Thanksgiving. A day to celebrate what we’re all thankful for. In preparing for this post, I did a little research. In Virginia in 1619, settlers arrived and celebrated by hosting a week of feasting and religious ceremony. The story we all know was about 10 years later in Plymouth, Mass., when the puritans and pilgrims came together with the Wampanoag tribe and celebrated many things…a good harvest, the help the settlers received through the winter from the natives, and an unlikely alliance between the two groups. George Washington declared the first U.S. Thanksgiving holiday in 1789, but it wasn’t adopted by all the states as a National Holiday until 1863, when President Lincoln proclaimed it for all states. Funny anecdote, in 1939, FDR changed the day from the last Thursday in November to the 3rd Thursday, in an attempt to stimulate the economy. Only a handful of states adopted it, so some states celebrated on the 4th Thursday, some on the 3rd, and 3 states actually had two separate Thanksgiving holidays a week apart! That only lasted three years and in 1942 the holiday we know was cemented.
The Thanksgiving holiday always makes me think of one person, my grandma Jo. A very Polish woman who loved to cook (and cuss at the food in Polish). Her whole family was still in Poland, and her other children lived in Arizona, so our house was where she celebrated the holiday. We hosted Thanksgiving for my father’s side, so on the eve of the holiday, grandma Jo would come babysit while my parents went out. The cooking started that night, and I was her little helper. At first, I stood on a phone book on a chair, then on just the chair. There I would be, shoulder to shoulder with Grandma, dicing vegetables, stirring the stock, peeling carrots and potatoes, until I couldn't stay awake. Grandma would put me to bed, while I drifted off dreaming of green bean casserole and dressing.
Even now after all this time, I still get giddy like a kid the night before Thanksgiving. This year however there was the added joy of getting to share the holiday with my Queen, Rachael, and her family for the first time. I contemplated doing something fancy like foie gras dressing, or a cajun bird, but ultimately decided to go with something I know best: Grandma Jo’s Thanksgiving Table. I’ve tweaked a few things over the years (sorry grandma). For example, I no longer get the cranberry sauce from a can, and they make really good stocks nowadays, but my table looked very much like it did in my youth.
A very traditional turkey, butter under the skin to keep it moist, lemon and orange with a herb blend in the cavity, seasoned with salt and pepper, roasted and basted. I used torn and slightly stale ciabatta bread for the dressing, with very basic spices and flavors. The standouts were my Queen’s sweet potato bake with marshmallow and my scratch cranberry sauce. Auntie Ani brought the green bean casserole and Uncle Justin brought his spirit and enthusiasm for the Lions game…“Throw a flag! He can’t do that! Can he do that? I don’t know, but throw a flag anyway!”...my in-laws brought pumpkin pies, and they may have changed my life forever with that pie.
There was a lot of laughter and memories that’ll live forever…my son looking down at the carcass of the turkey in the garbage and saying “That would’ve made a good soup”...and a good dose of joy. I was happy to see my Queen smiling and happy, but relaxed. It was fun to have my son help with the prep like I used to as a boy. Hopefully, this will all be the start of our newest family tradition. My heart was contained in each of those dishes, as was the love and care that my grandma gave me, as well as whoever taught her those recipes, and on and on. This Thanksgiving was exactly what the word means for this Chef, a day of thanks. I was so thankful for the company, for the love of my family, for the ability to create a beautiful meal, for the chance to pass that on to yet another generation, for the Lions actually making a game of it, and for the chance to put my heart and my soul on the table for everyone to enjoy.
I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving and a relaxing holiday weekend. My next blog post will be in a couple days. It’s going to be the recipe for my cranberry sauce which was a big hit on my table, and I’m sure will be on yours next year. Until then, take care, and I’ll see you when you’re hungry!
Chef Ace
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