Another Thanksgiving is in the books.
This holiday is a reminder that nothing stays the same,
starting with the meal itself.
Some 50 years ago I’d have been sitting in the dining room
of my parents’ house, fighting with my siblings over who was going to get the
legs and dark meat of the turkey because again, as the youngest, I was the last
to have access to the dinner plate. With only white meat remaining, I’d load up
instead on the stuffing, made in the cavity of the turkey and drenched in
turkey juice...sinfully scrumptious. String bean casserole, jellied cranberry
sauce from a can, salad and sliced white bread rounded out the meal.
Over the years, I replaced that canned cranberry sauce with
cranberry apple crisp, a recipe first given to me by my ex-husband’s Aunt Inge
40 years ago. I brought what has morphed into a cranberry-apple-orange-pear
crisp to David’s sister’s house this year. Initially I made it with margarine
because Aunt Inge kept a kosher home, then butter because she passed away, and
now Earth Balance, a vegan buttery spread that David likes, to healthily
accommodate the non-dairy/kosher eaters in our families. I’ve also reduced the
sugar by half and added more fruit for natural sweetness.
The stuffing, while still my favorite part of Thanksgiving,
has been modified for the non-meat eaters, as it’s made in a crockpot, stovetop,
or oven...nowhere near the turkey. This year it was made in all three places since
the crockpot stopped working halfway through, and I had no choice but to move the heap
load of stuffing around.
These modifications don’t make a big statement, but the
one-time “traditional” Thanksgiving meal has surely expanded over the years, in many ways. Pescatarians also aren’t expected to load up on sides as they were at one time; they now have
salmon as their entrée. An added awareness of the need for diary free, gluten
free and a variety of allergies comes into play each time we get together,
depending upon who will be in attendance.
The size of these gatherings is always all over the place
and will most likely never be the same as the year before. Whereas my parents’
Thanksgiving table accommodated a family of 6 plus some friends of my parents,
pre-pandemic David and I had some 30+ adults sitting at multiple tables; this year it was 16 plus 2 sweeties,
1 and 2 years old.
While it’s impossible to guess what next year will look
like, and who will be going where, it could potentially include a minimum of an
additional three families and 4 more kids, just on David’s “side” alone. I am
hopeful some Cohens might also join in.
The absolute best changes have taken place outside the
kitchen. In the past 5 years, we have added 8 children to the next generation.
I’ve begun to realize that the only constant is continual
change...and a life that will look different each day.
Hi Judy, just getting around to reading this blog post. I love it so much. It's so true about how the "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner has changed. I, myself, have had a little trouble changing with the times. I love the traditional meal and am afraid of the recipes not tasting a good if I alter the way they are made. My sister-in-law keeps kosher, so in the past when she has attended, in addition to our 2 turkeys, we have also purchased a whole kosher turkey from Wegman's along with all of the kosher sides for her. I continued to make my recipes as always. I felt uncomfortable asking my siblings to alter their recipes for just one person. I realize this is something I have had to work on over the years and have introduced a few new dishes to the spread to appeal to those who might not want all of the "unhealthy" traditional Thanksgiving fare, but I do continue to keep all the regular dishes for me and all the others who come to expect them. It's a challenge I continue to work on as the times, and people's diets, change.
ReplyDeleteCelestine