No turkey!!!
November 8th, 2009 by Wanda AdamsOne of my favorite movie scenes of all time is in Barry Levinson's "Avalon" (1990 — if you haven't seen it, rent it, it's fabulous). A late-arriving uncle and his wife come through the door as the huge extended family is sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, having decided they could wait no longer for the late arrivers, and exclaims, in a heavy Polish accent, "You CUT the TURKEY?" (Only he says "toikey.") Every time I see it I laugh until I snort. It's such a perfect picture of family life (as is the whole movie; watch for the hospital scene)
The other day, chatting casually with another Advertiser staffer, I learned that her family had asked that they NOT have turkey for Thanksgiving. They're going to imu corned beef. (But, said my friend, firmly, there WILL be stuffing even if there's nothing to stuff.)
Got me wondering and thinking I might do a story for print about what you would serve if you weren't serving a turkey? Chicken? Duck? (My step-father loved duck and we always had one, stuffed with wild rice, for him.) A crown roast or some other beefy thing. Fish? Seitan (gluten), even? Something totally untraditional such as pot au feu or sukiyaki? I know some folks who always picnic at the beach on Thanksgiving and I think they just hibachi hot dogs.
I'd love to hear from anyone is ISN'T serving turkey, or who always supplements the turkey with some other dish? Respond via this web site or e-mail me privately at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
P.S. The subject of stuffing is also interesting. What kind do you make? What do you do with the leftovers? My friend said her mom makes sandwiches with the stuffing! I make omelettes.
November 9th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where everyone remembers the food that their mothers made. When I was teaching I remember a discussion with my students in which every one insisted that his/her mother made THE BEST stuffing.
My mother made a very good stuffing with old bread, chopped ham, lots of onions and celery, the chopped up giblets, and lots of butter and cream. It was a wonderful stuffing that tasted even better the next day, so we had to have plenty. I make a pretty good facsimile, but there's no stuffing like Mom's!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I, too, am a displaced kama'aina, from more than 40 years ago. Your columns (the humor, I-can-identify-with-that quality, and the dishes made from the recipes) are a real treat from home.
This is what we do with the inevitible left-over dressing (does anybody ever make exactly the right amount?)
Two suggestions for left-over dressing:
Stuffed Peppers:
Remove the tops, seeds, and membranes, then par-boil sweet bell peppers.
Remove while still crisp-tender, shock in ice water, then drain and blot dry.
Stuff with left-over dressing - your choice. Here, cornbread dressing, sausage stuffing, or rice dressing (dirty rice) are favored, but whatever you have or like should work.
Place on baking sheet (cover with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy clean-up) and bake in a 350-degree oven until dressing browns on top and peppers are tender.
Serve hot, with or without gravy, as a side dish to baked chicken, sliced turkey and gravy, etc.
This kind of stuffed peppers also freeze well, for future use as a side-dish.
Wash, remove top or cut in half, and seed small sweet winter squash (acorn squash, or the colorful carnival or confetti squash).
Cover a baking pan with foil and spray with butter-flavored baking spray. (You'll be glad you did. Trust me.)
Place squash, cut side down, on the baking sheet and bake in 350-degree oven until flesh begins to be tender.
Use tongs to turn squash over, and stuff with maple-sausage seasoned stuffing, or whatever kind you like.
Return to the oven and bake until squash flesh is soft and dressing begins to brown on top.
Serve hot, as entree or side dish.
Thank you again for your delightful columns.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
OOOOOOh yummy ideas. WAA
November 13th, 2009 at 3:49 am
My husband's deployed this year (sigh, another holiday season without him) and I asked the girls what they wanted to do for Thanksgiving. They want steak instead of turkey, so I'll make that--but still buy a turkey to have and cook later as we do enjoy turkey enchiladas and sliced turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce on them afterwards. I'll freeze most of it once it's off the bone. Sorry I can't help with the dressing--we don't make a lot of it since only half the family likes it so there isn't much left afterwards. I do add dried cranberries, diced apple, and chopped pecans or walnuts to mine, though. YUM!
November 13th, 2009 at 10:58 am
We almost never have leftover stuffing---and we would make a lot!! My Mom would chop up link sausage, giblets,bacon and brown it with a lot of onions and celery. She would use the stuffing mixture that you buy in the huge bags and add old bread cubes, chopped mushrooms and fresh parsley from her garden. Now that she's not here I make the stuffing but never quite as good as hers. We all like the stuffing topped with gravey made from the drippings of the turkey---I just like to eat the stuffing by itself--
November 16th, 2009 at 9:52 am
My family serves this for the vegetarians...
http://www.worthingtonfoods.com/cgi-bin/brandpages/product.pl?product=372&company=41