Even the most adventurous eaters often give their inner food warrior the day off on Thanksgiving ? nothing but the same turkey, stuffing (or dressing!), cranberries, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie they've been eating since childhood. If one of those dishes goes missing, the whole meal just doesn't feel right.
Other families stray away from the standards (some friends of ours have to have collard greens, whiskey sours and banana pudding for the day to feel right, while another family dives into duck) and develop their own must-indulge traditions.
And for some, like our commenter traveldoc, it's less about what's on the table than who's gathered around it.
While living in South Korea, we hosted a "Geographic Orphans' Party" on Thanksgiving. Everyone invited brought either 'what I cannot do without on Thanksgiving', or a traditional food from their country of origin. We supplied the turkey, smashed potatos/sweet potatos/green bean casserole and other 'leaner veggies', plus pumpkin and apple pie. There were about 30 of us in a tiny on-post housing unit, we ate in shifts, and it was the most fun I've had as hostess!
Since returning home, we've continued the party theme, inviting families (or parts of families) who were unable to go 'home' for the holiday, families from Europe who found themselves working at a local business and spoke little or no English, and families of those "on call" at the local hospital. Again, we had tons of fun, with the unbelievable mash-up of cultures!
And always, always, always: Saturday Night's Left-Over Party! Friends who had their own TGiving parties (and some returning guests from our own party) were required to NOT EAT ANY leftovers on Friday, then bring them all to our home on Sat. That way, shoppers were done with crazy Friday rituals, we allowed a small introduction of Christmas into our celebration (sharing fond memories or Christmases past and family traditions, singing a few carols with someone playing piano or children on their instruments), and everyone else's leftovers were brand new foods for the rest of us! Win-win!
Would love to hear other stories of 'different' TGiving Celebrations!
So would we, traveldoc. Please share your Thanksgiving in the comments below, or submit your own "It's not Thanksgiving without..." story on iReport.
Catch up on past installments from Philippe Cousteau, LZ Granderson and Wolf Blitzer
More about Thanksgiving hosting, recipes and sage counsel
Source: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/11/13/thanksgiving-orphans/
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