Diversions YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014
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Art with no strings attached PAGE 4
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FOOD&COOKING | THE THANKSGIVING FIVE
BLACK TIE
Wine, Women and Shoes PAGE 9 by Randi Donahue | Contributing Writer
FIRST the turkey ... The inaugural “meal of thanks” took place in 1621 and was a celebration of the Pilgrims’ first successful harvest of a corn crop grown from Native American seed stock. These days you’d be hard pressed to find corn on the cob on anyone’s Thanksgiving menu, but you’re certain to find these five Turkey Day stars topping the fall-colored tablescape.
TURKEY Historians suggest the Native American Wampanoag tribe introduced wild turkey to the early settlers around 1620, but in pilgrim Edward Winslow’s documented firsthand account of the meal, turkey wasn’t specifically mentioned. Instead, the term “fowl” was used. Today, the food-centric holiday revolves around the fried, roasted, stuffed or smoked turkey. The most commonly consumed breed is the broad-breasted white, but a recent movement is encouraging turkey gobblers to consider “heritage” turkeys, which is a more natural breed of turkey that also has a richer flavor, for their upcoming Thanksgiving meal.
CRANBERRY SAUCE It’s possible cranberries were consumed during the first Thanksgiving but not in the sweettart pureed or gelatinous form to which we’ve become accustomed. Although historians say many seasonal fruits and vegetables were consumed, sugar did not become readily available until decades later.
POTATOES Although the Wampanoag ate local tubers, the white and sweet potatoes of today’s market had not yet become part of their diet in 1621. Today’s Thanksgiving menu includes many variations of potato dishes with the most popular being mashed or scalloped white and sweet potatoes covered in gravy, cheese or marshmallows.
STUFFING Southerners make cornbread-based dressing, while New Englanders include regionally specific ingredients such as oysters and chestnuts in their stuffing. Regardless of region, no Thanksgiving spread would be complete without some form of crumbly stuffing traditionally placed inside the turkey while it cooks or in the pan to cook alongside the turkey. One particularly mouth-watering version involves the use of leftover mashed potatoes, stale bread and plenty of butter. Although there is no way to know which variety the Pilgrims used, historians do know that is most likely was a far cry from today’s bread-based version. The Wampanoag and English occasionally stuffed fowl and fish with herbs, onions and/or oats.
PUMPKIN PIE Although pumpkins and squash were native to New England and in season, the fledgling colony did not have access to the butter and wheat flour necessary for making the pie crust and filling for the pumpkin pie (or any pie) for the first Thanksgiving meal. The earliest pumpkin pie recipes are dated much past the first Thanksgiving, when the pumpkin was treated more like an apple — sliced and sometimes fried before making it in a crust.
FOOD&COOKING COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2