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ways to ceieDrate i namtsgiving- now to mix it up ana try something new. In this case they were interviewing some Spanish chef who suggested serving lobster. When he referred to lobster as the “turkey of the sea” I wanted to punch my radio.
Don’t get me wrong; the chef’s recipe for a lobster and citrus salad sounded delicious. I understand too that those in the media all have an imperative to seek out the new and different. It’s hard to say something new and different about Thanksgiving and easy to echo trite, cliched and oft repeated sentiments. Who wants to do the same old bit about turkey, football and dysfunctional families getting together for an evening of conflict?
But holidays are about tradition. Each holiday has its own set that defines both the holiday and ourselves as a nation. The way we celebrate these days is a part of who we are, a part of our collective consciousness.
We have many “holidays” but I don’t think many would disagree that the real ones, the big ones are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Christmas has its traditions, Halloween is about trick-or-treating, jack-o-lantems, costumes, Fall, spookiness, night time and sugar. Thanksgiving is about a gathering together of family and friends, and having the peculiarly Thanksgiving Day feast.
If you’re going to substitute lobster for turkey, why not substitute going to a movie instead of having a feast? Or celebrating it in July and working the fourth Thursday of November?
For a tradition to have meaning, for it even to be a tradition at all, it must be composed of cyclically repeated rituals. Whatever you might read or hear about the origins of the holiday, or the slightly religious tone of the idea of giving thanks, we all know what it’s really about: Eating Thanksgiving dishes with friends and family. There must be turkey, stuffing, cranberry, sweet potatoes and stuffing.
You’re vegetarian? Okay, I’ll forgive you for not having the turkey.'But that’s the only good reason. Plus you still have cranberry in some form, stuffing and sweet potatoes. You don’t like cranberry? Eat a little bit anyway. It’s Thanksgiving. And nobody really likes sweet potatoes all that much, but we all make believe we do for the holidays. That’s why we bury it in butter and brown sugar. A tennis shoe would be okay cooked like that. Some of my friends claim to like it, but I’ve never actually seen them eat it except on a holiday.
I’m a traditionalist with stuffing too: You need bread, celery, onions, rubbed sage and maybe stock and butter. You don’t need: Oysters, apples, sausage, nuts or water chestnuts.
Why not just skip the bread and sage and put in a lobster?
Com bread stuffing is no match for regular stuffing either.
Com spoon bread, on the other hand, is great. But I’ll reluctantly leave each to his own with the stuffing.
Go ahead, express yourself.
Put in some black truffle and chestnut if you must. Just know that you aren’t improving it any with your changes.
Let’s everyone get together, quietly tolerate your drunken, obnoxious uncle, enjoy the spirit of the day, and fall asleep watching football in a room full of friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving!
Bill Kossler can be reached at bkossler@timespapers.com
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