1000+ images about Thanksgiving/Christmas food on Pinterest | Pecan cheesecake, Thanksgiving and Electric roaster ovens Forward Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice makes a nice gluten-free alternative to stuffing. I make this Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice when I want something a little bit fancier than basic Rice Pilaf or Roasted Potatoes. It pairs perfectly with Slow-cooker Cornish Game Hens with Grand Marnier Sauce. But it also just feels like the perfect American side dish, with crunchy toasted pecans...Read More » See More Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day & Dinner through the Years As of the Year 2011 By Mary Gage © 2011. All Rights Reserved. Introduction The year 2011 is the fiftieth anniversary of Thanksgiving Day becoming a national (federal) holiday. Up until 1941, Thanksgiving Day was a state holiday. Prior to statehood, in the colonial days each colony appointed its own day of Thanksgiving at their discretion. This carried over to statehood, thus each state by law had the right to appoint or not appoint a Day of Thanksgiving.

The idea of a national holiday came about during the Revolutionary War when the Continental Congress issued a national proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving, each year of the war. This was carried on periodically after the war by the Presidents. Most states abided by the federal governmentï¿½s date. On the years without a national proclamation each state decided for itself whether or not to hold a Day of Thanksgiving and what day it would be held on. An influential editor of a popular ladyï¿½s magazine became the driving force behind establishing what has become our American Thanksgiving held on the last Thursday of November. Table of Contents Appendix II ï¿½ President Lincolnï¿½s (2nd) 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation Origins and History ï¿½Days set apart for thanksgiving were known in Europe before the Reformation, and were in frequent use by Protestants afterward, especially in the Church of England, where they were a fixed custom long before they were in New England.ï¿½ (Earle 1893, 216) The first Thanksgiving in New England took place not at Plymouth, Massachusetts but off the coast of Maine.

The Popham colonists at Monhegan Island held a religious service in 1607 in which they celebrated ï¿½Gyving God thanksï¿½ for their safe arrival. (Earle 1893, 216) An account of the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving in New England, given in thanks for a bountiful harvest, was ï¿½written on December 11, 1621, by Edward Winslow to a friend in England: ï¿½Our harvest being gotten in our governor sent four men on fowling that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labors. They four killed as much fowl as with a little help beside served the company about a week.

At which times among other recreations we exercised our arms [practiced shooting their guns], many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoyt with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer which they brought and bestowï¿½d on our governor, and upon the captains and others.ï¿½ï¿½ (Earle 1893, 217) Earle could not find any record of a special religious service associated with the Pilgrimï¿½s feasting. That was unusual as at that time, a day of thanks was normally associated with a religious service. The second Pilgrim Thanksgiving occurred two years later after a day of prayer due to a drought in early summer that almost killed their whole crop. At the end of nine hours of prayer it rained. Thus, the second Pilgrim Thanksgiving was ordered and observed sometime in 1623.

ï¿½In 1630, on February 22d, the first public thanksgiving was held in Boston by the Bay Colony, in gratitude for the safe arrival of food-bearing and friend-bringing ships.ï¿½ This again was in response to a shortage of food. ï¿½On November 4, 1631, Winthrop wrote again: ï¿½We kept thanksgiving day in Boston.ï¿½ From that time till 1684 there were at least twenty-two public thanksgiving days appointed in Massachusetts ï¿½ about one in two years; but it was not a regular biennial festival. In the year 1742 were two Thanksgiving Days.ï¿½ (Earle 1893, 219-220) Thanksgiving was not always associated with food.

In Joshua Coffinï¿½s A Sketch of The History of Newbury, Newburyport, and West Newbury [Massachusetts] From 1635 ï¿½ 1845 he points out: 1677 ï¿½ï¿½ Thanksgiving, November third, on account of a plentiful harvest and a cessation of the wrath and rage of the enemy.ï¿½ (p. 120) 1682 ï¿½ ï¿½November 23rd. ï¿½Thanksgiving appointed on account of a very plentiful harvest.ï¿½ (p 137) 1692 ï¿½ ï¿½July 14th. Thanksgiving appointed on account of peace, the charter, and so forth.ï¿½ (p.

158) According to Earle ï¿½The feast of thanks was for many years appointed with equal frequency upon ï¿½Tusday com[e] seuen-night,ï¿½ or ï¿½vppon Wensday com[e] fort-nit.ï¿½ Nor was any special season of the year chosen: in 1716 it was appointed in August; in 1713, in January; in 1718, in December; in 1719, in October.ï¿½ (Earle [1893] 1988, 221) From the 1690ï¿½s onward in Massachusetts, Thursday became the preferred day of the week for Thanksgiving. Massachusetts was not the only colony to observe Thanksgiving Day. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Netherland (New York) were mentioned in different histories. ï¿½ï¿½ early in the Revolutionary War the Continental Congress adopted the practice.ï¿½ The Continental Congress appointed eight days and sent recommendations to the heads of state government to promote the observance.

ï¿½With only one exception, Congress suspended business on the days appointed for thanksgiving.ï¿½ The days were Thursday, July 20, 1775 ; Friday, May 17, 1776 ; Dec. 11, 1776 ; Wednesday, April 22, 1778 ; Thursday, May 6, 1779 ; Wednesday, April 6, 1780 ; Thursday, May 3, 1781 ; and Thursday, April 25, 1782. ï¿½Washington issued a proclamation for a general thanksgiving by the Continental army on Thursday, Dec. 18, 1777 ; and again, at Valley Forge, May 7, 1778. As President, Washington appointed Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789, a day for general thanksgiving throughout the Union ï¿½ï¿½ (Harper 1909, v.9 p.64) In the same year (1789) that President Washington issued the first Presidential Proclamation a prayer book was published and distributed in America.

ï¿½The Book of Common Prayer, revised (1789) for the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America, directed the first Thursday of November (unless another day be appointed by the civil authorities) ï¿½to be observed as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God for the fruits of the earth,ï¿½ etc.ï¿½ (Harper 1909, v.9 p.64) The prayer book advocated an annual religious based holiday for giving thanks for the harvest. Did the idea have any influence? It would be six years before President Washington issued a second Thanksgiving Proclamation on Thursday, February 19th, 1795. Note Thanksgiving Day was appointed in February. Washington was followed by President Adams who appointed a ï¿½Fasting & Humiliationï¿½ day in 1798 and again the following year on Thursday, April 25, 1799. Then the country had to wait another six years before President Madison issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation on Thursday, April 12, 1814 and on the 2nd Thursday of April 1815.

From 1816 through 1861 no Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations were issued. (Source: Pilgrim Hall Museum ) Though the presidents did not make Thanksgiving Proclamations between 1816 and 1861, by 1855 it appears to have become an annual event in most states. In 1855, The History of Massachusetts stated, ï¿½Thus the time-honored festival of Thanksgiving was instituted ï¿½ a festival which, originally confined in its observance to the sons of the Pilgrims and the State of Massachusetts, has now become almost a NATIONAL FESTIVAL,ï¿½ (Barry 1855, v.1 p.103). Presidential Proclamations for a Day of Thanksgiving resumed in 1862 during the Civil War. In the South, Jefferson Davis early in 1861, proclaimed a Day of Fasting and Humiliation and in 1862 he issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation for victories in war.

In the North, President Lincoln issued Thanksgiving Proclamations for victories in war in the spring of 1862 and the spring of 1863. The basis for these proclamations were war victories on both sides. Later in 1863 Lincoln issued a second Thanksgiving Proclamation on October 3rd. In it Lincoln made a proclamation for a general day of thanks for ï¿½the gracious gifts of the Most High Godï¿½. The gifts he mentioned were a bountiful harvest, peace that was preserved with foreign nations during the war, ï¿½order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theatre of military conflict, while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.ï¿½ Although it included a mention of the Union Armyï¿½s and Navyï¿½s forward progress it focused on how the nation as a whole is still respectful and remaining lawful. Lincoln as President of the United States of America reached out to everyone, both the North and the South.

ï¿½It has seemed to me fit and proper that they [Godï¿½s Gifts / Blessings] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people ï¿½ï¿½ This is Lincolnï¿½s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation that people refer to when talking about Americaï¿½s Thanksgiving. (For full text see Appendix II ) How did Lincolnï¿½s second proclamation come about? Anne Blue Wills, an assistant professor of religion at Davidson College researched the origins of President Lincolnï¿½s 1863 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation (Town Common (Newspaper) 11/25 ï¿½ 12/1, 2009). Wills traced it back to a New Hampshire widow, Sarah Hale, who was a writer trying to support her family. Hale was hired by Louis Godey as editor of Godeyï¿½s Ladyï¿½s Book and Magazine from 1827 to 1877. Godeyï¿½s magazine was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Haleï¿½s monthly column each November, year after year focused on Thanksgiving. Hale advocated for an annual national holiday held on the last Thursday of November. She saw it as a holiday for every American from the elite to the servant. She viewed it as a non-religious and non-commercial holiday, and as a way to get back to our roots. ï¿½Hale early on began calling on the president and Congress to declare Thanksgiving as a nationwide event ï¿½ Godeyï¿½s was the major womenï¿½s magazine of its day, and Haleï¿½s campaign eventually had its desired influence. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln made the first declaration for a national day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.ï¿½ President Lincoln did not make the first declaration of a nationwide Thanksgiving Day, that is credited to the Continental Congress in 1775, who was followed by President George Washington in 1789 and again in 1795, who was followed by several more American Presidents.

President Lincoln followed his predecessors when he said, ï¿½ï¿½ I do, therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the heavens.ï¿½ The proclamation declares one day like his predecessors had done before him. It does not declare Thanksgiving to be an annual national holiday. What it did do was reach out across the dividing lines of the North and South during the Civil War advocating a national Day of Thanksgiving irregardless of race, nationality or which side you were on. Lincolnï¿½s second 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation was the first of an unbroken string of presidential proclamations that continues today.

(for a full list of Presidential Proclamations see, Pilgrim Hall Museum Peopleï¿½s Response to President Lincolnï¿½s second 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation Windermere Farm in Gray, Maine Diary of Ethel Porter ï¿½Thanksgiving, 1863ï¿½ ï¿½Made a dozen apple pies. 8 mince, 10 squash, 10 custard, 10 pumpkin. Baked 4 spice walnut cakes Cooked 22 lb. turkey, 6 chickens, 3 hams and a large piece of venison. Could not bring myself to butcher the darn goose. Baked 8 loaves of bread and 8 pans of biscuits Went to church. Long sermon but liked Mr. Lincolnï¿½s talk at Gettysburg which minister read. Rufus got into the new cider. I was upset. It tasted smart. Had stewed oysters from Portland for supper also pudding and apple brandy. Bessieï¿½s boy going to army. Seems he was just a baby. Rufus worked in woodlot after supper.

Moon bright.ï¿½ (Reprinted in An Old New England Farm by Kenneth MacIver and William Thomson 1983, 32-33) Under this diary entry there is a list of foods and notes on what the family did that day. By this date in New England, Thanksgiving was already a well entrenched holiday. What makes it standout is the fact Ethel wrote about it in her diary. What we do not know is if this was a common yearly diary entry or uncommon due to President Lincolnï¿½s proclamation. The author was not able to find a copy of the diary. After the cooking was done they went to church. This appears to have been a common activity. The following is a reminiscence written in 1835 from a young boyï¿½s perspective: ï¿½Late in the autumn, when all the fruits of the field have been gathered in, the Governor of the State, with the advice of his council, issues a proclamation, recommending to the inhabitants the observance of a stated day for thanksgiving and praise to God for the blessings of the season. The day appointed is generally about the middle of November.

The week before its arrival, all the families of the State commence preparations for thanksgiving feast. The art of cookery is tasked to its utmost. The oven groans with puddings and with pies, and excepting in the poultry-yard, there is universal glee. One would think that every family were preparing a feast for an army. I well recollect the principal drawback on my youthful pleasures in this jocund [jovial] season, was the quantity of oven wood I was under the necessity of splitting. But when I saw batch after batch of smoking pies issuing from the oven ; the huge milk-pans, filled with the rich combination of stewed pumpkins and milk; and the mountainous plum-pudding, filled with the swollen raisins, more precious than pearls and diamonds, I could not refrain from rubbing my hands with extacy [ecstasy].ï¿½ ï¿½At eleven o'clock, the bell rings for public worship. The people then, in accordance with the recommendation of the Governor and his council, assemble in their churches. By much previous exercise, the choir are generally prepared with the best music they are able to furnish.

The officiating clergyman generally takes this opportunity to present some topic of a national character, and to enforce upon his congregation, attention to their political duties. Those subjects which he would hardly feel at liberty to discuss in the pulpit on the Sabbath, he avails himself of this opportunity to present.ï¿½ (Abbott 1835, 137-141.) Abbottï¿½s reminiscence shows us that the cooking took place during the week before the holiday. That seems to be the case with Ethel Porter too, as it would be impossible to prepare and cook 50 pies, 1 turkey, 3 hams, 6 chickens and then make them into pies, a roast of venison, plus 8 loaves of bread and 8 pans of biscuits all before going to church. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ American Thanksgiving Dinner at St. James Hall, London Thursday, November 26th, 1863 Presented here are excerpts from the 103 page book compiled by the group of Americans who held a special Thanksgiving Dinner.

The book contained President Lincolnï¿½s 2nd 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation, menu, toasts, and speeches given in honor of the day. There was a poem and hymn written for the occasion. This was a major event. ï¿½In accordance with the above Proclamation [President Lincolnï¿½s Thanksgiving Proclamation], the loyal Americans in London and their guests attended a THANKSGIVING DINNER, at St. James Hall, Regent Street, at three oï¿½clock p.m., on Thursday the 26th of November, 1863, given under the direction of the following: Committee Hon. R. J. Walker, Washington, D.C. Charles L. Wilson, Esq., Illionis P. Mc. D. Collins, Esq., California Captain E. G. Tinker, Conn. Hon. F. H. Morse, Maine B. Moran, Esq., Pennsylvania R. Hunting, Esq. New York Henry Starr, Esq., Mass. G. W. Belding, Esq., New York A. J. Valentine, Esq. Maine B. F. Brown, Esq. Mass.

W. E. Broderick, Esq., Maryland The following were the order of Exercises : - 1st Reading of the Presidentï¿½s Proclamation for Thanksgiving, by Richard Hunting, Esq. 2nd Prayer by Sella Martin. 3rd Hymn written for the occasion ï¿½ Tune, Auld Lang Syne.ï¿½ Dinner Menu A la Conde Brunvillier Bisque aux Ecrevisses Poissons [Fish] Faisians [Pheasant] Perdreaux [Partridge] Canards sauvages [Wild Duck] Entremets Gelee a la Macedoine Crï¿½me dï¿½Amerique Gelee a la Victoria Suedoise dï¿½Orange Crï¿½me de Maizena a la Glen Cove Abricot a la Regence Meringues Suissses a la Chantilly Gateaux a la Napolitaine Patisserie assortie Pumpkin Pie a lï¿½Americane Mince Pie a lï¿½Anglaise Pounding a la Dipomatique Pound glace a la St.

James Dessert Without knowledge of French it can be easily understood there were many dishes created and named in honor of the occasion. There was a Washington and Lincoln dish, a diplomat (dipomatique) dish, American Pumpkin Pie, a dish in honor of Queen Victoria and even a dish for St. James, the place where the feast was held. This Thanksgiving Day dinner was special. It was a direct result of President Lincolnï¿½s proclamation. Yet it was worldly as it was held in England by those ï¿½sojourning in foreign landsï¿½, served French cuisine and had an original song that would later became synonymous with New Yearsï¿½ Eve, ï¿½Auld Lang Syne.ï¿½ ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½.

Civil War Soldierï¿½s Letter (dated 1864) ï¿½THANKSGIVINGï¿½ IN THE ARMY.- The following extract from a letter received from a soldier in the army of the Potomac, shows how the rank and file fared on the late ï¿½Thanksgivingï¿½ day: ï¿½We had a great time at our Thanksgiving feast to-day. It was truly kind of the folks at home to remember the ï¿½poor soldier,ï¿½ but bless you, how much do you think the ï¿½poor soldierï¿½ partook of? Well, you can imagine. Two small chickens were divided between twenty three men. The pies were smashed into a perfect squash, and a spoonful of the same to each man ; one ginger snap, one little short cake, two ounces of butter, and about three ounces of cheese, one pickle, and six small apples, composed the great sensation feast of Thanksgiving that the soldiers received.ï¿½ The letter thanked the folks at home for sending the food for a Thanksgiving dinner. But let us not think the folks were so stingy in their gift of food.

The letter went on to say ï¿½The boxes opened at headquarters or some other place, and all of the turkeys taken out, along with everything else worth having. The dead beats and officers in the rear got the fat of the things, and by the time they reached the front, it was not worth dividing.ï¿½ The good folks at home had sent food for a feast but it had been swiped by those hanging out behind the front lines. However, that did not deter the poor soldiers on the front line from celebrating Thanksgiving which meant a great deal to them. In the true sense of Thanksgiving they gave thanks for what they had ï¿½fresh meat and fruitï¿½ if only a spoonful, it was a far cry from the hardtack they lived on. They willingly shared their meager meal amongst all of them equally. (December 12, 1864 Evening Union) Response to Sarah Haleï¿½s efforts in promoting a National Thanksgiving combined with her last Thanksgiving Editorial in Godeyï¿½s Lady Book and Magazine Godeyï¿½s Lady Book and Magazine (p. 434 vol. 95 Nov.

1877) ï¿½FROM G. WASHINGTON WARRENï¿½S HISTORY OF THE BUNKER HILL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION. ï¿½Of those noble women who by their timely appeal and patriotic sympathy averted the continued disgrace of the unfinished monument, the greater number have passed on to their eternal reward; but they have left upon earth a record of their service and zeal for the public good which history can never forget.ï¿½ ï¿½Of the few who still survive, Mrs. Hale, for many years past a resident of Philadelphia, has, during her protracted life, constantly employed her vigorous pen for the elevation of her sex, and for the promotion of a laudable national sentiment.

For thirty years in Godeyï¿½s Ladyï¿½s Book, under her editorship, she has pleaded for the establishment of a National Thanksgiving to be observed every year on the last Thursday of November, that being the day that was selected by President Washington in 1789, when he was requested by a Joint committee of both Houses of the first Congress to set apart a day by Proclamation ï¿½as a day of public Thanksgiving and Prayer.ï¿½ In that original model Proclamation, Washington referred to this country having become ï¿½a Nation,ï¿½ and also to our ï¿½National Government,ï¿½ our ï¿½National transgressions,ï¿½ and our ï¿½National duties.ï¿½ If such a proclamation had been issued every year by Washington and his successors in the Presidential office, it never would have been forgotten anywhere that the United States was indeed a nation. National Fasts also have been occasionally proclaimed by different Presidents in time of threatened disaster, as on account of the prevalence of the Asiatic cholera, and by President Buchanan in 1860, before the outbreak of the Civil War.

By a correspondence with the Governors of all the States in 1859, Mrs. Hale was instrumental in persuading them to appoint the last Thursday in November of that year for a State Thanksgiving. By similar efforts, a national Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President Lincoln in 1863, and every succeeding year by the President for the time being. She has urged, and still urges, Congress to pass a Joint Resolution, recommending the annual observance of the last Thursday of November as the day of National Thanksgiving, so that it may never be overlooked by any President.ï¿½ This is probably the last occasion upon which the Editress of the Ladyï¿½s Book will speak to the public through the pages of this magazine, on a subject which has been near to her heart for many years. We have thought fit to reprint this extract from Mr. Warrenï¿½s excellent book, and to add to it only a few lines of our own. ï¿½The present year is the beginning or the second century of our Republic. We celebrated the close of the first by a great International Exhibition, by a proclamation of peace and good-will to mankind. We have entered the new century in the same spirit.

A spirit of conciliation, of compromise, of mutual concession, seems for the time to have entered into our national politics; and North and South. East and West are approaching to a closer union. What a happy occasion is this to cement this alliance, to render it indestructible, by the perpetual legislative establishment of a day of National Thanksgiving!ï¿½ ï¿½Let us feel that our great Home Festival is no longer an anniversary whose celebration depends upon thirty-seven State governments, or even upon the yearly inclination of the Executive. Let us have the day which Washington consecrated by his selection set apart forever as a season of Thanksgiving for the mercies and blessings of the year. Let the Forty-fifth Congress, in the name of the American people, enact that from hence forward the last Thursday in November shall be observed, throughout the length and breadth of our land, as the day of our National Thanksgiving.ï¿½ ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½. It would take Congress another 64 years to enact Sarah Haleï¿½s long sought after National Thanksgiving.

But it was never forgotten after Lincolnï¿½s 2nd 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation. According to The Insurance Yearbook 1883-84 and Legal Counselor and Form Book: A Hand Book of Business Law and Legal Forms for All the States and the Provinces of Canada (1910) the vast majority of states recognized Thanksgiving as a legal state holiday and prohibited all business and banking activities on that day. However, it would not be until December 26, 1941 that Thanksgiving was made a federal holiday by Joint Resolution of Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner in the 1890ï¿½s 1889 ï¿½ $1.00 New York: From an article in the New York Herald (11-24-1889) ï¿½Many Men of Many Menus ------- Thanksgiving Dinners from Varying Historical and Social Aspects ----- How Our Bachelor Mayor Will Dine ----- Old New England Modes of Feasting ï¿½ Thanksgiving Day as Observed in the South ï¿½ A new York Swell Thanksgiving Dinner ï¿½ A Menu for Most of Us ï¿½ A Dollar Thanksgiving Family Feastï¿½ Only one menu included the price of the dinner. $1.00 Menu for a family of six Clam Soup Boiled Chicken with a border of rice Cranberry Jelly Nuts, Raisins Black Coffee The dinner served at a home in Newburyport is quite similar to the menus published in the 1896 Boston Cooking School Cook Book (See Menus ). There was one exception, there were no pies instead there was an abundance of fresh fruit.

The bananas, oranges, tangerines, and grapes were all imported, only the apples and pears would have been locally grown. The fresh fruit may represent wealth verses fruit pies which may have represented common folkï¿½s food. Given that, it is interesting to note the lady of the house said ï¿½I made Mrs. Putnamï¿½s Christmas Plum Puddingï¿½ indicating she made the pudding herself. $23.99 may seem like a low price for a dinner but for its time it was extravagant compared with the $5.00 dinner. The Daily News Cookbook was ï¿½Designed to Furnish ï¿½Good Living,ï¿½ in Appetizing Variety, at an Expense Not to Exceed $500 a Year for a Family of Five ï¿½ï¿½ In its preface, it stated: ï¿½The three Holiday menus ï¿½ New Yearï¿½s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas ï¿½ are an exception in the matter of expense.

The dinners on these occasions are arranged for ten persons, and a cost of five dollars was permitted.ï¿½ That was not $5.00 per person it was for the whole dinner. At $5.00 for ten people (50 cents per person) it would cost $8.50 for seventeen people. The $23.99 for seventeen people was triple that, and more because it did not include the wine. On the extreme opposite end of the social ladder is the $1.00 dinner for six people which breaks down to 15 cents per person. Thanksgiving had truly become a holiday for every United States citizen irregardless of social status. People found a way to celebrate with a feast. Sometimes as with the poor soldiers it was but a spoonful of fresh food. The lady with a family of six who had to economize found a way to serve a feast for $1.00. At $5.00 a family could indulge in a fancy upscale type feast. The $23.99 cost purchased an extravagant and lavish feast, with unheard of quantities of fresh fruit in November.

Of note: The Boston Cooking School trained women who would go on to work in the wealthy homes of New England. The Boston Cooking School Cook Book although it sold on the retail market reflected what was taught in school. In turn, the cookbook reflected what was taking place in the real world of the upper class of society. Its Thanksgiving menu is similar to the Newburyport dinner. Thanksgiving Dinner Menus Through the Years and Around the Country The earliest published Thanksgiving dinner menu may be the American Thanksgiving Dinner. It was published in 1863 in London, England. Beginning in the year 1875 Thanksgiving dinner menus start to show up in newspapers. Cook books lagged behind for it was not until 1896 that cook books started publishing Thanksgiving dinner menus. The Boston Cooking School Cookbook published a ï¿½Menu for Thanksgiving Dinnerï¿½ in 1896. That was Fannie Farmerï¿½s first authorship of this cook book. In The Daily News Cookbook, Being a Reprint From the Chicago Record Cook Book copyright 1896, is a menu for Thanksgiving dinner.

1835 ï¿½ New England from New England and her Institutions: By One of Her Sons (1835) By Jacob Abbott. This is not a menu but it gives some insight. ï¿½ï¿½I saw batch after batch of smoking pies issuing from the oven ; the huge milk-pans, filled with the rich combination of stewed pumpkins and milk; and the mountainous plum-pudding, filled with the swollen raisins, more precious than pearls and diamonds, ï¿½ï¿½ 1863 ï¿½ Windermere Farm in Gray, Maine (New England) from An Old New England Farm by K. MacIver and Wm. Thomson, 1983 12 Apple Pies Pies: Pumpkin, mince and apple Ice Cream and Charlotte Russe Or Hedgehog a sponge cake soaked in wine and stuck with almonds on outside 1880 ï¿½ ï¿½A Sunday Dinner ï¿½ A Suggestion to the Cook ï¿½ The Bill For a Thanksgiving Feastï¿½ (Cincinnati Daily Gazette, Ohio, Nov. 20, 1880) Menu No.

3 (with a quarter of lemon on each plate) Mock turtle soup Boiled red snapper ï¿½ Oyster sauce Roast Turkey ï¿½ Chestnut stuffing Potatoes ï¿½ Stuffed tomatoes ï¿½ Asparagus with cream sauce Cabinet pudding Fruit Coffee ï¿½Not a bad Thanksgiving bill of fare if strengthened by a plum pudding and ices to taste, and a bill of company to match, to give thanks and be merry.ï¿½ 1889 ï¿½ from ï¿½Many Men of Many Menus, Thanksgiving from Varying Historical and Social Aspects, How Our Bachelor Mayor Will Dine, Old New England Modes of Feasting ï¿½ Thanksgiving Day as Observed in the South ï¿½ A New York Swell Thanksgiving Dinner ï¿½ A Menu for Most of Us ï¿½ A Dollar Thanksgiving Family Feastï¿½ (New York Herald, Nov.

24, 1889) New England ï¿½ ï¿½When we lived in Bond street, now,ï¿½ went on my informant, ï¿½and that was a great many years ago, our dinner generally began with a white soup, followed by roast turkey, baked sweet potatoes and other vegetables and fried oysters, with real home made ice cream.ï¿½ï¿½ Still under the New England section was this menu from hand written recipes. ï¿½On an enormon[u]s platter at each end of the table lay a glorious, golden brown turkey flat on its back; on the sides were two luscious hams boiled in cider and festooned with graceful overshadowing box; there was a tender sirloin roast of beef, an immense venison pasty, sausages garnished with fried apples and pumpkin pie and plum pudding, with satellites of fruit tarts.

There were also homemade pickles and preserves, brandied fruits and apple butter.ï¿½ Old Charleston, South Carolina Roast Pork Tenderloin Candied Sweet Potatoes Onions in Cream Baked Squash Cranberry Sauce Raspberry (Canned) Sherbet Macaroons Nuts Raisins Coffee Two Formal Dinners and Two Country Dinners were listed. Here a distinction is being made between the different social classes. In the New York Herald article ï¿½Many Men of Many Menusï¿½ (11/24/1889) there is a quote that reflects the country dinner. ï¿½The minister prefaced some remarks on the occasion by saying. ï¿½Children, I want to tell you what Thanksgiving isï¿½ ï¿½Oh, I know what it is,ï¿½ said my mother jumping up. ï¿½Itï¿½s roast pig and pumpkin pie.ï¿½ï¿½ By Comparison, the dinner menu of Mrs. Winship in Newburyport, a city, reflects the formal dinner (see ï¿½ Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner in the 1890ï¿½s ï¿½).

1922 Good Housekeepingï¿½s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries Published by GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, New York, 1922, p 47 Oyster Cocktail, Celery, Olives, Roast Capon, Giblet Stuffing, Brown Gravy, Jellied Cranberry Sauce, Glaced Sweet Potatoes, Button Onions, Peas au Jus, Lettuce Salad, French Dressing, Cheese Nut Balls, Bar-le-duc, Cracker Pudding, Whipped Cream, Nuts, Coffee, Bon-bons This menu reflects the menu published in the Boston Cooking School Cook Book with minor changes. It called for roast Capon verses roast Turkey, it added peas and lettuce salad. 1938 The Settlement Cook Book, Compiled by Mrs.

Simon Kander, Milwaukee, Wis., 1938, p 617 New England Thanksgiving Dinner Cream of Oyster Soup, topped with Whipped Cream Celery, Salted or Sugared Almonds, Bread Sticks Roast Turkey, Chestnut Dressing with Giblet or Plain Gravy Cranberry Jelly, with Apple Balls Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows Creamed Onions, Stuffed Squash Pumpkin Pie, with Cheese, Ice Cream, Cookies Fruit, Coffee, Nuts, Raisins 1947 Secrets of New England Cooking by Ella Shannon Bowles and Dorothy S.

Towle, 1947, p 304 Oyster Stew Roast Turkey with Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce Buttered Squash, Buttered Onions Mince Pie, Apple Pie, Squash Pie Cracker Plum Pudding Thanksgiving Chicken Pie recipe was listed separately (pp 73-75) 2011 New England at authorï¿½s family Thanksgiving Dinner Roast Turkey with bread stuffing, gravy Mashed Potatoes Sweet Potatoes with marshmallows & brown sugar Squash and Peas Cake Pudding Of the list of common foods only one acquired a recipe with the name Thanksgiving added to it. It was Thanksgiving Pudding. The Boston Cooking School Cook Book was the only cook book to ever publish a special Thanksgiving Pudding recipe. It started out with one recipe and a few years later added a second recipe. One was a cracker custard pudding that was baked. The second was a suet pudding that was steamed. Although other cook books did not have a special Thanksgiving Pudding recipe, several menus around the country listed pudding or plum pudding.

Pudding Recipes associated with Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Pudding ï¿½ also called Cracker Pudding This recipe comes from Out of Vermont Kitchens (1973, St. Paulï¿½s Cathedral Edition, page 239) and is similar to the Boston Cooking School Cook Book recipe. It is similar to bread pudding which has a custard base but it is made with crackers. Grandmotherï¿½s Thanksgiving Pudding 9 Montpelier crackers (rolled fine) (or soda crackers rolled to make 2 cups) 1 quart (4 cups) milk ï¿½ cup molasses ï¿½ teaspoon ground cloves ï¿½ lb. seeded raisins 1/8 lb. citron, cut fine (optional) 3 eggs Mix all ingredients except eggs, soda & butter in a large saucepan. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens & raisins will not settle. Remove from stove, add butter, beaten eggs, and soda. Stir well and pour into a greased casserole dish.

Bake in a slow oven about 2 hours Serve warm with hard sauce This pudding keeps well & may be reheated Serves 8 ï¿½ 10 From: Bertha Little Larabee Plum Pudding was not just a Christmas Tradition ï¿½ï¿½without roasted turkey and plum-pudding, there could be no orthodox thanksgiving dinner.ï¿½ (The Boston Book: Being Specimens of Metropolitan Literature, Occasional and Periodical (1836) edited by Henry Theodore Tuckerman) Christmas Plum Pudding was served at Mrs. Winshipï¿½s extravagant Thanksgiving Dinner. Christmas or English Plum Pudding is a fancy version of ordinary suet pudding. The Boston Cooking School Cook Book listed a plum style pudding over the years as Thanksgiving Pudding II (1912 ï¿½ 1926) ï¿½ Thanksgiving Steamed Pudding (1933 ï¿½ 1959) ï¿½ Thanksgiving Pudding (1965). They are all the same recipe. ï¿½ lb. stale bread crumbs 2 oz.

citron, chopped fine 1 cup milk, scalded ï¿½ lb. suet, chopped fine ï¿½ cup sugar ï¿½ cup wine, currant jelly, or grape juice 4 eggs ï¿½ teaspoon nutmeg ï¿½ lb. raisins, chopped & floured ï¿½ teaspoon cinnamon ï¿½ lb. currants ï¿½ teaspoon clove ï¿½ lb. figs, chopped fine ï¿½ teaspoon mace ï¿½ teaspoon salt Soak bread crumbs in milk, let stand until cool, add sugar, beaten yolks of eggs, raisins, currants, figs, and citron; add suet, mix together, add wine, currant jelly or grape juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, mace. Beat egg whites stiff and fold into mixture. Place in deep baking dish, cover with foil, place dish on a rack in the cooking pot, add water up to one inch of dish, and steam for six hours. Replace water with boiling water when needed. Genuine English Plum Pudding 2 lbs. raisins 2 lbs. flour 1 lb.

currants 6 eggs 1 lb. sultanas 1 qt. milk 1 lb. mixed peel (lemon, ï¿½ glass brandy orange and citron) 8 tsp. baking powder 2 lbs. beef suet 2 tsp. ground nutmeg 2 lbs. bread crumbs 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 lbs. sugar 1 tsp. allspice Clean the raisins, currants and sultanas, and dry thoroughly. Chop the suet very fine. It is a good plan to use the meat chopper for this, sprinkling a little flour in it to prevent sticking. For the bread crumbs use only the soft inside part of a stale loaf and grate fine. Slice the peel very fine. When these ingredients are ready, put together in a large mixing bowl, with the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, flour and baking powder. Mix well. Beat the eggs, and add to them the milk and brandy. Pour this slowly into the fruit mixture and mix thoroughly. It is better to use the hands for this. Grease several china bowls, holding about 1ï¿½ pts.

each, and fill with the mixture, using a wooden spoon, and pressing down to fill evenly. Fill each bowl a little more than level. Cover each pudding with a piece of oiled paper. Tie a cloth over each one with a strong, white string, tying about ï¿½ down the bowl, so that the cloth will not come off when the pudding begins to cook. Lap the four corners of the cloth up over the top of the bowl and tie in a couple of knots, so that the pudding can be lifted out easily when cooked. Get the puddings all read the day before they are to be cooked. Put enough water in a large cooking utensil to cover the puddings. When it comes to a boil, drop the pudding in carefully running a toasting-fork under the knots of the cloth. Boil slowly for 10 hours. Add boiling water from time to time as needed. When done, lift the puddings out with the fork, remove the clothes, and carefully wash and dry them [clothes]. Put the puddings on the range shelf or some warm place, and let them stand for several days or until well dried out, for if they are not properly dried they will mould.

When dry, tie clothes on again. Then put the puddings in a dry place and they will keep for months. In England we make them in the Fall, and use them throughout the winter. When needed, steam or drop into a kettle of boiling water for one hour. Serve with brandy sauce or cream. Or place a sprig of holly in the top; pour brandy around the pudding and set fire to the brandy. This recipe will make from 8 to 10 puddings. Mrs. Edgar H. Harvey. From Best Things From Best Cooks, For the Benefit of the Bridgeton Hospital, Bridgeton, N.J., 1915, page 62 References to New England Thanksgiving As of 1835 Thanksgiving was linked with New England. In New England and her Institutions: By One of Her Sons written by Jacob Abbott and published in London.

He states: ï¿½Thanksgiving.ï¿½A custom has been transmitted to us from our Purtian fathers, of setting apart a day at the close of the harvest, for thanksgiving and praise.ï¿½ (p 137) The following year another book was published in Boston titled, The Boston Book: Being specimens of Metropolitan Literature, occasional and Periodical with an account by T. Gray, Jr. of a ï¿½New England Thanksgivingï¿½. (p 241) The next mention is in a magazine the Monthly Miscellany of Religion and Letters published in Boston. It came out in Volume V, December, 1841. The article was named: ï¿½The New England Thanksgivingï¿½. The article retraces the dates Thanksgiving was held in Massachusetts in chronological order up to 1762. It is not a complete list.

An article in the New York Herald on November 11, 1889 ran ï¿½Many Men of Many Menus, Old New England Modes of Feastingï¿½Thanksgiving Day as Observed in the Southï¿½A New York Swell Thanksgiving Dinnerï¿½A Menu for Most of Usï¿½A Dollar Thanksgiving Family Feastï¿½. The articleï¿½s title refers to old modes of Thanksgiving feasting in New England. It implies Thanksgiving was originally a New England holiday. In 1896 Fannie Farmer began publishing holiday menus. At first she called it ï¿½Thanksgiving Menuï¿½. Later editions up to the 1912 edition continued to call it ï¿½Thanksgiving Menuï¿½. In the 1917 edition she renamed it ï¿½New England Thanksgiving Menuï¿½ Out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin there was a cooking school along with a cook book as popular in that area as was the Boston Cooking School Cook Book was in New England. The cook book was called The Settlement Cook Book. This cook book began publishing menus in 1920 but did not include special holiday menus for many years.

Sometime between its 1921 edition and its 1938 edition it began to publish holiday menus. The 1938 edition called it ï¿½New England Thanksgiving Dinner.ï¿½ New England became synonymous with Thanksgiving probably through print media. Judging by The Settlement Cook Book the holiday became known as New England Thanksgiving throughout the states. Sports on Thanksgiving Day In writing to a friend in December 1621 about the Thanksgiving the Pilgrims held Edward Winslow said: ï¿½At which times among other recreations we exercised our arms [practiced shooting their guns],ï¿½ (Earle [1893] 1988, 217) Winslow noted they enjoyed recreations and shot their guns, the Pilgrims participated in games and sporting at Americaï¿½s first Thanksgiving that was based on a feast rather than a religious service. ï¿½The stores are all closed, and the general appearance of the city and of the village, is nearly that of the Sabbath. In the distant fields, not a few are found, who desecrate the day by entire devotion to amusements.

The Bowling Alley is thronged by dissolute loungers. The idle and the dissipated congregate for field sports and shooting-matches, and pass the day ï¿½ï¿½ (New England and her Institutions: By One of Her Sons (1835) By Jacob Abbott.) Abbottï¿½s full account is a reminiscence of Thanksgiving from his boyhood. This account was written in 1835, indicating Thanksgiving as he knew it dates back to the at least the early 1800ï¿½s. Just when sports became a common practice of the day is unknown. What is known is the practice has continued into the 21st century with high school and college football games.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ President George Washingtonï¿½s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation THANKSGIVING DAY 1789 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - A PROCLAMATION Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ï¿½ That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks ï¿½ for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation ï¿½ for

 the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war ï¿½for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed ï¿½ for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions ï¿½ to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually ï¿½ to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed ï¿½ to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord ï¿½ To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us ï¿½ and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. GO. WASHINGTON.

President Abraham Lincolnï¿½s 2nd 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation A PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. THE year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever'-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggressions of foreign States, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theatre of military conflict, while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. The needful diversions of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship.

The axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal, as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege aud the battle-field, and the country rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigour is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people ; I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers, in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By the President, WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

For a list of Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations pleas see Pilgrim Hall Museum Bibliography Abbott, Jacob 1835 New England and her Institutions: By One of Her Sons. London: Published by R. B. Seeley & W. Burnside. Earle, Alice Morse 1893 Customs and Fashions in Old New England. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Co. Harper 1909 Harperï¿½s Encyclopedia of United States History. New York: Harper & Brothers Pub. MacIver, Kenneth & William Thomson 1983 An Old New England Farm.Cape Neddick, ME: Norï¿½East Heritage Publications. Thanksgiving Dinner Menu , What's Cooking America Cornbread Stuffing with Fresh Figs, Morels, and Foie Gras – If you really want to be fancy and step up your Thanksgiving dinner, try this unusual and wonderful dressing. – Learn about Foie Gras . Potato Choices plus Gravy: Making Perfect Turkey Gravy – Homemade turkey gravy, made using the turkey giblet stock, pan drippings, and meat juices from the roast turkey, is an essential part of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Hints and tips for making that perfect turkey gravy. Perfect Mashed Potatoes – This easy-to-make mashed potato recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This recipe is classic and simple. Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes – Save your valuable kitchen time on Thanksgiving day by using this easy-to-make mashed potato dish. This recipe is especially great when serving a crowd as it eliminates the mess and last-minute hassle of whipping potatoes. Browned Butter Smashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash – Try something new and impress your family and guests with this delicious combination of potatoes and butternut squash. Asiago and Sage Scalloped Potatoes – This is my family’s favorite scalloped potato recipe. I especially like to make it during the holidays. This can be made ahead of time. Perfect Baked Potato – The perfect baked potato has crisp golden skin on the outside and is pure white and fluffy on the inside. It is very easy to bake the perfect potato. If you follow the easy guidelines, you will always have perfect baked potatoes! Slow Cooker Garlic Roasted Baby Potatoes – Least amount of effort to dump and roast these delicious garlic baby potatoes. No peeling or mashing required!

Cranberries and Gelatin Salads: It is up to you to decide how many side dishes you serve with your dinner. The more family and/or friends invited to dinner, the more side dishes. Our tradition is that each family invited will bring a side dishes to the dinner to help out with all the preparation involved in preparing the dinner. If you also do this, be sure and decided in advance what you want everyone to bring, so you do not end up the 3 or 4 versions of the same dish! Cranberry Relish – My son-in-law makes this wonderful family recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner every year. Cranberry Sauce with Raspberry Vinaigrette – This traditional sauce is enhanced by raspberry vinegar. Very delicious! Blueberry JELL-O Salad – You will find this dessert commonly served at holiday gatherings and special occasions. Even people that do not typically like Jell-O dishes love the texture of this dessert and ask for seconds! Fiesta Carrot Pineapple JELL-O Salad – This Fiesta Carrot Pineapple JELL-O Salad is a classic JELL-O recipe that is light and refreshing! The whole family devours this JELL-O salad. While the pineapple-carrot flavor combination is unique, they work very well together.

Red Hot Applesauce JELL-O Salad – Another classic holiday JELL-O salad recipe from the 1950’s. Red Hot candies are used to add a tasty cinnamon flavor. Also apple sauce and citrus soda add a nice thicker consistency and texture to to this dish. Salads: Kale Harvest Salad – A perfect combination of autumn fruits and vegetables. Featuring kale as the star ingredient, along with roasted squash, dried cranberries, apples, nuts, and seeds to create a bowlful of goodness. Caesar Salad – My all-time favorite salad is the Caesar Salad. To many, including myself, this is the King of salads. Caesar salads are very easy to make and can be prepared in advance. This salad will definitely impress your dinner guests. Following is my delicious low-fat version of Caesar Salad. I promise you that your guests will never know the difference! I make this low-fat and easy-to-make version all the time. I serve this salad with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Low Fat Caesar Salad Recipe Kale Caesar Salad – For an unusual salad that is delicious and is considered very healthy. For your vegan family or friends, take out the anchovies and toss the salad with a vegan salad dressing.

Fresh Fruit Salad with 1-2-3 Fruit Dressing – This is very refreshing and delicious fruit salad. I use whatever fresh fruit is in season when making this salad. The combination of citrus fruits in the dressing gives the salad a wonderful delicious flavor! Green Pea Salad – This is a family favorite that I enjoyed when I was young, and still do today. It is a very easy-to-make vegetable salad. Great for taking to a potluck or even Thanksgiving dinner. Your family will love this recipe! Bread or Roll Choices: Homemade rolls and breads are always preferred, but it you do not have the time to make your own, purchase top-quality rolls and breads at a local bakery. Honey Butter – Honey Butter is a must when serving cornbread and biscuits for our family. Make Ahead Butter Rolls – This is one my favorite roll recipe to use for holiday dinners, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Very easy to make ahead and bake at the last minutes. Perfect Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits – Homemade biscuits are so easy to make, and if you follow a few simple rules, they will always turn out fluffy and delicious. Northwest Cornbread – My family loves cornbread! It is easy to make and so good.

Cornbread made in the Northwest is a little sweeter and lighter than the traditional southern cornbread. Various Yeast Breads – In order not to have to heat rolls in my oven, I sometimes make various homemade breads the day before Thanksgiving. This saves me a lot of time on Thanksgiving day and pleases my guests. Thanksgiving Desserts (lots of great ideas and choices): Most families serve at least two (2) dessert choices. Pumpkin Pie – Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie – How about making this very easy and traditional pumpkin pie for your Thanksgiving dinner? Pumpkin Swirl Gingersnap Cheesecake – Here is a fun twist for your pumpkin cheesecake. The delicate swirling of the pumpkin in the cheesecake makes a beautifully festive holiday dessert. I usually make this cheesecake ahead of time and freeze it. See . Pumpkin Chiffon Pie – This very light pumpkin chiffon pie will be a big hit at your Thanksgiving dinner. People who are not a big fan of the traditional pumpkin pie, like this version. Pumpkin Empanadas – Pumpkin empanadas are made both on Thanksgiving and Christmas for some Mexican-style Thanksgiving Dinners. Devonshire Cream or creme fraiche or sweetened whipped cream to top your pies.

Pecan Praline Pie – There is the plain pecan pie and there is this “souped-up” version that the Southern people make for Thanksgiving dinner. This is a delicious alternate to the classic pecan pie. Pecan Pie – The only way this pie could be better tasting is to serve it warm and topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Buttermilk Pie – This is a delicious, old-fashion Buttermilk Pie. Do not be put off by the buttermilk – this is a sweet and flavorful pie. My aunt made five pies for a family reunion, and this pie was definitely my favorite! Old-Fashioned Mincemeat Pie – This has been my favorite holiday pie since I was a little girl. My mother and grandmother used to make her own homemade mincemeat. Mom’s Apple Pie – This is my Mother’s apple pie recipe. You can never do wrong serving this pie. It is so good! Lighter Dessert Ideas: Spiced Pumpkin Mousse Trifle – How about a light dessert? Wouldn’t this be an excellent dessert for your Thanksgiving Dinner? Pumpkin Parfait – A light alternative to pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.

Finale: Now is the time to sit back and relax. Forget about the mess in the kitchen and just relax and enjoy your family and/or friends. (I know, the mess is still in your kitchen waiting to be cleaned up) but now is not the time to jump up and start cleaning. Just relax and visit! How To Use a French Press – coffee press, plunger press and/or press coffee Honey-Glazed Ham Dinner Menu – (with recipes) Ham 101 – Learn all about the different types of ham and how to cook them. Roasted Crown of Pork Loin – Truly one of the most magnificent of all holiday entrees! Impress your guest with this attractive Roasted Crown Loin of Pork. It is a real show stopper! Tofurky/Tofurkey Recipe with Vegan Gravy – For your vegetarian and vegan family and friends. Turkey Variations: How about substituting your oven-roasted turkey for: Barbecued or Grilled Whole Turkey – This is a very easy and efficient way to cook your Thanksgiving turkey. No mess in your oven or the kitchen. A whole turkey may be prepared on either a gas grill or a charcoal grill. This method requires a covered barbecue grill and heavy duty aluminum foil.

Your turkey will be crisp outside and juicy inside. Cajun Fried Turkey – This is the best way of cooking a turkey I have ever tasted. The turkey is anything but greasy as the deep-frying process seals the outside and the turkey remains incredibly juicy, while the skin gets wonderfully crispy. Smoked Turkey – Learn how to smoke a whole turkey.how to smoke a whole turkey. Turducken – This regional delight has become one of the latest food fads. From the outside it looks like a turkey, but when you cut through it, you see a series of rings making up the three birds and three stuffings. For your vegetarian and vegan family and friends. Southwest/Mexican Thanksgiving: Mexican Americans and others have put their own gastronomical twist on Thanksgiving meals. These are not “tradition,” nor are they found at all Thanksgiving celebrations, which include Latin American foods, but they are the foods many consider a Thanksgiving meal in the Southwest. Turkey in Mole Sauce (Mole Poblano de Guajolote) – A Southwest and Mexican Thanksgiving favorite. Turkey Hints and Tips: Turkey Basics – How to purchase, stuff, and roast a turkey. Choosing a fresh or frozen turkey. How to thaw a frozen turkey.

How to prepare turkey for stuffing. Thanksgiving Planning – Stress-Free Thanksgiving – How to plan and prepare your Thanksgiving dinner in advance without stress. Guidelines for Brining Poultry – The secret to juicy chicken breast is simple – brine them before grilling or baking! It is very easy and economical, and requires no special cookware. Guidelines For Roasting a Whole Turkey – Learn how to safely and easily prepare and roast your turkey. Advice on Stuffing a Turkey Safely – As the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday draws near, learn how to safely stuff your turkey. Using a Cooking or Meat Thermometer – Have you ever cut into a turkey to see if it has finished cooking? Cooking thermometers take the guesswork out of cooking, as they measures the internal temperature of your cooked meat and poultry to assure that a safe temperature has been reached, harmful bacteria have been destroyed, and your turkey is cook perfectly. Making Perfect Turkey Gravy – Hints and tips for making that perfect turkey gravy. Handling Leftovers Safely – Leftover” foods are cooked foods that you or your family do not eat within 2 hours after they are cooked. Improper handling or storing cooked food is one of the most common causes of food poisoning in the home.

Let’s Make Turkey Stock – My favorite thing to do the morning after Thanksgiving is to make homemade turkey stock from the turkey carcass. It is so easy to do and so delicious! The turkey stock can be used for a delicious soup or frozen for future use. Food Safety Pages: Buffet and Party Safety – Also includes what to do if your guests have been delayed at least an hour Golden Rules of Food Safety – IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT! If you have any question in your mind about the freshness or safety of eating a food product, throw it out. It is better to be safe than sorry! Etiquette, Entertaining, and Party Planning Help Dining Etiquette Guide – Restaurant and Dinner Party Manners and Etiquette

Question: Which sharp-tasting red fruit is used to make a sauce popular at Xmas and at Thanksgiving dinners ?
Answer: CRANBERRY