Mary Dell writes: Thanksgiving dinner is our favorite meal, hands down. Not only is it a day of fabulous eating, family and football, but it is also the day when we give our diets a hall pass, stuffing ourselves in a way we would never dream of the other 364 days of the year. But more than the food we savor, it is the scent of the feast that we love and that endures.
The sense of smell more than sight, hearing or even taste, is where we store our most cherished and vintage memories. Once you raise that first fork full of stuffing, you begin breathing in a memory of your childhood home. As you sit at the table with your friends and your kids, your parents, aunts, cousins…..everyone starts their own homeward journey remembering Thanksgivings when they were very, very young.
Lisa and I are getting ready for the holiday at our two homes and have asked our friends about their traditions. While hewing to the classics, they shared a few favorites, both traditional and idiosyncratic, but all treasured like the family heirlooms they indeed are.
Imagine getting up on Thanksgiving morning to the luscious smell of Darryl’s pumpkin bread baking in the oven. An aromatic wake up call, the scent might lure even our sleepy college kids out of their beds and, still in pajamas, out to the kitchen for a slice and their first cup of coffee. Sharon’s kids depend on her cinnamon rolls to get the holiday started early on Thursday while Risa’s festive breakfast is French toast made with Challah and eggnog.
Slowly, slowly the turkey begins a four, five, six-hour roast, until it’s finally ready to be presented as the centerpiece of the feast. With the bird underway, the sides get our full attention and this is where family traditions and regional preferences come into play. Many of us have dishes we prepare once a year on Thanksgiving and only Thanksgiving. Helene told us about the “Leenzil’s Thanksgiving Salad” she makes with cherry jello and Caryn offered her favorite, so-called “Cheese Jello,” which she acknowledges as sounding weird but swears her family loves it.
At Lisa C’s house, it is a corn casserole she bakes with cheese until it’s melted and bubbling. She learned that sliding a double batch into the oven delights her daughters and grandsons, who all crave a little extra to take home with them.
Though we live in New York, my kitchen smells more like my mom’s house in Texas with cornbread baking in a cast iron skillet and the roasted sweet potatoes I whip with bourbon for a souffle. Each Thanksgiving dinner, I keep my most traditional of sources, Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook ( c1957) close at hand.
Potatoes, stuffing, roasted butternut squash, rolls – each dish renders a unique smell. With the ever-more ready turkey roasting in the oven, these combine, creating a signature fragrance greeting guests the moment they step out of their cars.
Pumpkin pie, clearly, is king but caramel apple and chocolate pecan pies sound amazing, especially if Mindy, both pastry chef and writer, is the one baking. So happy that our Hall Passes last through dessert!
Everyone gathers, talks, eats, takes seconds, and…..dinner ends, with a slice of pie and a side of football. Cleanup. Deep breath, rest….
If we’ve planned it just right, Thanksgiving stretches into a multi-day feast with signature leftovers as the eagerly anticipated act two. Sharon gushes about her mom’s turkey chile and turkey meatloaf. For Theresa, an incredible photographer and cook, it’s turkey noodle soup.
But Thanksgiving holiday doesn’t stop on Friday if your guests arrive carrying suitcases. When you have college kids coming back for a holiday break, they long for the home-cooking that is sorely missing on their meal plans.
Lisa L received an SOS from both her college daughters for matzoh ball soup. Each one sick, and sick of dorm food, she is ready with both the soup and the TLC they can count on once they set foot in the door.
While the multiple dishes that make up Thanksgiving dinner create a complex bouquet, a big pot of soup simmering for hours on the stove has a simpler smell. More like a pot of love, the smell of Lisa’s chicken noodle soup permeates her house, filling it with both the scent of the dish and affection of the cook.
With great thanks to our friends who contributed to this story, Mary Dell and Lisa wish you all a delicious Thanksgiving week.
I too LOVE Thanksgiving, and this article. (A huge thanks for the shout out!) My huge collection of November issues of food magazines gets dragged out and thumbed through only once a year, but it is something I cherish and will never get rid of (although after many, many years, that collection is occupying more and more prime real estate in my home these days). I know the holiday represents frustration and stress to lots of people, but for me it is sheer bliss!
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Mindy, your enthusiasm for Thanksgiving, and November magazines, is contagious! I have the last copy of Gourmet with the turkey on it right here – I should flip through it for some new ideas. Have a wonderful holiday.
Great roundup of Thanksgiving delights! Thank you for including my cheesy corn casserole. Will be clicking on over to Darryl’s pumpkin bread recipe as I *just might* have all the ingredients on hand.
Super seasonal post. Love it. Thank you! And Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
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Lisa, have a great holiday with your family. I agree with you that Darryl’s pumpkin bread sounds fantastic. Thanks for the kind words.
Wow am I hungry now!
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Sharon, agreed! Wish your mom would make us some turkey chile…..even before the holiday! Hope you have a great one with your family.
Yum. Yum. And yum. We’re away from home or any family this Thanksgiving so just viewing these was a treat!
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Barbara, hope it is a great holiday wherever you are spending it. We were away last year, too, which may explain some of my enthusiasm now. Happy to be back home, again. Thanks for visiting!
I am a horrible cook and usually relagated to “clean-up” duty. Thanksgiving takes me into my mom’s kitchen with my aunt eating the turkey while my dad carves it. I’m hoping that’s what they will be doing this Thanksgiving up in heaven.
Janie, clean up duty is key to Thanksgiving, in my opinion, with the mountain of dishes, pots and pans that are at the end of the meal. You contribute greatly if that is your role. Glad that this took you back to a sweet childhood memory. Have a wonderful holiday!
I can smell through the computer! I absolutely love the traditional Thanksgiving dinner of my own childhood. However, since my kids were born, we have spent every Thanksgiving at a resort with my husband’s family, savoring stone crabs over turkey. Thankfully, since my kids went off to college, they prefer to come home to see their friends so we have begged off the tropical vacations. They unfortunately do not enjoy what we consider Thanksgiving dinner, because they have no real connection to it, but I am now back to my roots with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and all the rest. They just have to accept the trade-off! And they do get matzo ball soup to satisfy their “taste of home”.
Interesting reflection that your kids’ Thanksgiving childhood memories are more tropical than your traditional ones. Good luck with the re-boot along with the matzo ball soup. It sounds great that your family will be eating at home this year over the long college break. Enjoy having your kids there with you!
what a wonderful walk down memory lane–though we had our Thanksgiving weeks ago–there is nothing I like better than a post about Thanksgiving food and memories
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Thanks so much for joining us!
YUM! Thanks for sharing–and for the reminder that it’s time to start baking pumpkin bread—somehow Thanksgiving snuck up on me this year. Happy thanksgiving to all.
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Darryle, thanks for offering your recipe for the pumpkin bread – it is on my list to try this year….in fact, I would like some this morning! Have a great holiday.
Thanks for including my “weird” jello. You all should really give it a go.
Your post made me totally hungry and so ready for our family feast next week. I am grateful to join with family near and far, in a warm, cozy home, to count our blessings and share a delicious meal. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!
Counting our blessings, let us not forget that. Glad that you are able to see your family and friends, even those coming from distant places. Are you making the cheese jello this year? My mom always made a congealed salad with lime jello so I think each family must have their favorite for the holidays. Thank you for letting us include yours.Have a wonderful holiday!
I have fond memories growing up of Thanksgiving and love it now. It is fun to hear other’s recipes and must have dishes!
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Haralee, thanks for visiting and glad you enjoyed our collection. We had fun, too. Have a great holiday.
Thanks for the shout out for Leenzil’s Thanksgiving Salad! Yes, it has a strange name, but I hope you try it and like it as much as my family does. Can’t wait to try some of these recipes. Hope everyone has a great holiday!
Helene, nicknames are so family specific. I am imagining a Helene – Leen -Leenzil derivation of your name and that you much have loved this cheery jello salad as a little girl. It is a sweet story and fun to include. Thanks and hope your holiday is a good one, too.
Reading your blog post got me hungry enough to start my Thanksgiving grocery shopping today now that I primed with delicious ideas.
Today is a good day for the first grocery store trip! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I’m starving now! Can we come to your house????
Cynthia
Cynthia, please do!!!
How wonderful all those culinary memories are from our parents, and what fun we have continuing them and adding a few more too. Happy Thanksgiving.
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I’m with you on stretching it out over a few days! Any one of the yummy treats you’ve mentioned here would make my Thanksgiving even more of a special meal.
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