Thanksgiving Planning: 4 Weeks to Turkey Day

Menu #279 is my idea of a Thanksgiving feast! We almost always have a deep fried turkey which is fabulous juicy and tender. BUT I go for all the sides. My moms chicken liver stuffing is even better the next day on a sandwich, Russian rye with cranberries filled with turkey smeared with candied ginger sweet potatoes n cranberries. Last year I enjoyed making TURDUCKEN Recipe #40260 with my Daughter Sam time consuming but worth it. Posted there are step x step photos on how to make it. Wishing everyone a very Happy Peace Loving Thanksgiving from my home to yours.

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...part II.....after cooking in bacon fat, knockwursts, *knackwurst - caraway seed, apples, and some homemade chicken stock, we all could eat pounds of the stuff. To this day, we still continue with the long standing tradition of sauerkraut, sitting alongside homemade "stuffing" and of course the most important of all, the turkey. Hey! Enjoy the holiday, and remember - to start your own tradition!

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Oh! Thanksgiving on the farm....ahhh...brings back such dear memories to this ol' soul. We always had this celebration at night, taking all day, and the previous day to prepare such a feast! Way back when we had a special turkey roaster, the would pump and hiss through out the day producing a robust, beautiful, tender, turkey for our feast. My dad would carve it, making a production out of it as though he were the king of the farm, and had been given the utmost important job for that day. A very special menu item that had to be included on the feast table was sauerkraut. Because Maryland had such a German/Polish population, this was one tradition that would not, could not, ever be missed. During the summer months, we would gather the cabbages together, cut them into slivered lengths, and put them into a huge crock that sat in our basement (which we knew as the cellar and let ferment until Thanksgiving. When you finally took off the lid, phew! It was very strong and potent, however....

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Both of my parent were WWII displaced persons. Thanksgiviing was the perfect holiday for them - they were so thankful that they ended up in the US and were free to pursue an independent life, have a family, maintain their traditions, work for freedom of captive nations in the USSR, and have a better life than might have been possible in other parts of the world. We had turkey, but mother stuffed it with apples and prunes, and we would usually also have Lithuanian sausage, desra, and dumplings - kaldunai - and mother's nut torte or zagareliai or other pastries. A blending of the old and the new, just as America absorbed the Old World and created something new from it as well.

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I haven't lived in the US for more than 30 years, but I've carried Thanksgiving with me. In Australia, where I live now, I 'throw' Thanksgiving every second year—on a Saturday either side of the actual day—and invite people who are special to our family.
Given that it's not an actual holiday in Australia, not everyone can always come, but the list of regulars is quite long. Usually there are about 65 guests, but one year there were 100. I do what my mother did. I make turkeys (two, a ham and pies (two pumpkin and two pecan, and everyone brings their specialty dish. There are appetisers, veggies, salads, breads, desserts—food galore. We start at lunch and carry on as late as we like. Most of the guests are families, and it's fun to see now grown-up children come to Thanksgiving with their babies.
This year we're travelling overland from London to Sydney, so I'm not sure what T-Day will bring, but I'll write about it on my blog (see my About Me page for a link.

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P2. Read P1 first-LOL. It's now myself and DH. Every Thanksgiving we have Cornish Game Hens, wild rice stuffing, pineapple casserole, roasted carrots and parsnips, and a tossed salad. Always cheesecake and a berry pie for DH. I've tried over the years to slide in a new vegerable dish which never goes over well-it took me years and a lie to convince my DH to try parsnips. I told him they were white carrots from France. My daughters still call the week before Thanksgiving asking for recipes they had as kids so I know our family traditions are still alive and well. They all make Uncle Vern's yams, Mama's heavenly hash and Aunt Janets green bean casserole. Since they are either married or attached they also have worked in new traditions. That's what it's all about. Blended Traditions. Rather nice if you ask me. Happy Thanksgiving!

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P1 As I read this I thought to myself "wow how times have changed". Must be my age-LOL. As a little girl Thanksgiving was always at Grandma Browns. Always. Turkey (2, stuffing and gravy was Grandma Browns job, heavenly hash my Great Grandmothers, green bean casserole went to Aunt Janet, mashed potatoes and carrots was Aunt Carols job, candied yams and rolls Uncle Vern, my Mother all the "fixings" like relish trays, deviled eggs, cranberry relish and at least one cheesecake. Various pies were made by my Aunts. Grandma Brown also seemed to have an endless supply of fudge and divinity. The cocktails and kids fell to the various Uncles and my Dad, which included a after dinner walk to keep us out of the way of cleanup-that was until you reached the age of 16. I carried on some of those traditions as my children were growing up, and we were able to attend a few family Thanksgivings which were then hosted by my father.
The kids are grown and scattered about the U.S. and Canada.

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