As Thanksgiving is approaching, the Colored Man's heart turns to being extra thankful and my stomach is beginning to rumble, and my mouth is starting to salivate just thinking about all of the delicious food that we be spread on the table. But, the Colored Man realizes that he must approach the table and its' delicacies with trepidation and moderation, or else his friend Cabana Showboat will seek vengeance.
So in order to slow the process down, I have decided to give you a quick primer on the history of Thanksgiving in America, even though a day of thanks is celebrated in many countries across the world. After that we will go into some of the unctuousness of the holiday.
We all know the story of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians, and how the Wampanoag saved the Pilgrims asses, by feeding them, which led to the first day of Thanksgiving in America. I do wonder however, if the Wampanoag would have offered the hand of kindness if they knew that the Pilgrims and their progeny would kill them, take their land, and use their culture and symbols in the derogatory manner that some of us do?-but, that is a post for another day.
Eventually, this day of thanksgiving caught the eye of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who thought that moving the day to later in the month of November, would increase the push to go Christmas shopping, and fire up the economic engines. Thus, on December 26, 1941, he signed into law a bill, making Thanksgiving a national holiday and settling it to the fourth Thursday in November.
Thanksgiving has always been a day to show gratitude, but it has also been used to show prosperity of a household, which led to enormous amounts of food being cooked and served. In my family, my paternal grandmother was a prosperous business owner and could afford oysters for her dressing while her neighbors could not, so her house received lots of visitors to taste "Pigs" oyster dressing.
Now, let's move on to the eating.
The Colored Man doesn't really like to buy his turkey from the supermarket, as I prefer to go to my local turkey farmer and purchase one. There are several reasons why. Mainly, I like the option of weights available, the turkey is fresh and ready to go into the oven, and thirdly, I like the drive out to the country to purchase it. Of course, one could always order an heirloom turkey, which is rather expensive, but quite trendy at the present moment. Now once you get the turkey home you can bake it, brine it, braise it, fry or barbecue it. You can even smoke Mr. Turkey. I prefer to cook mine in the oven, but first it needs to "marijinate" a little bit, so I use a prep method that I call, "trash-bag turkey."
First, I take some Dijon mustard, some fresh chopped sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, some fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper, and place all the ingredients into a food processor. Once everything is well blended, I slowly drizzle in olive oil until the mixture is emulsified. Then I taste and adjust my seasonings. Next, I very gently use my fingers to go under the skin of the turkey, and work my way around to the thighs, to lift the skin from the meat of the turkey. Yes, this may be a tom, but he likes being treated like a lady!!!!!, so go gently or you will tear the skin!!!!! Next, I generously slather the marinade inside and outside the turkey. Then I truss it, and put it into a trash bag, and let is sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
Trussing is the process of tying the turkey up, so that the meat is keep tight and compact, which allows for even cooking. Another reason to truss, is so that the legs of the turkey are not splayed open when you take it out of the oven. Yes, the Colored Man does get perverse delight in practicing his knot-making skills, but this time it is for the sake of presentation and not titillation. A gap-legged turkey completely downgrades the presentation score - what could have been a perfect 10, quickly loses points when presentation is less than stellar. So please truss Mr. Tom. He will appreciate it and your guests will ohh and ahh!!!
Stuffing or dressing, whichever name you prefer to use is one of the Colored Man's specialties, and I can only blame it on my grandmother's influences. I make my dressing in a separate pan, mainly due to the fact that stuffing a turkey can be culinary poison. Stuffing a turkey or any poultry for that matter, poses health risks if it does not reach the proper temperature inside the breast meat. It must reach the correct temperature in order to kill bacteria and other culprits. Personally, I do not want my guests going home sick, and I know that you don't either.
We can thank our Victorian-era brothers and sisters for the addition of cranberry sauce to the Thanksgiving table. For some reason, their taste buds ran toward the sweet and savory side of the street, thus, we have the sweetness and tartness of the cranberry sauce served alongside the savoriness of turkey and dressing. In some regional American homes, cooks will also serve sauerkraut with their turkey.
Speaking of cranberry sauce, I cannot stand the gelatinous, fake-colored canned concoction that has become a staple in too many damn households at this time of year. Why serve canned, when it is so simple and easy to make fresh cranberry sauce. My mantra is "fresh trumps canned." I fully realize that some of my readers may be challenged in the kitchen, but fear not, the Colored Man is here to help. Here goes.....
Buy a bag of fresh cranberries, rinse and remove any berries that don't look too good
Place them in a small pot and add one cup of water, and say, a half-cup sugar
Bring to a rolling boil. The cranberries will begin to pop. Remove from the heat, let the sauce cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
For a variation, you could add chopped apple, pear, lemon or orange zest, or reconstituted dried cherries or apricots that have been soaked in brandy or cognac. Cranberry sauce is one dish that you cannot mess up. Give it a try!!!
Of course no Thanksgiving would be complete without some dessert, and the Colored Man's stomach has a weakness for good old-fashioned, made from scratch coconut cake, or some sweet potato pie. Since living in Cincinnati, I have also grown quite fond of chess pie as well. I am totally in love with the layered British dessert called trifle, which I kick up a notch or two with roasted pears and Amaretto. Trifle requires a special serving dish, which just adds to the panache of the dish and gives it visual electricity and sizzle.
As you can tell and taste, the Thanksgiving harvest is plentiful, and each one of us would be remiss if we didn't take a few moments to say thank you to our Higher Beings for blessing us. Blessing us throughout the days, months, and years. This is a time of great stress for so many families across the world. Please take a few moments to think about the little old lady who lives up the street by herself, and if you do nothing else, at least take her a plate of food. In fact, just go to the store and purchase food for her to fill her cupboards. To whom much is given, much is required.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers around the world!! Enjoy the day with your family and friends.
The Colored Man
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