My mom sent me an email the other day asking what we'd like to eat for Thanksgiving dinner.
It seems like kind of an incongruous question, right? With only one possible answer? But she has a point. Usually for Thanksgiving it's my parents, my sister, me, and my mom's best friend and her family, which means somewhere in the range of 8-12 people. Usually Thanksgiving dinner is at the friend's house and then we celebrate Christmas with the same friends at my parents' house.
This year, however, my sister will be spending Thanksgiving with her fiance's family, and my mom's best friend and her family will be out of town spending the holiday with some of their extended family. Which means that our Thanksgiving will just be my parents, Torsten, and me.
And honestly, even though I love the way we normally celebrate? And will especially miss having my sister there? It will be nice to have a quieter, more low-key celebration this year. Plus, I'll see my sister at Christmas, which won't be far away.
But, the point is, since it will just be the four of us, we don't have to stick to tradition if we don't want to. So there's no need for turkey and all the trimmings unless we decide that's what we want.
So when my mom asked if there was anything else we'd rather have, my first thought was, "Lobster!" I love lobster and we never have it here, nor do we have a pot big enough to cook it in. Plus we always used to have lobster at my parents' house on New Year's Eve and now that we are pretty much never there on NYE, we almost never have lobster.
I thought Torsten would totally be on board with this plan, because he still talks about that one time he took a vacation to Maine and it was the best vacation ever because he spent the whole time with a beer in one hand and a lobster in the other.
HOWEVER. When I suggested to Torsten that we have lobster for Thanksgiving dinner, he gave me a look that was equal halves shocked and appalled and tragic puppy dog. And then he said, "But... you HAVE to have turkey on Thanksgiving. That's how it's ALWAYS DONE."
Does anyone else see the irony in him saying this? Like, oh, he's not even American? And he's only celebrated Thanksgiving THREE TIMES, ever?
Apparently, my husband is a traditionalist. Even if it's a tradition that's pretty much brand new to him.
But that's OK. I like turkey too. And stuffing. We'll have lobster some other time.
What about you? What do you traditionally eat on Thanksgiving? (Other than just the turkey, obviously.) Would you be open to a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner?
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I'm with Torsten. Thanksgiving without turkey just seems blasphemous. My other must-haves include my family's homemade stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, though mine never turn out as good as my mom's.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably be open to it in theory since I'm not crazy about Thanksgiving food. But I think once I actually sat down to a table full of some alternative food, I'd feel weirded out.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Team Torsten with this one! I think that all the wonderful homemade goodness is what makes Thanksgiving special. There are things that my family makes on Thanksgiving and no other time of the year. Without them it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteNo turkey here - I don't eat poultry, pork, or beef!
ReplyDeleteThe rest of my family has a traditional turkey, and usually one other fish or veggie-friendly main dish. Last year it was eggplant rollatini, and the year before that I made a citrus shrimp and pasta dish.
This year my family is suggesting the ABOMINABLE - that we GO OUT for Thanksgiving dinner. As in, a restaurant! I'm outraged!!! That's not Thanksgiving!
First of all, I've kinda got to call you out on saying "Torsten's not even American" ... because, really, none of us (save the Native American nations) are American. =)
ReplyDeleteMy family does a Cape Cod twist on Thanksgiving. We do turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and all the other traditional items. But, for an appetizer? My mom makes crab cakes. Amazing crab cakes. Why not do a lobster bisque or something to start off the meal?!?
I always just have the side dishes on Thanksgiving since I've been vegetarian for 8 years :) It's actually really fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Torsten - you HAVE to eat turkey on Thanksgiving! My other faves include sweet cornbread muffins, stuffing, giblet gravy, squash casserole and pumpkin pie. My family is less traditional with Christmas since it's my sister's birthday, so she always chooses the dinner.
ReplyDeleteYou should make some lobster tails for an appetizer - that way you can have both!
I have to have the turkey and dressing. Or at least mashed potatoes! I do love Lobster, though... maybe the day after Thanksgiving? Hee.
ReplyDeleteWe celebrated Tgiving very non-traditionally for a few years when I was a teen. My mom's family's all from south Louisiana and their tradition was to have a pig roast (cochon-du-lait). They fried some turkeys, too, for the "traditionalists." Ha. It was further non-traditional because we ate the meal outside in the yard on paper plates, not around the dining room table with the linen and china.
I loved those years. :)
We're all out traditional on Thanksgiving and I don't think I'd be willing to give up my stuffing and cranberry sauce! (Although I don't really eat the turkey, I'm more a sides girl.)
ReplyDeleteThis past Christmas my mom ended up in the hospital unexpectantly and we ended up with Chinese food for dinner. It was different!
I once went to my mother-in-law's for Thanksgiving and she made fish and ham. Neither would have been terrible on their own but together AND without the presence of a turkey? I told the husband that we are never celebrating T-day with his mother again.
ReplyDeleteTeam Torsten here as well. As long as I have stuffing, mashed potatoes and turkey I'm good to go. I can leave or take the other things. This year we're going out for Thanksgiving dinner (buffet style). I'm a little scared.
ReplyDeleteOh, this makes me laugh. Have you ever seen the Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Deborah makes a fish instead of a turkey? It's greeted as traitorous sacrilege. SO funny.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd be open to a non-traditional dinner because I love all the turkey & trimmings too much. I am just a big sucker for tradition, I guess.
But lobster? You had me considering it there for a moment...
A few years ago, I would have been "turkey! turkey! turkey!" but now that I'm a vegetarian, I'm all over the alternative foods thing for the feasts.
ReplyDeleteI am really surprised at how many people are refusing to break tradition here. I would totally say to do lobster, especially since you all love it so much! You can make turkey any day, but getting a good lobster in Colorado is probably not easy.
ReplyDeleteThey sell small turkeys. I'd do a little of both!
ReplyDeleteTo me, Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without a few key ingredients:
ReplyDelete1. Turkey
2. Mashed Potatoes
3. Homemade Cranberry Sauce
4. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
We dont do thanksgiving in NZ and Australia. Christmas is smack bang in the middle of summer and is usually about 110 degrees (in Australia that is, NZ is likely to be much cooler at about 80) so my family does a picnic/bbq and spends the day at the beach! Not that I dont love turkey and I do cook it at Christmas, we just have it cold in salad rolls instead lol.
ReplyDeleteI have to have turkey on Thanksgiving! It's the only time of year that I have turkey. We also have stuffing, twice baked corn, twice baked potatoes, green beans, etc...
ReplyDeleteI'm a turkey baby, so while I like turkey OK, I always dream of a non-traditional Thanksgiving/birthday combo dinner. I personally have had lasagna on Thanksgiving, and I know of people who make both a turkey and a lasagna. YUM. I also think it would be cool to go out, since more restaurants are open for Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteWhen we're with my parents, Thanksgiving is always small and we always do turkey. The funny thing is, turkey isn't particularly hard to make, but it's not something that I find myself making any other time of the year and I would feel royally screwed if my parents decided to deviate from the norm. Everything else is pretty traditional: mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, creamed corn.
ReplyDeleteCrap, now I'm HUNGRY!
Oh man I would love to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving. I think sometimes everyone gets so caught up in making all of the food they forget to have fun. Plus, it takes FOREVER to make a turkey. Forever. I'm making a vegetarian main dish this year - we'll see how that goes over with my family. LOL.
ReplyDeleteGenerally traditional, but TOTALLY open to non. One year we had steaks and loaded baked potatoes. Another year we ordered Chinese take-out. But usually it's turkey.
ReplyDeleteI would absolutely be open to a non-traditional Turkey Day dinner. But, I like to experiment in the kitchen, so...
ReplyDeleteI love that Torsten was so shocked and horrified. Hee!
Ha, I love Torsten's response! I suppose though, I'd feel strange eating something other than turkey. I am going to my boyfriend's parents for the holiday and his mother asked me to make something, so I am excited about that. I'm thinking deviled eggs, and these pumpkin cheesecake muffins that I saw a recipe for...
ReplyDeleteI would totally vote for lobster too. Maybe turkey AND lobster? Or would that be too much?
ReplyDeleteThis year we'll be in FL with my parents and I have no idea if turkey is even on the radar.
This is an annual (playful) family fight as only my mom likes turkey. I'd rather have all the trimmings with lasagna.
ReplyDeleteNOO!! there would be a riot / protest at my house if my mom said she wasn't making a traditional thanksgiving meal for us... :-)
ReplyDeleteOne year my mom made an "italian thanksgiving" with baked ziti. I was not happy. I wait all year for stuffing. I was deprived of stuffing. I feel Torsten's pain, and I'm 100% American!
ReplyDeleteI find it TOTALLY ENDEARING that Torsten feels so strongly about the turkey. It's adorable.
ReplyDeleteWe always have turkey. (Except for one exceptionally bad holiday where we ended up at Taco Bell, but we don't like to talk about that.) Our gathering is gargantuan. TONS OF PEOPLE. It's actually almost too much of a good thing.
Well, as another German who has celebrated Thanksgiving only twice, I can understand Torsten. If I got a chance to live in the States again and celebrate Thanksgiving, I would be looking forward to turkey, trimmings and all from the beginning of December until Thanksgiving. So if you went and told me, well this year we're having lobster (I actually don't like lobster but if you told me we'd have steak you'd get the same reaction), I would be pretty disappointed. Not so much about tradition for me but about the fact that I love Thanksgiving food and haven't gotten too many chances at actually eating it while you on the other hand have had it every single day of your life. Maybe that plays a part in it as well for Torsten?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I could do Thanksgiving without the turkey. Thanksgiving to me is turkey with all the fixins! We usually go someplace on Thanksgiving, and I always cook our big meal on the day after. Green bean casserole and cornbread dressing are a must. My mother’s creamed cucumbers are required. And PIE! Don’t forget the PIE!
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite FAVORITE thing about Thanksgiving though is leftovers, specifically, cold turkey sandwiches. When Hub and I were first living together, he turned me on to turkey, mayo and green olives on white bread. What once horrified me is now something I look forward to all year.
We always have turkey and etc., and since we don't have any OTHER Thanksgiving traditions, I don't think it would feel like Thanksgiving if we ate something else. Christmas dinner I'm totally flexible about, because there are other parts of Christmas that mean Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read all of the comments, so this may have been said, but there quite likely wasn't any turkey at the first Thanksgiving. There was, however, lobster, duck, clams, oysters and corn as they were bountiful in coastal Massachusetts. At least that's how I reasoned with everyone three years ago when I made lobsters (it was mostly because I was tired of back breaking labour). It takes minutes.
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much that I love the food at Thanksgiving but I like the whole idea of coming together. Turkey is okay and gravy too. I won't be eating stuffing this year and am looking forward to thinking up alternatives to things I CAN eat. If we don't do the traditional meal we usually eat it at Christmas to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteYou could always invite friends over to Thanksgiving to have a few more people over. You never know- Denver could get hit with another blizzard right before Turkey Day! ;-) I'm with Torsten though, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. are all necessary, whether you have 4 or 30 people there. Make a small turkey and then be ready for leftovers!
ReplyDeleteI'm on board with Torsten, Thanksgiving food is such a fun food tradition that even those of us who aren't american enjoy it. We've held a Turkey day celebration here for the last few years and we're doing it again... we'll go to any length to get turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy :)
ReplyDeleteOur thanksgiving dinners always include traditional dishes including turkey with a flair of Greek side dishes added in. Also a ham is always cooked too. Food is the key focus of thanksgiving and the tradition is turkey regardless of what the original thanksgiving meal consisted of lol.
ReplyDeleteTurkey for lunch and lobster for dinner? LOL.
ReplyDelete( That's so my family to have so many stuff left uneaten and finally give it away :p )
Anyhoo, we don't really celebrate thanksgiving in my family but a lot of my friends families do. And I love to hang out, visit and eat a lot of stuff my tummy could handle. I always love turkey!:)
Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and angel salad. Otherwise it's not Thanksgiving for me.
ReplyDeleteAlso: mashed white potatoes, not sweet potatoes or yams or anything else. I love cider to drink with it, but it's not a deal-breaker. And when I have Thanksgiving with friends who cook their turkey the day before (to make room in the oven for everything else the day of), and the whole house doesn't smell like turkey cooking, I feel cheated. I am very stubborn and immature about The Way It Should Be Done. Not that I say anything to them! But it's just ... wrong. The house needs to smell like turkey.
For Thanksgiving it's turkey all the way. Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, yams or sweet potatotes...but we do something different for Christmas every year. Last year we had Khalua Pork, the year before that it was Italian, sometimes we'll do prime rib, sometimes lamb...
ReplyDeleteI just had to laugh... I am with you - I could care less if I eat turkey on Thanksgiving. I have celebrated with my family by going out to eat (@ a greek restaurant) so NO one would have to cook (because cooking a big dinner is a lot of work).
ReplyDeleteBut I have noticed that my German friends (who married Americans) tend to *love* tradition more than I do!
Have a wonderful holiday (no matter what you eat)!
I recommend deep-frying your turkey. Still traditional but a little different. And honestly? IT'S SO MUCH BETTER!
ReplyDeleteI love Turkey. However, my mom always stuffed a chikcen...yeap, chicken. We were 3, so no matter how small the turkey it would have always been too much. Someone would always bring left over turkey anyway.
ReplyDeleteOur very 1st Thanksgiving together (10 years ago!!) We went to my parents house on the actual day and it was just him, me, my brother and my parents(there was a much larger, extended-family dinner at my grandma's house 2 days later). We had lasagna and I guess I forgot to give him the heads up. The looked so baffled and confused the entire dinner and finally spoke up around dessert. He thought we were crazy, while in reality my mom thought 2 big traditional turkey dinners so close together would be too much. To this day he still brings up that Thanksgiving lasagna every year.
ReplyDelete