Although many historians trace the original Thanksgiving Day feast back to the autumn of 1621, it wasn’t until 1863, during the height of the American Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Today, Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
Much like the original celebration, today’s Thanksgiving holiday is centered on the gathering of close family and friends in order to give thanks and to share a large meal together. Naturally, most of our Thanksgiving Day traditions now involve cooking and preparing for that meal.
By and large, turkey is the most important menu item for a Thanksgiving Day feast. In fact, I think most Americans would agree that no Thanksgiving celebrations would be complete without a turkey. Most families will buy a frozen turkey, usually weighing about 20 pounds, before the holiday. Then, whatever family member will be hosting the meal, wakes up early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day to put the turkey in the oven to roast. Cooking a turkey this way usually takes about 4-5 hours.
Other staple foods for a traditional Thanksgiving meal include mashed potatoes served with gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, corn, stuffing, and for dessert: pumpkin and pecan pies. Stuffing is usually made with dried breadcrumbs, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and other herbs and spices. Many families will put this mixture inside of the turkey before roasting it in the oven. Other families will enjoy it as a side dish. Stuffing is Josh’s favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal—other than the turkey of course! My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is pumpkin pie.
