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Thanksgiving Recipes

So the Party Girl was searching the web looking for Thanksgiving recipes when she stumbled upon what they served at the very first Thanksgiving in 1621. Interesting! I don't know that you want to duplicate this, but you may want to glean some useful information for your Thanksgiving celebration:

They served venison, wild fowl and Indian corn. Then they went into their stash (stuff available around Plymouth and on the Mayflower) and came up with spices, garden seeds, grapes, melon, cheese, cod and lobster. Lobster??! Hey, wait a minute here. I haven't been to a Thanksgiving Dinner where they served lobster, ever! Maybe it should replace the turkey?? Tom thinks so, I know that.

Of course, there was a little bit of this and that like squash and artichokes, walnuts and hazelnuts, clams (maybe this was the beginning of the "clam bake?"), wild fruits and berries, etc.

At time progressed, a typical Plymouth colonist included the following in their menu and probably printed it out on parchment or something

BILL OF FARE

Olives, black and green
Cheese
Bread of Indian corn
Cheate bread|
Seethed fish
Roast fowl served up with a sauce
Boiled sallet
Dish of Jerusalem artichokes
Boiled onions
Ancient New England standing dish of pompions
Furmenty
Prune tart
Wine, beer and cider

According to Plimoth.org, the original Thanksgiving meal went something like this:

"…Custom, dishes were placed on the table and guests served and carved for themselves. Since forks were unknown in English households, eating utensils were limited to a personal knife, a spoon and a large napkin. The napkin was used not only to clean one's mouth and fingers, but also to pick up hot morsels of food, or to hold a roast for carving. Guests took the food they wished from each serving dish and ate it immediately, or they placed portions on their own trenchers. Trenchers (wooden plates) were frequently shared with a "trencher mate." A typical Protestant grace before the meal was another important element of such a dinner."

Things have certainly changed over the years! A trip to the grocery store offers a cornucopia of great foods that present almost limitless options. For example, how about trying these great recipes from our friends at Honeysuckle White Turkeys?

Ways to cook the bird:

• Herb roasted turkey with citrus glaze
• Roast turkey with apple cider gravy
• Roast turkey with cranberry-apricot stuffing

Fabulous side dishes:

• Basic pan gravy
• Savory peppered stuffing
• Garlic mashed potatoes
• Sweet potato pie
• Classic green bean casserole
• Parmesan dinner muffins
• Grilled Portobello mushrooms
• Crispy corn fritters
• Apple rhubarb crisps

I don't think the Pilgrim's had much in the way of leftovers, but we sure do. You can only eat so many turkey sandwiches, so here, from Honeysuckle White Turkeys, are some of the best leftover recipes I've seen:

What to do with leftovers:

• Turkey pasta fagioli
• Turkey cashew casserole
• Maple turkey walnut salad
• Turkey and barley chowder

Party411 has also picked out some unusual recipes for you to consider and some great links where you can find anything and everything you'll need for an unforgettable Thanksgiving feast...low fat, vegetarian or with all the stops pulled out!

Unusual Thanksgiving recipes:

• Killer cranberry sauce
• Roast corn soup
• Succotash seneca
• Three corn casserole
• Orange praline yams
• Black turkey

Happy eating!
The Party Girl

Return to Thanksgiving Planning Guide

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