Those of you who’ve been here a while will know that I’m a staunch defender of my birth country’s cuisine. I love “stodge,” best exemplified by a main course like “steak and kidney pudding,” and puddings such as “spotted dick.” I also love lighter desserts such as “summer pudding,” and sausages like “black pudding.” (If you’re sensing a common–if inconsistent–theme here, I can hardly blame you. Pudding of one sort or another is, it seems, always on the menu somewhere in the UK.)
But not for American Thanksgiving.
Which is–perhaps–the only thing that Brits get right about it.
Brief background: This Thanksgiving saw only two of us at home, my stepdaughter and me. My granddaughter was with her dad, my other family members are either in the UK or have passed on to their greater reward, and I’d declined a few invitations to spend the day with neighbors and friends, knowing that Jenny was coming, and greedy for some close-shared family time myself.
And what a lovely time it was. A day of reflection, remembrance–the poignant toast to (far too many) “absent friends and loved ones,” and a simply delicious and over-the-top meal. I do think, after 60 years in this country, that I’ve got the season, and the culinary effort required, down pat.
Or–at least–I thought I had.
We celebrated many family traditions. Went to see a movie on the holiday itself (The Holdovers). It was quite good. Drank too much. Enjoyed the annual family fight (largely in memory of the departed, several of whom had stronger feelings than either of us) over putting up the Christmas Tree: “It was here last year!” “No, we put it there last year!” “Where are we going to put the chairs?” Much swearing. Many drinks. The eventual revelation from one or the other of us that: “See here. [This or that person] is dead. We don’t have to do it that way anymore.” Looked at a few photographs of record. Split the difference, and finally managed to get the damn thing erected and in a place where it’s not impeding the fan, preventing human progress, bent against the gable, and where there is plenty of room to put the angel on top. Also (it’s to be hoped) it is in a place where I can decorate the 9-foot tall thing on a stepladder without breaking my neck.
But the most serendipitous thing was (as is often the case–isn’t that what the word implies?) the most unexpected. A text that Jenny received from one of her friends who’s visiting the UK for the holidays. Her friend and her family had tracked down a British pub advertising a “traditional American Thanksgiving meal.” To be sure, it included roast turkey, and gravy. But she said that it also included some very sweet-tasting mashed potatoes (not sweet potatoes), as if a considerable amount of sugar had been added to the mix, a “disc of stuffing,” and a “bacon-wrapped sausage” stuck down into the center of the mashed potatoes.
The photo bore all this out.
Because both Jenny and I are intensely data-driven, this immediately sent us on a hunt to see what British restaurants and pubs advertising a “Traditional American Thanksgiving” were actually serving. The results were eye-opening, and resulted in about an hour of laugh-until-we-cried hilarity.
Oysters Rockefeller. Sashimi. Pumpkin compote. Turkey yellow curry. Pumpkin risotto. Cured carrots (WTH?). Butterscotch and popcorn ice cream. Tea-brined roast turkey (only in England). Wild Turkey (I presume the liquor, not the bird)-glazed bacon crumb. Green bean glass noodles. Fried eggs. Corn crumpets (WTFH?). Bacon-wrapped dates. Truffle macaroni and cheese. Prawn cocktail (advertised as an old-school classic, but not necessarily what you think).
And–saving the best for last–the pièce de résistance–the traditional Thanksgiving dessert:
Key Lime Pie!
I can’t even.
It’s possible I’ve completely lost the plot myself. Maybe it’s my own idea of a Thanksgiving meal that is so completely off the reservation (as it were). But just for the record, here it is (keep in mind that there were only two of us):
- Roast turkey with gravy made from drippings
- Actual stuffing, not in a “disc” format
- Mashed potatoes with no added sugar
- Roasted root vegetables
- Roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and honey
- Candied yams
- Fresh cranberry sauce
- Homemade fresh, crusty, bread
- Corn bread
- Apple pie
- Pumpkin pie
What was on your Thanksgiving menu? Please share.
Speaking only for myself, and following this excursion into international gastronomy–something which may become a regular holiday adventure–I can’t wait to see what we’re eating for Christmas! 🤣🤣
