Thankful!
This past week, we celebrated Thanksgiving. Here is a short history lesson about the holiday.
The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people shared a three-day feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. In 1623, the Pilgrims dubbed this celebration “thanksgiving” to give thanks for rain that saved their crops. The story of the first Thanksgiving is partially made of fiction however. The stories were created decades, even centuries later. There are other examples of “thanksgiving” dating back to Spanish settlers in 1560’s in St. Augustine, Florida, where they shared a feast with the Timucua tribe. President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. If you are a history buff, you will know that 1863 was the height of the American Civil War. It is important to note that Thanksgiving is not celebrated by the Native Americans and in fact, is considered a day of mourning and protest. There is an annual gathering in Plymouth, MA each year and has been since 1970, which was organized by the United American Indians of New England.
I write this today to share how thankful I am for many things. First and foremost, I’m thankful for my family, which includes my son, Cameron, my beautiful Viking Warrior fiancé, Sarah, my brother and his family, my mother and her good health at 79 and of course, for my health as well. I’m also thankful to be able to share the microphones for our little niche podcast with Kevin and Jason. Two guys that I met in college over 20 years ago. Couldn’t have asked for a better group to do this with.
To close, I wanted to share my top 5 and not top 5 dishes for Thanksgiving. We will start with the not top 5:
Outside, looking in - Cranberry sauce. I can take it or leave it.
5 - Stuffing - WILDLY overrated. And it’s gross. Maybe it’s a texture thing.
4 - Ham. Bro….it’s Thanksgiving. At least make duck or a Cornish hen.
3 - Marshmallows on yams or sweet potatoes. Just go make smores for crying out loud.
2 - Green Bean casserole. You show up to my house with this, I’m asking you to leave.
1 - Any sort of Jello salad, especially if it includes shredded veggies, fruits and mayonnaise.
My top 5 dishes for Thanksgiving:
Outside, looking in - Cranberry sauce. I can take it or leave it.
5 - Turkey. It gets a bad rap sometimes, but if you do it right, you are good to go. Try a dry rub brine…..trust me!
4 - Hawaiian Rolls. I can eat those all day on their own.
3 - Gravy. It has to be brown turkey gravy and it needs to be everywhere on the plate.
2 - Potatoes. Whether you like mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams - it’s a must.
1 - Dessert - mainly apple pie. Pumpkin pie is good as well. But they both need to include vanilla ice cream or heavy whipped cream.
I hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving. I certainly did.