Thanksgiving Redefined--You Are Invited

Posted by tnword, October 5, 2008 at 4:52 PM

Seven years ago, my then five-year-old told me he wanted corn dogs for Thanksgiving dinner. After chuckling and telling him "no," it dawned on me that there was no reason that every Thanksgiving dinner had to be the same and I relented. (To be honest, I was hearing the Harry Chapin song "Flowers are Red" in my head and didn't like being the teacher.)

That has sparked our Thanksgiving tradition. Everyone gets to pick whatever he want for the Thanksgiving dinner. The only firm rules are that it cannot be pre-made and that the chooser has to participate in the cooking.

We also (usually) draw from a hat to determine whether you will make a main dish, a side dish or a dessert. With three young boys, this kept us from having nothing but desserts. Some years, when we have a full house, the categories have expanded to include appetizers and drinks.

After seven years, it has become a great day when we all cook together and my boys (now 16, 15 and 12) have learned to love to pick something different every year.

The menu has included Jamaican pork steaks with herb dumplings, BBQ babyback ribs, spinach custard timbales and brownies...all things that the kids picked out and cooked.

When we have guests, they do tend to re-insert the traditional Thanksgiving fare: turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie, etc. But I figure that is in keeping with our theme of cooking what you want.

Even my father-in-law, at 80, cooked for perhaps the first time in his life. He drew a dessert and made a fruit salad, which was as far as his cooking skills would take him.

If anyone else takes up the torch, I would be interested to hear the results!

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Tags: Thanksgiving