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Recall mom getting up every two hrs. to baste the turkey, but this was probably more than 50 yrs. ago, 1950s
I forget how many years ago the 1950s were. I guess I am really thinking more like 60 plus years, but even 50 years ago things were different. I can't believe how many of you, that many years ago never had jello salads or sweet potato casserole. It was the only time we had sweet potatoes, the same with most of our friends. I do make a sweet potato casserole now, but it isn't nearly as sweet and no marshmellows for sure. Maybe most of you are not thinking back as many years as me.
ok, 60 plus years ago, anyway lots of years ago for starters.
It's ok up until about ten years ago I still had some knob and tube wiring in my current house that was built in 1922. Worked perfectly. Lots of the old ways of doing things are fine if but a little more time consuming.
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My great grandmother (born in 1887) used to cook the Thanksgiving meal using an old O'keef & Merritt stove. I loved that stove and wish I had one like it.
Ok, just thinking about the turkey fryers makes me remember what it was like preparing holiday meals 30, 40, 50 or more years ago and wondering what our family members would think if they could see us today.
We didn't have micro waves to heat things: we had smaller ovens, many didn't have freezers, and deep fryers for turkeys would have made our parents or grandparents just laugh. No one ever heard of throw away containers made of aluminum , and no there was hardly any decent way to cover the left overs, plus there was no room in the fridge anyway,
Nothing is different, except for the microwave and everyone I know has had one for at least 30 years.
My recollections go back to the early 60s and I don't remember a time without freezers, disposable roasting and baking pans existed, everyone had at least one or two pieces of Tupperware or wrapped everything in aluminum foil or waxed paper, and my grandmother's oven was the biggest thing I've ever seen, and she had a big ol' Westinghouse electric roaster. When she hauled that out, we knew we were in for a treat.
We always had the exact same dinner every year, which made shopping, prepping and cooking easy to plan!We also had it figured, which pot,pan, etc for which item. We used the back porch for a second fridge---we lived in Michigan. That is, until one year, our meal was stolen off the back porch!
We always made plenty for leftovers, Thanskgiving isn't just one meal for us. We had the over flow stored on the back porch. I was about 8 years old, I thought I heard something on the porch but figured it was ok, and went back to sleep. The next morning, we discovered we had been cleaned out---our turkey, and all the sides, were just gone The biggest loss was the pans, some were only used for special occasions, and expensive to replace. My Dad found a large pot in the backyard that had held mashed potatoes, looked like someone had eaten the potatoes cold from the pot, then left the pot.
I just remember my Dad saying, if a person's so hungry they would eat stone cold potatoes stolen from a back porch, well, then, God Bless them. I think that was the first Thanskgiving I learned what I truly had to be thankful for
Ok, just thinking about the turkey fryers makes me remember what it was like preparing holiday meals 30, 40, 50 or more years ago and wondering what our family members would think if they could see us today.
We didn't have micro waves to heat things: we had smaller ovens, many didn't have freezers, and deep fryers for turkeys would have made our parents or grandparents just laugh. No one ever heard of throw away containers made of aluminum , and no there was hardly any decent way to cover the left overs, plus there was no room in the fridge anyway,
Meals wise, no dinner was complete without sweet potato casserole topped with canned pineapple and marshmellow melted over the top. Oh, and don't forget the jello salad. We always had Parkerhouse rolls to go with all the other foods.
What else was different then, compared to now?
None of that sound much like my childhood in the 60s and 70s. No one in my family...and that included my grandparents and great-grandparents would have ever served sweet potatoes with pineapple and never a jello salad.
We had Tupperware and plastic wrap....our fridge held the leftovers. At most since we lived in a cool climate extra beer was kept on the porch to make room. There was a kid's table only at my grandparents home because their table was smaller. We are not a religious family so certainly no prayers.
The men in the family cooked as much as the women....plenty of wine and beer....champagne with dinner for everyone. The year my mom and aunt got rather tipsy and the mashed potatoes were incredibly lumpy is still a family joke.
Nothing is different, except for the microwave and everyone I know has had one for at least 30 years.
My recollections go back to the early 60s and I don't remember a time without freezers, disposable roasting and baking pans existed, everyone had at least one or two pieces of Tupperware or wrapped everything in aluminum foil or waxed paper, and my grandmother's oven was the biggest thing I've ever seen, and she had a big ol' Westinghouse electric roaster. When she hauled that out, we knew we were in for a treat.
I forgot about thise old roasters! My grandfather would make a boatload of bacon wrapped water chestnuts with a BBQ sauce glaze that he'd cook in one forr appitizers.
Ok, just thinking about the turkey fryers makes me remember what it was like preparing holiday meals 30, 40, 50 or more years ago and wondering what our family members would think if they could see us today.
We didn't have micro waves to heat things: we had smaller ovens, many didn't have freezers, and deep fryers for turkeys would have made our parents or grandparents just laugh. No one ever heard of throw away containers made of aluminum , and no there was hardly any decent way to cover the left overs, plus there was no room in the fridge anyway,
Meals wise, no dinner was complete without sweet potato casserole topped with canned pineapple and marshmellow melted over the top. Oh, and don't forget the jello salad. We always had Parkerhouse rolls to go with all the other foods.
What else was different then, compared to now?
And really...who didn't have a freezer even 50 years ago....that would have been 1964....they weren't exactly unknown....
Ok, just thinking about the turkey fryers makes me remember what it was like preparing holiday meals 30, 40, 50 or more years ago and wondering what our family members would think if they could see us today.
We didn't have micro waves to heat things: we had smaller ovens, many didn't have freezers, and deep fryers for turkeys would have made our parents or grandparents just laugh. No one ever heard of throw away containers made of aluminum , and no there was hardly any decent way to cover the left overs, plus there was no room in the fridge anyway,
Meals wise, no dinner was complete without sweet potato casserole topped with canned pineapple and marshmellow melted over the top. Oh, and don't forget the jello salad. We always had Parkerhouse rolls to go with all the other foods.
What else was different then, compared to now?
I think that Thanksgiving food today is remarkably similar to what it was fifty or sixty years ago. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, cranberries, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, sweet potato casserole, and a relish tray of olives both green and black, radishes, and celery. Mince pie was there for dessert. I don't ever recall a jello salad; that was everyday food. We were urban; pies as well as bread came from a local bakery always run by Eastern European women. We went to my aunt's every Thanksgiving. My grandmother owned a two apartment building with one on top and one underneath. She lived on top; my aunt lived underneath. Both of their stoves were fired up. There were always some leftovers wrapped in aluminum foil which at that time had been around for years.
I don't ever recall pineapple on the sweet potato casserole. My mother made candied sweet potatoes. She'd boil the potatoes, then cut them into slices, add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. They went under the broiler to finish.
My eldest aunt made, with my asssistance , Bacardi cocktails before dinner. There was no wine.
We had Christmas dinner at home. It was similar but a bit less elaborate since there only three of us. However, my mother always made brandy sauce for the mince pie. We had cocktails before dinner and wine beginning in about 1960. Liqueurs ended the meal. I moved to Colorado in 1967 and bought a house. The house had a wood-fired cookstove. My parents came out for Thanksgiving several days early. My mother started talking about using a cookstove to roast a turkey, but she said she needed pine cones for a good fire. My late wife and I were dispatched to harvest cones. On Thanksgiving my mother stuffed the turkey and placed it in what was called a fast (very hot). She then let the oven cool to what would be called a slow oven. It was a very good meal.
Over the years we used the cookstove from time to time. Then three months ago I started to use it on a regular basis. Perhaps I'm cheating since I use an IR laser thermometer to measure stovetop temperatures. Be that as it may, it does a better job than gas or electric. The food warmer on the top is something every stove should have. I'm getting good at judging without a thermometer but I still use one for confirmation.
My parents were obedient Catholics so there were no leftovers Friday. We had baked macaroni and cheese, again in the cookstove. Leftovers began on Saturday.
Irma Rombauer had quantified the slow oven/fast oven method some years before. I still use it today in a gas oven. Preheat to 550, put the turkey in and immediately set the oven at 325. The result is a succulent turkey bursting with juices. No turkey jerky.
I had a capon this year. So few people these days even seem to know what a capon is. Mine came from New Jersey. Afterwards, I opened one of the fruitcakes That I made in July.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calvert Hall '62
Recall mom getting up every two hrs. to baste the turkey, but this was probably more than 50 yrs. ago, 1950s
My mother basted the turkey and other things every fifteen minutes. She'd set a timer next to the stove. She could go into the living room for a cigarette and hear its loud DING. She never had a meat thermometer as far as I can recall, but her judgement was flawless.
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The biggest loss was the pans, some were only used for special occasions, and expensive to replace. My Dad found a large pot in the backyard that had held mashed potatoes, looked like someone had eaten the potatoes cold from the pot, then left the pot.
