Thanksgiving

by Geraldine Duncann
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Geraldine’s Thanksgiving Memories

This article is not about stuffing and roasting your Thanksgiving turkey. I’m sure you have your tried and true, much loved, handed down from generation to generation method for doing that. This article is about side dishes to serve with the noble bird.  AND, you are not going to find Green Bean Casserole, Yams with a topping of marshmallows or canned fruit cocktail with artificial whipped topping.  If these are cherished recipes in your family, then you most likely won’t want to read any further, if however, like me, you find these concoctions less than gratifying, then you may be interested in some of the more urbane alternatives I have posted here.

I had never even heard about green bean casserole until I had it at a pot-luck last year. My gawd, I thought I was going to have to have a taste bud transplant. Candied yams with marshmallows, sure, I loved it at my aunt’s house when I was nine. Then I grew up and started liking grown up food. The same with the classic fruit salad made from canned fruit cocktail, baby marshmallows and artificial whipped topping.  Blatch!  Again, forgive me if I tread on any much loved traditions.  Those of you whom I have offended, will probably want to go turn on the food network about now.  However those of you who are looking for fresher and healthier, (well, not too healthy, after all it is a holiday) dishes to grace your holiday table, I think you will find these creations of interest.

To all the naysayers claiming that turkey was never on the first Thanksgiving menu, read this: Don’t Worry, Turkey on Thanksgiving is Historically Accurate! Two contemporary authors who wrote about the feast, Edward Winslow and William Bradford, both were at the 1621 feast, and wrote separate accounts of the fall of 1621.