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Thanksgiving food and traditions...

Started by Paschale, November 17, 2006, 04:54:50 PM

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Paschale

I tend to ask this question every year around the holidays, but since every year sees more people added to the forum, it's always worth asking:  what are your Thanksgiving family food traditions?  What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?

For us, the most important has got to be mom's pies.  She makes the best apple, cherry and pumpkin pies in the world! 

And speaking of pie...

Here's a quote from a 1902 New York Times editorial, written in response to an Englishman who criticized the American custom at the time of eating a slice of pie a day. To him, this was gluttonous, and he proposed that two slices per week should be sufficient.

Here was the response:

"It is utterly insufficient...as anyone who knows the secret of our strength as a nation and the foundation of our industrial supremacy must admit. Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons. PIE IS THE FOOD OF THE HEROIC. No pie-eating people can ever be vanquished."

I'll be thinking of this on Thanksgiving, when I dive into a piece of my mom's apple pie. Life would be better for us all, I believe, if only we could each have a slice of pie a day.   ;D
Y'all can pronounce it "puh-SKOLLY"

scgargoyle

I cook all day on Thanksgiving! I almost always make: Smoked Turkey, gravy made from the smoky drippings, homemade bread, cranberry sauce, Sante Fe cranberry relish, and herbed green beans. My wife will make mashed potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and sometimes creamed onions. I always make 2 pies- apple and pumpkin. I started making pies over 40 years ago! The bread is a french sourdough recipe that 'works' for 3 days before making bread. I use a cup of whole wheat flour to give it some color- makes a 4.5 pound loaf! Hey! Maybe folks should post some 'morning after' photos of their feast. I'll try to put some up on Friday.
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

Murf

Up here in Cannuckistan we have one main tradition.

Celebrating Thanksgiving 6'ish weeks ahead of you!!  :D  :D  :D

Oh, wait, that means I can head south and have it twice!!!   8)  8)  8)
If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

thurlow

Quote from: Paschale on November 17, 2006, 04:54:50 PM
For us, the most important has got to be mom's pies. 
Tell your mom you love her..........Not long before Bear Bryant died, he did a commercial for Southern Bell or Bell South or AT & T or some DanG body (don't know if it ran outside the South).  In that voice that sounded like he had gravel in his throat, he said, "Have you called your Mom today; I sure wish I could call mine."  My mother was still alive then but it always choked me up;  still does when I think of it................. :(
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

Bro. Noble

My Mother-in-law was convinced that her daughter had married a savage when she discovered that pie was my first choice for breakfast :D
milking and logging and sawing and milking

thecfarm

"Pie for breakfast"my father would always say.Thought that was an old Yankee thing.We will have turkey and all the other stuff too.Speaking of stuffing,that homemade kind that goes inside the turkey.That is some good stuff there.Lots of pies,choclate,pecan,apple,and pumpkin.Lots of family too.That is what I enjoy the most.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Ron Wenrich

In our area, we use what we call neck pumpkins for pumpkin pies.  Its more of a squash than a pumpkin.  I never saw outside of this area.  Can't even find the seeds.

As for filling, my grandmother used to make an oyster filling. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Burlkraft

Ron,

So that was squash pie with an oyster filling ???

How was that ???
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Tom

That sounds like the Hubbard I just ate.

Burlkraft

Okay Tom,

Now I gotta ask what is Hubbard  ???   ???   ???
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Don_Papenburg

Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Tom

I think it is the same thing as a butternut squash. if I understood Corley5 correctly.  it's got a mild pumpkin taste and he said that it is used in most commercial pumpkin pie fillings instead of pumpkin.    It's a good squash.  I liked it.   His boy, Zack, grew it.  That made it even better.  8)

Corley5

Here's a Blue Hubbard


Here's an Orange or a Red Hubbard.  Most canned pumpkin pie filling is from orange skinned hubbards.  The flesh is thicker than that of pumkins so the yield is better.  If a bit of skin gets into into the finished product it's orange and doesn't show up  ;) ;D  The variety pictured is a small variety.  Others are the same size as the blue ones


My message may have been misleading Tom.  Most any winter squash can be used to make squash pies which are mostly indiscernable from pumpkin pies.  Buttercup squash was developed in North Dakota as a substitute for sweet potatoes.  Zach is pleased that his squash went to Fla. ;D
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

Tom

  :D  I'm pleased that they did too.  ;D

Ron Wenrich

I'm thinking its related to the butternut squash.  Those hubbards don't look at all like the neck pumpkins.

We had some farmers that were selling pumpkins to some of those processing plants.  They weren't anything different than field pumpkins.   They loaded them in dump trailers. That kind of turned me off of canned pumpkins.

And yes you can have oysters as pie filling.  Of course, then its an oyster pie, not a pumpkin pie.   ;)
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

sawguy21

I always liked mom's squash pie. Seemed more flavourful than pumpkin. My favourite T-day foods are candied yams, sweet potato baked with brown sugar, and brussels sprouts. Homemade stuffing cooked inside the bird does not go unoticed either.  8)
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Patty

At my mom's house a few "must have" foods are baked oyster dressing for my dad; my brother always brings his pumpkin pie, and my mom bakes a peach pie for me  ;D .   Once I get my peach pie, I really don't notice what the other folks are eating. 
smiley_turkey_dancing

We learned that the hubbard squash, and many varieties of winter squash, taste better after they have "aged" a little. After a few months in storage their flavor is much better. Try saving one of Zach's squash down in the basement (cool & dark & dry) and then in January or so bake it up and serve it. Yummy!
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Engineer

I gotta be one of those really bad people.   :(  I HATE pumpkin pie.  Won't eat it for any reason.  There's a few other things that I try to avoid on Turkey Day - more food for the others - like turnips, for example.

We do a butter-basted fresh turkey, cornbread stuffing with sage and sausage, mashed 'taters heavy on the garlic, creamed peas and onions, sweet potatoes with marshmallos, corn casserole, cranberry chutney, mushroom gravy, pecan pie and mince pie.

Once in a while I try to get the menu changed, sneak something different in there.  It worked with the stuffing, got it changed to sausage from raisins.  no_no

food2

Grawulf

A better than 50 year tradition in our family is dried corn - sweet corn that's been dehydrated in July and August and rehydrated in November and December. Cooked on the woodstove for five or six hours and then you add cream and brown sugar and cook for another 3 or 4 hours. Kind of a sweet nutty flavor - could eat the whole bowl myself! 8)

CHARLIE

Patty, Tom ain't got a basement! If he did, he'd have an indoor swimming pool. Dem Florida folks have to put stuff in the fridge if they wanna keep it cool.

For many years I've missed celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with family. Ever since we moved to the midwest (1972), Donna would fix a fine holiday meal and then it would just be the 4 of us eating it just like all our other meals. BUT! Now I have a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law and 5 beautiful grandchillunz, so we're gonna have a houseful this Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. 8)

For Thanksgiving, we'll have have the traditional turkey, with dressing, giblet gravy, potatoes, fresh green beans, homemade cranberry sauce and homemade rolls. For dessert Donna will bake pumpkin pie for me and probably a lemon merangue and a cherry pie for our children. My favorite pie is pumpkin and I have Donna fix it every chance I get......even for my birthday! ;D  For some reason our children don't like pumpkin pie. ::)  For Christmas, sometimes we'll have turkey, sometimes a ham, sometimes a goose, sometimes a lamb roast and sometimes a prime rib roast.

Something I read in the newspaper was that this area in the midwest (meaning Minnesota and Western Wisconsin) raise more turkey than anywhere else in the U.S.    
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

rebocardo

I like squash and pumpkin with real whipped cream. Though to be blunt, they only taste so good because of the seasoning mix, especially pumpkin. Otherwise it would be pretty tasteless. Apple on the other hand is pretty good with ice cream! I agree, no pie eating nation can be vanquished  :D

estiers

Ooooh!  This reminded me of last years thread where Paschale reccommended a pumpkin pie cheesecake.  I am searching that post out and printing off the recipe.  it was very good!!
Erin Stiers
State Plant Health Director - Minnesota
United States Department of Agriculture

ohsoloco

My aunt is having Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family at her restaurant.  I've been nominated to bake pie  ;D  I'll most certainly make one of my hickory nut pies, and I'm still up in the air about the other one.  I have a jar of micemeat I bought in the grocery store a few years ago (and it isn't out dated for another couple years  ::)  ), but I also have a couple nice sweet potatoes that I don't know what to do with.  I saw a recipie for sweet potato pie on the Food Network that was made like pumpkin pie.  Maybe I'll make that one...or all three  :D

DanG

Ohso, I had ta double check yer location there.  I knew you weren't from the South when you said you didn't know what to do with them sweet taters. ;) :D :D :D

Sweet potato pie is an old standard in the Deep South.  It is a lot like pumpkin pie, but has more natural flavor instead of all the spices.  It is easier to make too, unless you get your pumpkin from a can.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Chris Burchfield

I don't do a bad job of the fried pies from dried apples or peaches. Had to convert to Splenda for the wife's type two.  I prefer the apple she's the peaches.

Turkey around my house is a bit different. Take a 1" X 4" X 4" block of salt pork and shave it. Chop a couple or three large sweet white onions. Add two to three heaping table spoons of crushed red pepper. Stuff the cavity with part of the mixins above. Spread the rest around the gobbler. Fill the pan with about an inch of water. Cover or tent tightly leaving vent in the foil with just a few pick holes. Cook slowly overnight at about 300 degrees. About 7 hours. Number 1 and most important this is a moist turkey. Number two the drippins go over rice and cathead scratch buttermilk biskets. All the rest of the traditional turkeyday stuff goes with it to complete the meal. My Uncle from Baton Rouge brought up two swamp rabbits, one 5 and one 5 1/2 lbs. dressed. My Grandmother fixed them the same as the turkey. With the crushed red pepper, they both tasted like chicken.  :D :D :D Hope someone tries and enjoy's the family secret. Chris.
Woodmizer LT40SH W/Command Control; 51HP Cat, Memphis TN.

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