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Thankfully Unstuffed
| Article
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13138 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1987 |
2,786 Words |
| Author
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Elaine Brooks
Elaine Brooks is a Boston-based writer and publicist with a
background in theater and communications. She has worked as
an actress, producer, lecturer, instructor, and tutor, and has
taught makeup application, skin care, and fashion styling, as
well as speech, at a nationally known modelling school. |
Thanksgiving is a wonderful day of feasting. We celebrate the harvest and the start of the holiday season. We travel "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house" and "gather together to ask the Lord's blessing." We also consider it an appropriate time to loosen the belts, unbutton the waistbands, and forget the calories and cholesterol.
Now, no reasonable person is going to ask us to diet on Thanksgiving. Those two words are mutually exclusive. But many people ask if it's necessary to go overboard with fats, starches, and sugars in order to have a truly traditional feast. Delving into old family-recipe archives we discovered what Mother knew all along: Just because you're stuffing a Thanksgiving turkey you don't have to stuff your family too! Herewith is a traditional holiday feast, featuring recipes handed down to generations of New England relatives and friends.
For a thoroughly traditional, wonderfully festive, deliciously satisfying, unstuffy Thanksgiving dinner, consider these suggestions.
Appetizers to whet the appetite
The first suggestion for an unstuffed Thanksgiving is: Don't go overboard with the hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. The Europeans maintain a custom that will benefit this American celebration - the aperitif. Serve light wines and mineral waters to tempt the appetite but not dim the palate. I enjoy a very pale, dry sherry. Chilled white wine is a popular favorite. And mineral or spring water with a twist of lemon or lime is refreshing.
As an accompaniment, fresh celery with olives or an assortment of "crudites" (that's "elegant" for raw vegetables) are perfect. Foods before dinner are meant to keep the guests busy until dinner is served, not to fill them so that dinner is redundant!
If you must serve a first course, make it a small serving of fresh fruit, not a rich soup, pasta, or pate. A half grapefruit with a succulent strawberry in the middle was my family favorite.
Mmmm...the turkey
The succulent bird is the star of the show, so we must prepare it just right. First, we have to choose the best turkey. Fresh is preferable, or a farm-raised turkey that's been frozen but not prebasted, injected,
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