Haha! Although a goose feather fan would be more useful than a quill pen...I suspect though there are more than four goose fans in England, they are only a small percentage of those who go for turkey. It's a question of cost as much as taste - a goose feeds far fewer mouths, as you know. But balance that with the amount of sublime roast potatoes its fat makes...
Agree that food fest day triumphs over Christmas in every way. As a bride 50 years ago I chose an autumn themed china dreaming about the holidays we’d share. Our family is no longer with us so cooking a turkey doesn’t make sense. Last year I forgot to cook the chicken!
But that’s typical me because I’ve always been more excited about the sides than the bird. My two gotta haves are cranberry chutney that I make and the cornbread, pecan and sausage dressing.
Chutney is a thoroughly underrated and under-served fillip to so many meals, No wonder it holds such a prime position in Indian and South East Asian meals. Sides, in my view, are generally much more interesting than the main they are supposed to support - in most cuisines. And the dressing or stuffing almost the star of the Thanksgiving feast.
My family came to the US on the Mayflower, therefore traditions, traditions. My dad used to say it was our version of ancestor worship. I do Turkey ala Alton Brown. I save up during the year and splurge on a bird from a local Amish farm and use Brown’s recipe to brine it. (Is brine a verb? It is now.) i also have an old fashioned turkey roaster which does not make for a crispy skin, but does make for a juicy bird. I make a mashed potato/bread dressing (in the oven) and the veg is whatever looks interesting, tomorrow’s will be roasted carrots with maple syrup and cider vinegar. Dessert is never the same. This year I’m attempting a pomegarate curd tart with Amaretti cookie crust.
Thanksgiving is hands-down, my favorite holiday for exactly the reasons that you expressed. I love having an opportunity to spend the whole day cooking and being able to mix the traditional with the new. Have a happy Thanksgiving and may your feast be plentiful and delicious.
What a wonderful account of your traditions and just how far back they go! I'll look up the Alton Brown method on the web - I'm intrigued. My mother always made a bread sauce not unlike yours whoever she roasted a game bird. And we had butter-toasted breadcrumbs too! Bread on bread! Almost my favourite part. But the pomegranate curd tart has my mouth watering! Have a wonderful feast - it sounds delicious - and traditional celebrating.
If you have pumpkin kicking around the best thing you can do with it is to cut it into bite sized pieces and then chuck it into a simmering pan of 1 tin coconut milk, same of water, a quarter cup of palm sugar, and half a tap of salt. Cook low and covered till the pumpkin is fork-tender, hoover up like you're on the streets of Thailand. Can be a full (sweet!) meal if served on top of sticky rice.
I read the line about “goose fairs” as “goose fans” — and had a nice laugh at the idea of there being only four fans of goose left in England!
Haha! Although a goose feather fan would be more useful than a quill pen...I suspect though there are more than four goose fans in England, they are only a small percentage of those who go for turkey. It's a question of cost as much as taste - a goose feeds far fewer mouths, as you know. But balance that with the amount of sublime roast potatoes its fat makes...
Agree that food fest day triumphs over Christmas in every way. As a bride 50 years ago I chose an autumn themed china dreaming about the holidays we’d share. Our family is no longer with us so cooking a turkey doesn’t make sense. Last year I forgot to cook the chicken!
But that’s typical me because I’ve always been more excited about the sides than the bird. My two gotta haves are cranberry chutney that I make and the cornbread, pecan and sausage dressing.
Chutney is a thoroughly underrated and under-served fillip to so many meals, No wonder it holds such a prime position in Indian and South East Asian meals. Sides, in my view, are generally much more interesting than the main they are supposed to support - in most cuisines. And the dressing or stuffing almost the star of the Thanksgiving feast.
My family came to the US on the Mayflower, therefore traditions, traditions. My dad used to say it was our version of ancestor worship. I do Turkey ala Alton Brown. I save up during the year and splurge on a bird from a local Amish farm and use Brown’s recipe to brine it. (Is brine a verb? It is now.) i also have an old fashioned turkey roaster which does not make for a crispy skin, but does make for a juicy bird. I make a mashed potato/bread dressing (in the oven) and the veg is whatever looks interesting, tomorrow’s will be roasted carrots with maple syrup and cider vinegar. Dessert is never the same. This year I’m attempting a pomegarate curd tart with Amaretti cookie crust.
Thanksgiving is hands-down, my favorite holiday for exactly the reasons that you expressed. I love having an opportunity to spend the whole day cooking and being able to mix the traditional with the new. Have a happy Thanksgiving and may your feast be plentiful and delicious.
What a wonderful account of your traditions and just how far back they go! I'll look up the Alton Brown method on the web - I'm intrigued. My mother always made a bread sauce not unlike yours whoever she roasted a game bird. And we had butter-toasted breadcrumbs too! Bread on bread! Almost my favourite part. But the pomegranate curd tart has my mouth watering! Have a wonderful feast - it sounds delicious - and traditional celebrating.
If you have pumpkin kicking around the best thing you can do with it is to cut it into bite sized pieces and then chuck it into a simmering pan of 1 tin coconut milk, same of water, a quarter cup of palm sugar, and half a tap of salt. Cook low and covered till the pumpkin is fork-tender, hoover up like you're on the streets of Thailand. Can be a full (sweet!) meal if served on top of sticky rice.
That sounds majestic! A good base for other things...