Favorite Thanksgiving Dinner Food(s)

[voluptuary_manque]

The meal is fine.

I love leftovers.

I love kicking back late in the afternoon with a turkey sandwich made from sliced turkey, mebbe some swiss cheese, all crammed onto a leftover dinner roll from the big meal.

Washed down with a beer. While watching football.

And the soup! Don't forget the soup made out of the remaining bits that stick to the carcass. I even snip the thigh and leg bones in half to add marrow to the stock. Then you let it sit in the fridge until Sunday to meld the flavors together. Heaven!

 

[slyc_willie]

What's your memory?

There was one year, probably about 1980 or so (I would have been 9-10 years old), in which my mother decided we were going to have ham steak instead of turkey. In my pre-adolescent righteous mind, I was adverse to eschewing turkey in exchange for pork, and adamantly refused to eat the ham.

Thanksgiving day, we're all around the table. I stick to my guns and dive into tyhe stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, sweet corn . . . everything but the ham. I make a few comments about the lack of a turkey. Mom doesn't say anything, but Dad looks a little perturbed and tells me to shut up and eat.

Later that night, after the remains of the ham steak has been wrapped up and put in the fridge, I sneak a little taste.

Damn.

I never thought ham could actually "melt" in your mouth, but even six hours old and cold . . . what the hell was I thinking?

I ate ham sandwiches three times a day until it was gone. Mom never said anything about it, but she always gave me this knowing smile whenever I made a sandwich.

I like to think those few good memories like that outweigh all the bad ones.

Currently, I'm sure, my lady is working on what will become a whole new batch of favorites.

 

[sr71plt]

Mine was what was called flapper pie--a butterscotch custard, covered with merengue (sp?) in a Graham Cracker crust. Am sure I'd spill sugar and drop over dead if I tried a piece of that now, though.

 

[Weird Harold]

My best memories of Thanksgiving are the progression of tasks as I grew older and the feeling of contributing something to the feast.

It all starts with the cranberry jelly in a can an learning to get it out of the can in perfect condition. (How many people remember the cranberry jelly dishes Ocean Spray included with selected cans in the 50's? It was the perfect size and shape for one can-shaped roll of cranberry jelly on it's side.)

Once that task was mastered, I got to move up to mashing the potatos (with a mixer, but I taught my kids and grandkids to mash them by hand.)

Then came a horrible carrot and jello salad that nobody ever ate and nobody ever makes anymore.

As I finally became a parent and then a grandparent, the memories come from helping the children master holiday food preppartaion skills.

Monday was pie making with the younger grand-daughter (even though she really doesn't need my help) It's a tradition that we both enjoy and and can make more memories from every year.

 

[freshface]

My mother can burn soup, so my brothers and I learned early that the more of the dinner we cooked, the better it would taste. The best memories all revolve around the turkey, everything from stuffing it and sewing it up before roasting to carving it after. We would boil the carcass for soup the next day. Deboning around the table was a family event. Everyone could participate and it was great for casual conversation. The resulting soup was always a highlight too.