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I am a bit late to this topic as I was still thinking up to the last minute what I wanted to do for Thanksgiving dinner and finally decided to so something that was a bit different. I decided to do a theme that went something like be thankful for what you have and decided to limit dinner mostly to things that I could get out of the garden. This of course is similar to the first Thanksgiving, and how many native Southerners did it when I was growing up here.
I do admit that I don't raise hogs, so on this I did relent and purchased a whole ham which I baked. I made sure it wasn't one of those water hams or sprial sliced (they tend to dry out). I baked it in a slow oven and during the last couple of hours I started to brush it with a simple baste consisting of a mixture of salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, ketchup and some Texas Pete. I mixed this to taste. This is how my grandmother used to do it and she did have a hog pen on the farm.
This fall's rainy and relatively warm weather has been a boom for the fall garden. Right now it's full of cabbage, broccoli, various greens, peppers lettuce etc. The rest of the meal came from here. I kinda of winged it and made the following:
Broccoli salad made from lightly blanching a head of broccoli then plunging it in cold water to stop the cooking. I cut up the florets and made a simple salad with a few left over raisins and some mayo.
I was surprised that a few of the broccoli plants turned out to be cauliflower. Some beautiful heads are ready now just in time for the holidays. I am not used to cooking this plant but I took a few guesses and did this. I steamed it a bit then I put it in a frying pan and cooked it with some oil to get a nice brown flavor out of it. Salt, pepper and a little tumeric finished this dish off.
I pulled up a cabbage head and sliced it into strips. This went into the pan after the cauliflower and I cooked it down some with a little fish sauce, soy sauce and some asian curry powder. Took 5 minutes and done.
While the ham was cooking I stuck some potatoes that had come out of the garden in the oven with it and let them roast for an hour. After they cooled I made a roasted potato salad.
Finally I baked a couple of loaves of bread from scratch.
That was it. I didn't cook any sweets or any heavy starches or sauces. Not because I don't like these, because I do, I just never really got around to it. This sounds like a pretty austere Thanksgiving table but it seemed to be well enjoyed and everyone was stuffed. The nice thing about it, it was good without being hugely heavy.
I have enjoyed this thread so much! It has been really interesting seeing what everyone decided to serve for Thanksgiving.
Lumbollo: Sounds like you managed quite a spread with your "out of the garden" method. I am so impressed that you have a garden that is still producing. I used to have enough land to do that on, and wish I still did. It is wonderful to harvest veggies this time of year. Did you grow any greens this year? I always liked having rape, turnip and mustard greens and chard, but have not had the space to do this is many years.
Yes. I've got a ton of mustard greens and a little swiss chard at the moment. We are fortunate here in that the weather pretty much allows for a fall garden.
Yes. I've got a ton of mustard greens and a little swiss chard at the moment. We are fortunate here in that the weather pretty much allows for a fall garden.
Yes, the weather here does make that quite possible. My grandparents always had fall gardens and I guess I have had one maybe for 15 years out of my adult life. I have had houses that had back yards that were perfect for a garden in one corner. I have 1/2 acre here and that should allow for a garden but there is a slope down to the creek, and I have never been able to tame it into a terraced garden (tho it would be possible). Plus, I have deer who hang out at my house several times a day and they eat everything in sight, so I figure for all my work, I would end up never harvesting anything for myself, lol! They ate everything I planted this year, except some herbs!
But I do long for a nice patch of greens, as that is not only something I enjoy eating - it is also very nutritious.
I may try some pumpkins on my hill next year. Not sure if deer go for pumpkin vines . . .
Wife and I flew in to town on Wednesday and picked up our preordered turkey from Food Lion. It was very bad. It was so salty that it was barely eatable and was also a odd color. The greenbean casserole was awful too. Next year, we will get home early so we don't have to order out again. On the bright side, the pecan and pumkin pies were good.
Wife and I flew in to town on Wednesday and picked up our preordered turkey from Food Lion. It was very bad. It was so salty that it was barely eatable and was also a odd color. The greenbean casserole was awful too. Next year, we will get home early so we don't have to order out again. On the bright side, the pecan and pumkin pies were good.
Yikes - what made the green bean casserole bad?
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