I’m 42 years old now, and I’m beyond ready to ditch some Thanksgiving culinary traditions. Let me be clear: my beef is with the Thanksgiving food, not the holiday itself. Of course I love the premise of taking a day and counting one’s blessings . . . that’s my favorite part of the Thanksgiving holiday. But somehow Thanksgiving ballooned into this strange food-worshipping holiday and I’m sorry, but I’m just not on board. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE FOOD. I enjoy making food, and I enjoy eating food. Here’s my dirty little secret, though: I really don’t care for Thanksgiving food. I know, I know . . . some of you are now scandalized and simply cannot believe I could say such a thing about a lovely meal. I live in a house with a hard-core Thanksgiving meal-lover (Hi, Justin, love you!) so I have heard all sorts of points from him about the glory of the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Here are just a few of my qualms with the Thanksgiving meal:
Thanksgiving Food Qualm #1: Where’s the Chocolate?!
Pumpkin pie, I’m looking at you. How on earth did you become such a revered holiday dessert? You have, when I last checked, 0% chocolate in your makeup. I’m not sure that you can even really call yourself a dessert if you could be found in the “chocolate free” aisle of the grocery store. I know there are readers out there thinking the same things my husband (a pumpkin-pie advocate) has told me numerous times: the spice combination is so tasty, or to just try it with the whipped cream he just whipped up. I have tried it many, many times and I just don’t care for it. The year I was pregnant with my son we were traveling to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving. Because the weather could be iffy, we weren’t responsible for bringing anything central to the meal . . . so I brought a two-tier chocolate cake with homemade frosting. When it came time for dessert, I was the only person who chose cake over pumpkin pie, so I know I’m in the minority (please note: I am not complaining that I got a whole chocolate cake).
Thanksgiving Food Qualm #2: Can we just try a new recipe, already?
Back in our pre-kid days when we lived on the east coast, there were years we cooked a Thanksgiving meal with friends, but one year Justin and I were the only couple around on the holiday itself. Because we were cooking for only two people, Justin (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to scale back the number of dishes we would make for our meal. However, that was also the year we watched FoodNetwork almost nightly, so we decided to amp up some of our recipes (Alton Brown’s garlic mashed potatoes are super tasty, by the way). The two of us cooked all morning, enjoying being in the kitchen together and trying new versions of some recipes. That is my favorite Thanksgiving food I’ve ever had . . . because all the years prior, and all the years hence, have gone back to the same traditional recipes. I love yukon gold potatoes roasted with rosemary and shallots. But Thanksgiving basic mashed potatoes? Unless you hop those babies up with 2 parts dairy (heavy cream and butter) to 1 part of bland russet potato, you’re really just cooking them as a vessel for your gravy. A few years ago I was able to swap a new stuffing recipe into our family’s repertoire, and it’s an improvement . . . but still not anything I wake up thinking, “I’m so excited to eat the stuffing today!” My husband cooks our family amazing food daily, from all different parts of the world, so I think that part of what my palate finds disappointing on Thanksgiving is that the flavor profiles seem pretty tame.
Thanksgiving Food Qualm #3: So. Much. Food.
To really satisfy my dear husband’s must-have list of dishes, our Thanksgiving meal includes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, and for dessert there should be pumpkin pie and pecan pie (both with fresh whipped cream). And I know there are households that make even more of an assortment than that! I *think* that part of this stems from the fact that with the day off from work, people have time to make a greater assortment of foods for the meal, or to make recipes that take longer to prepare. And I know that for some people, the cooking of these special foods is their love language. I am not an ogre . . . so because this meal means a lot more to my husband, I go with his Thanksgiving meal flow. However, if he ever decided he wanted to scale it back, I’d be more than willing to jump on board with that idea. In fact, about 5-10 years ago, my mother decided she wanted to change how our family Christmas meals and traditions happened. We figured out a better Christmas meal plan (and also a way to spread the work out) so that we all relax more and enjoy our time together. If you are the main chef at your house and feel like it’s too much, definitely let your loved ones know.
Dear readers, if you have ever wished for a new menu at Thanksgiving (or really any traditional holiday meal), know that others feel the same way. Maybe this year you can broach the subject of mixing things up a bit. Even if the majority of the meal ends up staying the same, definitely make sure to bring an interesting dish as your contribution to the meal (see qualm #1 above). And definitely bring a tasty beverage you enjoy.
If you have a Thanksgiving recipe you revere, please share it below! After reading my draft of this post, my husband assures me he’s up for trying something new if we can find a suitable dish to replace it. He also assures me that pumpkin pie will never, ever leave his Thanksgiving meal.
