Most of all, Thanksgiving reminds me of my deep appreciation of the love from and to family loved ones and dear friends. I pray that everyone everywhere may be so blessed as I have been.
I hope you enjoy and can make use of the Thanksgiving memories and recipes in my offerings below.
Does anyone ever forget the wondrous aroma of a turkey roasting in the oven, the sweet scent of spiced pumpkin, pecan and apple pies cooling on a sideboard and the mouth watering puffs of steam coming from the variety of sweet potatoes, cranberries and other vegetables as they perk along in their pans and casseroles, to add to a feast for your nose? I know I won’t. I feel great sorrow for those who eat their Thanksgiving feast in a restaurant. The best part of the Macy Parade is the aroma wafting from the kitchen. No one should ever live a whole life without the experience. There really ought to be a law.
Thanksgiving ~Then
Thanksgiving sixty years ago was an international holiday in our family. We always started off with early munchies of stuffed celery, little fried meatballs on a pick, varieties of olives and of course veggies to dip in tazza ’n berra. Homemade bread sticks were never turned down, either!
Of course, there were no parades or football games on TV…hmmmm, there were no TV’s! I do remember playing in the snow, when it snowed, and visiting at my paternal grandpa's house, next door, or my maternal grandparents home across the street, in between getting under foot while Mom was preparing the dinner. The radio was always going, and if the weather was really bad, I’d play with my cutouts and of course, there were my beloved books to peruse while munching the canapés, waiting for the turkey to roast. Sometimes we’d get together with one or another of my cousins’ families, and that was always a lot of fun.
When it came time to have dinner, we were all more than ready for it, and we had better be! It seemed then that no meal was ‘special’ unless it included homemade noodles with a wonderful tomato sauce; therefore, that was always our first course. Of course a huge bowl of tossed salad was always front and center, to go with the pasta and on into the turkey and all the fixings.
After the pasta, the big old turkey was brought out, golden brown and steaming, to be carved by Dad. There was usually giblet stuffing in the bird, and a casserole of celery & raisin dressing baked separately, for those who liked crispy, crusty dressing. Yes, we had candied yams, and fluffy mashed potatoes just waiting to have the rich, brown turkey gravy (made from a roux and not a mix ~ who knew ‘mixes’?) poured all over them.
We didn’t do green bean casserole; our favorite was peas, even if they were only from a can in those days. We had jellied cranberry sauce from a can and cranberry orange relish made ‘fresh’. We made our own Parker House rolls, and without fail, homemade bread was always on hand. The platters went round and round, and the food went down and down.
Even though everyone was groaning “I ate too much!” no one got up and left when the main course was cleared off and the pies were brought to the table. They were still warm (I can’t believe we baked the pies on Thanksgiving morning then and we still were having dinner by one p.m.!), waiting for a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a huge dollop of fresh whipped cream to intensify their sweet promise. Dad loved mincemeat pie, so Mom always made one of those. I could never get past the thought of ‘meat’ in a pie, no matter how many times anyone told me it wasn’t meat, meat. I never turned down apple, pumpkin or pecan pie, though. In fact, not too long after having dessert and clearing up, I’d be having just a ‘sliver’ of each again… to check if they were really as good as I thought they were the first time. And I was as skinny as a rail. Go figure? I still do today, skinny be danged!
Hubby, my mother, and a 'piece' of 8 year old Lori
This was Thanksgiving 1965. Dad had passed away at age 58 in July.)
The years have given us all so much for which to be thankful. I am especially happy that my life has brought me a wonderful husband with whom I raised three very special children; at least they are to us. We still spend every holiday together, along with our two grandchildren, and the location of Thanksgiving dinner varied from year to year. Recently, it is more often held at daughter Lori’s home…close enough to us that we can all be there in time to get turkey bumps from the delicious aromas escaping from the oven.
As time passed, we changed some of the menu for the day. Munchies are still part of the food fest, and of course we now have Macy’s Parade and football games to watch, as well as DVD movies. We might play cards or games and exchange notes on what’s happening in our lives and of those with whom we are mutually acquainted.
We no longer do a pasta course, and have exchanged it for Lori’s Pumpkin Soup starter. I’ve added a Cranberry Jell-O Salad to the usual cranberry dishes. Creamed Onions, a tradition in the family of my son-in-law, Mike, is a new institution and we have done away with beans, peas or corn altogether. So fattening! (Ahem)
Stuffing starts with one or another of the boxed dressing bases, and additional ingredients are added as the mood directs. No protein of any kind in stuffing for the bird, though. I sometimes wonder how we lived through all those giblet dressings so long ago!
We use Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and do not bake all our own pies. Marie Callender does a very good job, even with pecan pie, which I thought no one could ever equal to mine. Whipped cream comes from a pressure can and a Cool Whip tub. Some years we try a community affair, wherein everyone is assigned a dish to prepare, and we either bring it or prep it on the spot. It’s fun, but can get hectic at times. Something about ‘too many cooks’???
When I was very young, those many years ago, Thanksgiving was really turkey treat day. It was the first time of the year that we could get turkey since after Christmas the year before. They just didn’t farm them for wide distribution then, as they do now. Turkeys, pre-1950, were usually a challenge to cook. It took a long, loving time and a caring hand to draw true succulence from those birds, but they at least were free range and fresh. As the years passed, turkey evolved. I’ve had many brands of turkey; Honeysuckle White was my favorite for years when I cooked for my family, but Butterball was also quite tender and juicy. In the last ten years or so, it appears that every super market has come out with their own ‘brand’, and of course most of them have the pop-up thermometer that is supposed to tell you when “it’s turkey!” Timing and following the directions on the packaged bird works just fine, though; as does the time honored method of moving the leg gently for ‘give’ and pressing a thigh for tenderness.
No matter how you cook it, however, Thanksgiving turkey is all about aroma. Before any of the carefully prepared foods touch my palate, their fragrances stir up my appetite and my brain cells, making sure that “I Remember Thanksgiving”.
3-Qt Soup Pot -- 2 T Butter
½ C Minced Onion or Shallots -- 3 Cloves Garlic minced very fine 2 tsp Curry -- ½ tsp Black Pepper -- ½ tsp Salt -- ½ tsp Crushed Pepper Flakes
6 C Chicken Broth -- 2 C Freshly Cooked or Canned Pumpkin
1 C Half & Half or ½ C Heavy Whipping Cream
Sour Cream -- Chopped Chives or Green Onions
Sauté Onions and Garlic in Butter in Soup Pot, until glassy.
Add Curry, Pepper, Salt and Chicken Broth.
Simmer 15 minutes, stirring often.
Add the Pumpkin. Simmer 40 minutes, stirring often to keep from scorching.
Remove from heat and Cool -- 15 minutes.
Whip Soup in Blender or with Hand Blender until very smooth.
Add the Half & Half or Whipping Cream, blending well.
Heat in Serving Pan until steaming -- Do not boil.
Serve in warm bowls, passing Sour Cream and Chives on the side.
Celery Raisin Dressing
2-Quart Soup Pot
11 x 9 Glass Baking Dish Buttered Well
Remove Giblets and Neck from Turkey and rinse them well.
Place in Soup Pot with:
6 C Water -- 1 T Chicken Base -- 1 Diced Onion --
1 Stalk of Celery, Diced -- 1 C Raisins -- 1 T Parsley
Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer about 1 hour. Discard giblets and use turkey neck meat for gravy, if desired.
Strain the Broth, reserving vegetables, raisins and broth separately for stuffing. This process should be done the day before making stuffing, refrigerating the broth so the fat can be skimmed before using it.
Stuffing: (Make just before stuffing turkey)
3 Slices of day old bread, cubed
1 Envelope Mrs. Culbertson’s Stuffing Mix
½ tsp Pepper -- 2 Stalks Celery, Chopped -- 1 T Poultry Seasoning 1 tsp Garlic Powder -- 2 T Parsley -- Cooked Vegetables & Raisins
Enough Broth to moisten well. (Reserve remaining broth for gravy.)
Combine all stuffing ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and adjust liquid for desired moistness.
Use some to stuff the turkey, if desired (turkey without stuffing cooks faster), place the rest in the buttered baking dish, cover and refrigerate until one hour before turkey should be done. Bake at turkey temperature for ½ hour or so, remove cover and bake until lightly browned on top.
Cut in squares and serve from baking dish.
Plentiful Turkey Gravy
Large Skillet -- Gravy Boat
1 C All Purpose Flour -- ¼ C Turkey Drippings -- Pinch of Sage 1 T salt -- ½ tsp Black Pepper -- 1 tsp Garlic Granules
1 Qt Broth from Stuffing or enough Broth & Water to make a Qt.
After removing turkey from baking pan, drain off all the fat except ¼ C, leaving the browned goodies in the pan. Place pan over medium heat and lightly sprinkle all the flour over the surface, scraping and stirring with a spatula to lightly brown the flour, cooking it so gravy will not lump, but do not scorch the flour.
After a few minutes of stirring/scraping, begin to deglaze the pan by slowly adding the liquid, stirring and scraping vigorously all the while. If there does not seem to be enough liquid, add a bit more a little at a time until the mix is just under the thickness you want. Add all of the seasonings, reduce heat to low, and continue to cook about 10 more minutes, until gravy is rich and smooth.
Pour gravy into top of double boiler and keep hot over hot water so it will not scorch or cook away. Fill gravy boat with boiling water before serving the gravy, to preheat it so gravy will stay hot.
Of course, you can buy several envelopes of instant gravy and skip the flour process by just using the broth and seasonings in place of water called for on the envelope. Not quite as plentiful as the other, or as tasty, but will work if you are just not gravy friendly.
Cranberry/Raspberry Jell-o Salad
Large Bowl for mixing -- 13 x 9 Glass Serving Container
1 Family Pack Raspberry Jell-o 3 -- C Boiling Water
1 Can Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 Large Can Crushed Pineapple, drain Well. ( Reserve juice for candied sweet potatoes.
1 C Chopped Walnuts -- 1 Large Stalk Celery, diced fine
Place Jell-o in mixing bowl, add boiling water. Stir until dissolved.
Break up the cranberry sauce in the can by cutting with a knife all around the edge and slicing across in all directions, until it is almost a dice.
Add the broken up sauce into the dissolved Jell-o, stirring and breaking up into it is all fairly well dissolved.
Add the celery and walnuts.
Pour into serving pan, cover and chill overnight. Cut in small squares to serve.
This is also pretty done in a mold. (Remove from mold per Carolyn’s Jell-o in Cooking Up Christmas Eve.)
Long before cholesterol warnings put an end to morning wake-up aromas of bacon and eggs for most folks, there was already a different alarm clock at work in the home where this Grandma grew up. It would steam up from the sauce pots and frying pans that were bubbling and sizzling away in the kitchen early on a Sunday morning, to waft stealthily up the stairs and slowly lengthen into an enticing finger that tickled Uncle Joey and I persistently under our noses, until we awakened--salivary glands already going full tilt--then beckoned to us with a promise of good things downstairs, if only we would hurry up and get moving! We did, and reveled in a Sunday morning brunch of crunchy fried meatballs and home-baked bread spread with butter; or better yet, drenched with the tomato sauce that simmered on the back of the stove, waiting to be used on pasta at our main meal later in the day.
I remember, too, how good leftover pizza (when there was any leftover), cold or warmed under the broiler, tasted with the pastini in chicken broth which Mom ladled from a hot pot of soup that she had started cooking, several hours before we even arose. That combination satisfied longer than any bowl of cream of wheat.
Some bitterly cold, winter mornings, I would lie huddled under the covers, despairing of getting a taste of whatever it was that my father had cooking with onions. Mom would come to the rescue, though. She’d bring my socks and undies to the bed and I would stick out one foot at a time for her to clothe, as quickly as she could. When I was dressed at last, clear to the sweater I would wear to school that day, I’d bravely s-w-o-o-s-h back the covers and head for the kitchen.
It was always warm and toasty in there. You could count on Dad to light the oven for extra warmth and to keep the goodies that he’d created hot, until we arrived. The coffee pot would be giving a few final burps, sending ‘Maxwell House’ messages to the senses that some sugar and several tablespoons of its brew in a cup of hot milk were in order. Big slices of Mom’s bread, already buttered, waited to be speared up and dunked into the hot drink.
On any given day we could be having a scramble of potatoes, onions and eggs or homemade Italian sausage and eggs or crispy fried potatoes with eggs steamed on top. Many times my mother made oatmeal, French toast or pancakes, and I loved graham crackers and bananas with milk, but nothing ever smelled as good as a breakfast of Dad’s own concoction, made when he came home from driving crane on the midnight shift at Sharon Steel.
In the warmer days of the year, our close-knit family groups visited more often and earlier in the day. Sunday would find any number of us, in one home or another, partaking of an informal brunch from a kitchen table laden with goodies, while the aromas of Sunday dinner, still in the making, filled the air.
When I was married and my own home was included in these Sunday visits, I created a brunch menu that incorporated a large percentage of the dishes with which we were all familiar. Everyone remembers Dad’s treats, either first-hand or from the stories that go with each serving of them. This brunch is always a big success with family and friends.
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OLD-FASHIONED SUNDAY BRUNCH MENU
(Serves 8 abundantly)
Chilled Fruit Cocktail with Bananas
Fresh Italian Bread
Hot Spaghetti Sauce ----- Cold Whipped Butter
Large Round or Oval Serving Tray Crisp Romaine/Lettuce Leaves
8 Oz Each, thinly sliced: Genoa Salami, Capocollo, Pepperoni, Prosciutto/Ham, and Provolone Cheese
8 Oz Cherry Tomatoes -- 1 Tin Rolled Anchovies 1 Cantaloupe: Peel & Slice
1 Pint Olive Salad (Greek/Italian Olives)
1 Can Pitted, Ripe Black Olives
Small Jar Large Green Pitted Olives -- Small Jar Stuffed Olives
Cover Tray with Lettuce Leaves.
Wrap 8 slices ham around 8 slices melon, diagonally. Arrange like wheel spokes in center of tray. Place the rest of the ham and melon and all other articles attractively on the tray. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until serving time.
Crispy Meatballs
1 Lb Very Lean Ground Beef -- ½ Lb Ground Pork
2 Slices Bread -- ¼ C Dried Bread Crumbs
3 Cloves Garlic -- 1 Onion Quartered
1 T Basil -- 1 T Black Pepper -- ½ C Grated Romano Cheese
½ C Fresh Parsley -- 2 T Beef Base -- 2 Eggs -- ½ C Cold Water
Place Meat and Bread Crumbs in a large bowl. In BLENDER, mix Eggs & Water briefly. Add all other ingredients, except Meat and Crumbs to blender--a little at a time. PULSE till chopped fine. Add mixture to Meat & Crumbs in bowl and mix well with hands. Cover and chill one hour. (This can be done the night before)
To Fry: Preheat non-stick or iron skillet on medium. (Add 2T Olive Oil to iron skillet)
Roll Meatballs 1½-inch diameter.
Fry, turning until crispy & brown on all sides. Use spatula to turn.
To Bake: Place Meatballs on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 325° oven for about 25 minutes, turning once, until they are crispy all around.
Serve in bowl, with a sprig of fresh parsley.
Potatoes and Eggs
5 Large Potatoes - 1 Large Sweet Onion - 1 Qt Water in a Bowl 1 T Parsley Flakes - 1 T Salt - ½ tsp Granulated Garlic 1 tsp Black Pepper - ½ C Oil (olive/corn) - 8 Large Eggs
Peel potatoes and onion and slice thinly into water in bowl.
Heat oil in heavy 10” skillet on Medium.
Meanwhile, mix together salt, pepper, garlic and parsley.
Drain potatoes & onion very well and wrap in fresh towel to get off excess water.
Carefully slip them into hot oil, evenly spacing them over the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle half of the seasoning mixture all over.
Fry till bottom is crispy & brown, when metal spatula is inserted underneath.
Carefully turn potatoes, half at a time and fry 10 minutes longer. Now break the eggs one at a time, into a small bowl, carefully to keep yolks whole.
Slip them onto the potatoes, one at a time, spacing them evenly over the surface.
Sprinkle all with the rest of the seasoning.
Cover tightly and cook, just until whites are set. Yolks should still be soft.
Serve in the skillet, cutting through potatoes to make eight squares, each with a steamed egg on top.
Frittata
(Baked Omelet)
Preheat Oven to 350°
9x11x2 Glass Baking Dish buttered heavily on bottom and sides
1 Lb Loose Italian Sausage, brown and drain very well 8 Oz Pepperoni sliced thin
8 Eggs - ½ C Milk - 1 tsp Salt - ½ tsp pepper - ½ tsp Baking Powder
Arrange Pepperoni slices to layer bottom of baking dish.
Blend Eggs, Milk, Salt Pepper and Baking Powder in blender for 1 minute--pour over Pepperoni in dish.
Sprinkle cooked Sausage over the eggs, pressing under the batter slightly with a spoon.
Bake until butter knife inserted in center comes out clean and top starts to brown--20 to 30 minutes.
Cut in 2-inch squares and serve straight from baking dish.
Café Espresso
Purchase your favorite brand of Espresso Ground Coffee, or Espresso beans to grind yourself. Follow directions on can or bag for making good, strong, Espresso. If you do not have an Espresso maker, you can use a regular drip coffee maker or just buy Instant Espresso.
Café Sport
Have available Crème De Menthe, Anisette, Kahlua, or Whiskey. Make Sport by placing ½ Shot of your preferred liqueur into a 6-Oz Cup and filling the rest of the way with Espresso.
Café Latte
4 C Prepared Espresso Coffee--HOT!
4T Sugar -- 4 C Very Hot Milk (do not boil)
Mix all ingredients & stir well. Nice served from glass coffee carafe, keeping hot on a warmer & trivet. (As you notice, we were having latte before anyone heard of Starbucks!)
Biscotti
Biscotti are quite involved and time consuming to make from scratch, though I do it for holidays. However, there are several excellent brands of this cookie, in anise, chocolate, orange/chocolate, lemon, flavors on the market. You can find them in regular super markets and especially in Italian Specialty stores.
What will be your earliest memory of the mouth-watering smell of something good?
For me, it came on a cold winter’s day, several weeks after my uncle and his new wife came to live with us. They were married in October of 1939 and times were hard on newlyweds then, just before the USA went into WWII, so they settled into one of our bedrooms and shared the kitchen until they could find and afford a place of their own. Though I was just under four years old, I can remember most of the first-hand observations I made of some of the different ethnic practices of the first non-Italian member of our family--Uncle Mike’s wife, Lee, who was of German descent.
On this particularly frosty day, some time in November, I had crawled up on our living room sofa to look out of the window, and watch big flakes of snow fall through the beam of the street lights that had just flickered on against the gloom of late afternoon, when I was drawn by a magnetic aroma that wafted from the kitchen where Aunt Lee was preparing their dinner. Jumping down from the couch, I scooted from the living room, maneuvered around our big dining room table and on sturdy three-year-old legs, followed the mysterious (potatoy/oniony) smell--different from anything I had ever caught scent of cooking in our home before.
In the kitchen, I watched her as she pulled a casserole from the oven to test the potatoes that, nestled in a creamy, white sauce, were beginning to turn golden on the top. That, alone, was enough to stop me in my tracks. Cook with milk? Never, in my short years of experience in that Italian family; they would talk about it for months to come. Uncle Mike would surely starve! She gave me some, though, when it was all tender and golden, and I was hooked for life.
Bolstered by the fact that Uncle Mike had not yet starved to death (or been poisoned), the rest of the group finally worked up the courage to try her casserole at one of our picnics. They mobbed her for the recipe!
There’s a casserole of “Aunt Lee’s Scalloped Potatoes” in the oven right now. When our Phil walked through the door and said, “Boy, that smells good!” I knew it was a fitting introduction to those good aromas and the memories that waft in upon them.
Uncle Mike & Aunt Lee Enjoying Scalloped Potatoes
Family Picnic - Summer 1940
Aunt Lee’s Scalloped Potatoes
(Serves 4 to 6)
Always bake casserole on a foil lined cookie sheet or place foil on oven rack…it will boil over a bit.
Preheat Oven to 375°
Butter bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish generously
4 Large Potatoes -- Bowl of Cold Water -- 1 Large Onion -- 1 T Salt
½ C Flour -- 2 C Whole Milk -- 1 tsp Pepper -- 4 T Melted Butter
Peel Potatoes. Slice thinly into bowl of cold water.
Peel Onion. Slice thinly and set aside.
Mix together the Flour, Salt and Pepper.
Add Melted Butter to Milk.
Drain Potatoes WELL.
Overlap Potato Slices to layer bottom of casserole.
Place an Onion layer next.
Sprinkle evenly with some of the Flour Seasoning mix.
Repeat layers until all of Potatoes, Onion and Seasoning are used.
Pour the Milk/Butter over all. If necessary, add just enough milk to cover Potatoes.
Tightly seal casserole (foil or lid). Bake 1 Hour.
Lower the oven heat to 325°. Remove cover and bake till tender and golden (about 45 Min. more).
Variations on the Theme
(Delicious Quickies Based upon the Original Recipe)
**Substitute 2 Cans Evaporated Milk or 1 Qt of Cream for the Fresh Milk = Extra Creamy Potatoes
**Whisk together 1 Can of Cream of Chicken or Mushroom or Celery Soup
1 T Chicken Base -- ½ tsp Black Pepper -- 1 Soup Can of Milk
(Omit Flour Seasoning Mix) Pour over layered potatoes & onion.
All in One Casseroles
(Dinner for 4, with a Salad)
1. 8 Oz Ham, thinly sliced. Alternate Ham slices with Potato/Onion Layers.
2. 1 Lb Loose Pork Sausage. Brown and drain well. Sprinkle over Potato Layers in any recipe.
Italian Sausage, hot or mild is also excellent.
3. Use a 6 Oz Can of Water Packed Albacore Tuna, drained well. Flake over Potato Layers in original recipe, for a deliciously different tuna casserole.
4. 8 Oz Sharp Cheddar or your favorite Cheese sprinkled over layers. Delicious Au Gratin!
