Thanksgiving
My how time flies. It's almost turkey day again.
No, not that turkey; this turkey. The one that Ben Franklin thought should be the National Bird. Although, some people have been known to celebrate the holiday with this turkey.
Yes, I'm talking about Thanksgiving, which is the harvest holiday in the US. It's based on a bit of history from the early days of European settlement in the New World. The condensed version is that a group of British colonists were taught the tricks of farming appropriate to their new environment by a tribe of Indians (now known as Native Americans,) which kept the colonists from starving. As a way of saying thanks, the colonists through a big feast and invited the Indians. Everyone ate and drank too much and parted friends.
The modern holiday is celebrated in the same way. We invite family and friends to a huge meal where a turkey is the center of attention. Traditional side dishes include dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, various casseroles, rolls, and cranberry sauce. Desert is often a pumpkin or pecan pie.
After the feast, the tradition is for the men to gather in front of the TV to watch football where they soon fall asleep. Turkey, as luck would have it, contains a chemical called "tryptophan," which causes drowsiness. The designated task of the women is to put away the left overs and gossip about the men.
And left overs there will be in plenty. Even a small turkey weighs 8 pounds, dressed, and most tip the scales at over 10 pounds. It's not too difficult to find a 20+ pounder. Add to that the inherent desire to show off by having a huge bird on the table, and it's easy to understand the massive amount of uneaten fowl remaining at the end of the meal. This explains the large volume of literature devoted to various ways of using leftover turkey in the days following Thanksgiving.
Oh, regarding the how to process of cooking a turkey, I wrote this for Helium.com: http://www.helium.com/tm/83969/while-i-am-somewhat-hesitant-to-share-this-what-the-heck-i-consider-good-food-an-important-part-of-s
Enjoy the Holidays,
the Grit
No, not that turkey; this turkey. The one that Ben Franklin thought should be the National Bird. Although, some people have been known to celebrate the holiday with this turkey.
Yes, I'm talking about Thanksgiving, which is the harvest holiday in the US. It's based on a bit of history from the early days of European settlement in the New World. The condensed version is that a group of British colonists were taught the tricks of farming appropriate to their new environment by a tribe of Indians (now known as Native Americans,) which kept the colonists from starving. As a way of saying thanks, the colonists through a big feast and invited the Indians. Everyone ate and drank too much and parted friends.
The modern holiday is celebrated in the same way. We invite family and friends to a huge meal where a turkey is the center of attention. Traditional side dishes include dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, various casseroles, rolls, and cranberry sauce. Desert is often a pumpkin or pecan pie.
After the feast, the tradition is for the men to gather in front of the TV to watch football where they soon fall asleep. Turkey, as luck would have it, contains a chemical called "tryptophan," which causes drowsiness. The designated task of the women is to put away the left overs and gossip about the men.
And left overs there will be in plenty. Even a small turkey weighs 8 pounds, dressed, and most tip the scales at over 10 pounds. It's not too difficult to find a 20+ pounder. Add to that the inherent desire to show off by having a huge bird on the table, and it's easy to understand the massive amount of uneaten fowl remaining at the end of the meal. This explains the large volume of literature devoted to various ways of using leftover turkey in the days following Thanksgiving.
Oh, regarding the how to process of cooking a turkey, I wrote this for Helium.com: http://www.helium.com/tm/83969/while-i-am-somewhat-hesitant-to-share-this-what-the-heck-i-consider-good-food-an-important-part-of-s
Enjoy the Holidays,
the Grit
posted by Brit & Grit at 7:59 AM
1 Comments:
I like your idea of designated jobs for the sexes. Nice touch :D haha
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