Leave it to domestic diva Martha Stewart to school her own cooking guest about the dishes served up at the very first Thanksgiving dinner… on national TV.
Did you see Stewart doling out her on-air corrections last week? Whereas I felt bad for the visiting chef, I did learn a lot about what was really on that first Thanksgiving menu.
Did you know that the Thanksgiving holiday as we know it is only about 150 years old? Back in 1863, following a stalwart campaign by Sarah Josepha Hale (a writer best known for penning “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), then President Abraham Lincoln officially proclaimed that the last Thursday in November would be set aside as a national day to give thanks.
It was then that turkey became the official edible centerpiece of the meal. However, it was not the main source of protein back when the pilgrims celebrated the original Thanksgiving. According to historians, the pilgrims’ primary contribution to their fall festival included a wide range of game birds, including chickens, quails, and pheasants.
Adding to the culinary masterpieces were the Wampanoag’s (the Native-American guests of honor) contributions of freshly killed deer. Historians also note that the deer and game birds were served alongside bass, cod, lobsters, oysters, corn meal and a host of native plants such as squash, beans, wild chestnuts and hickory nuts.
Fast forward to 2008. The menu for President Bush’s Thanksgiving celebration at Camp David was just released by the White House yesterday. The current president and his family will be dining on the following seasonal favorites today:
· Free-range roast turkey
· Cornbread dressing
· Cranberry sauce
· Sauteed green beans
· Morelia-style gazpacho with spinach salad
· Zucchini gratin
· Whipped maple sweet potatoes
· Buttered mashed potatoes
· Giblet gravy
· Fresh clover rolls with honey butter
· Pumpkin pie with whipped topping
· Apple pie
· Pumpkin mousse trifle
· Fresh fruit platter
It’s a far cry from what the pilgrims and Wampanoags shared during their first meal together, especially the pies. Historians say there was no way pie would have been on the menu back then since there was no easy way to bake it. Ditto for the cranberry sauce, due to the limited sweetening agents and the difficulty involved in processing the berries.
Basically, that very first Thanksgiving consisted of items that were readily available. What’s more, the point of the gathering wasn’t to swap recipes; rather it was a time to celebrate surviving another year and being thankful for what they had. Something we should all be doing on this great day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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