can make people behave strangely, and a big part of Thanksgiving’s strength is that it’s rooted in nostalgia and (usually) deeply rooted in pleasant childhood memories. It is also the most food-oriented holiday with everyone having one or two dishes to which they have a strong emotional attachment. As always, I have a few questions for you:
- How much turkey are you attached to? Actually I would agree with another squirrel, but my dad wouldn’t eat anything other than a plump bird like Norman Rockwell. My grandmother once dared to serve nothing more than a turkey breast, and I’m pretty sure she was crying. (He was a child, but still.)
- Which dish is unique to your family and must be prepared every year? My mother’s family prepares a dish called corn casserole, which is not unique in Mississippi, but unheard of in other parts of this country. It’s mostly whipped corn, Jiffy cornbread mix, sour cream and cheese and it’s delicious.
- Is there a side dish or appetizer you’re looking forward to more than a poultry? Aside from the corn casserole, I just need to eat one or five seasoned eggs. Seasoned eggs are very important to me and I need them to be festive.
- What kind of cake does your heart hold? Although I prefer sweet potatoes over pumpkin , if I could only choose one pie after the turkey, it would be a pecan.
- Do some people “own” the food, or can someone try their hand at any part of the meal? It’s kind of like a free event with my family, but the turkey is usually cooked by one of my uncles, and I usually participate in the “bar program.”
- If you could only choose two casseroles, which casseroles would you choose? This is an unfair question because you can have as many casseroles as you want, but I would go with corn and green beans.
- Filling or dressing? Although I write and eat both, I have to use cornbread dressing.
As always, feel free to drop any Thanksgiving thoughts you may have downstairs – the angrier the better. (Let your turkey anger out here, friends. It’s a safe place.)