Home for the Holidays: Thanksgiving

As one of the busiest times of the year gears up, I can’t help but pause for a moment and reminisce on Thanksgiving traditions from growing up in rural West Tennessee. While Thanksgiving over the past few years has looked very different thanks to moving to different states and a global pandemic, I am incredibly grateful for Thanksgiving this year in home sweet home Tennessee. While traditions may change as we get older, there is still a cathartic nature to the holiday that brings me small comforts from childhood. From the table filled with casserole dishes to the after dinner coffee and conversations with family members, these small moments in between the hustle and bustle truly show the spirit of the season.

Recipe Box

One of the main events of Thanksgiving is obviously the large meal. While our family table adorns the more traditional menu items like turkey, dressing, and green bean casserole, there are also a few non-traditional items. The origins as to why turkey is traditional to this holiday is up in the air. However, it is well known that turkey is a native bird to North America that was hunted even around the first Thanksgiving days. After all, Benjamin Franklin was so fond of this gobbling bird he thought it should be the national bird over the bald eagle. Personally, I’m glad we went with the more majestic bird.

Other sides on the Thanksgiving table appeared later during the golden age of television and commercials. For example, green bean casserole actually came from the Campbell’s Soup test kitchen and sky rocketed to popularity in the 1960s. To this day, Campbells still has the recipe on the back of their cream of mushroom can. Stuffing, or as we Southerners call dressing, originated from colonial times, but the debate on what to call this herby bread dish still runs rampant to this day. Let me make my stance very clear: stuffing goes in the bird and dressing is on the side because it dresses the table. The latter is what our family calls this side dish.

Some of the non-traditional items on the menu for Thanksgiving have deep family roots. For example, Granny John’s Spaghetti comes from my great grandmother who grew up during The Great Depression. She used to stew her own tomatoes from her garden, which can add to the sweet flavor of this simple spaghetti. A popular pastime in the south is smoking meats and BBQ competitions, and my uncle definitely has the smoker going the week of the holidays. I remember one year he had over seven different types of meat at our Thanksgiving lunch including smoked sausage, chicken, and venison.

The strangest item that has been consumed at our family Thanksgiving has to be the BBQ racoon. Some family members actively avoid this dish, but I have been brave enough to try at least one bite every year. Honestly, it is not terrible but is certainly an acquired taste. I believe eating racoon is about as close to redneck as I can get.

Granny John’s spaghetti is a staple that can be found on the Newbill Thanksgiving Table.

Travel

Once the menu has been set and the food is simmering to perfection, the family starts to arrive. I personally love to get to the family cabin a little early so that I can help with making rolls, or even just go ahead and grab a beverage to sip on and talk to extended family. Last year, we spent Thanksgiving in Florida and were not able to travel home to Tennessee. However, I believe we made the most of it and had a wonderful smaller Thanksgiving with Drew’s dad, step-mom, and not so little brother. Plus, after last year I can successfully state that I can cook an entire Thanksgiving meal. 

While last Thanksgiving will leave a happy little memory in my brain, I am very relieved to not be making every single dish. Instead, we will be driving the six hours as opposed to sixteen hours to my parents’ house with molten chocolate crackle pies in tote. Like I mentioned, one of our family Thanksgivings is held at the family hunting cabin. This cozy property in the middle of the woods was built in 1998 and has served as a gathering place for family meals after hunts, fall festivals, and holidays. Especially after a big renovation within the past ten years, this great room with a stone fireplace and gorgeous wooden dining table is the perfect spot for those who traveled long or short distances to hold hands and give thanks for one of our favorite meals.

The cabin is such a cozy place to hold Thanksgiving and watch the Egg Bowl.

Coffee

After eating as much as we can withstand, we take a quick break to find the hole in our stomachs set specifically for dessert. When I think of Thanksgiving, my mind goes directly to pumpkin pie. Pumpkin has been farmed for over 7,000 years by indigenous groups, but one of the first encounters with a custard-like pumpkin substance served in a pie shell is from the first American cookbook, American Cookery, in 1796. While this will most likely be served this fourth Thursday with whipped cream to the point you can’t see the pie, I personally look forward to a slice of pecan pie with a hot, black coffee.

After dessert, nothing feels better than propping your feet up by the fire with a warm mug in your hand. Typically after the meal our family will do what we Southerners call “visit” which can include anything from football to playing games to just sitting and talking. Sometimes our grandmother will even take advantage of the number of hands and have us help with putting up the cabin Christmas decorations. Besides, we need a tall person to put the wreaths around the elk anyways. At the end of the day, the cup of coffee and slice of pie isn’t simply a dessert and hot beverage, it’s the feeling of comfort and being at home.

Nothing goes better with a cup of coffee than a slice of pie- especially this molten chocolate crackle pie.

Comfort

Typically the rest of Thanksgiving day after the meal is not super eventful, but that is nice from time to time. Sometimes we try to fit in a second meal with the other side of the family, and other times we just continue the “visit” at another house. We, of course, are given many leftovers in Cool Whip containers (once again another Southern thing) that we will eat in the coming days. Personally, we don’t put up any Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, but Black Friday is certainly the day for transitioning between the holidays. I love Black Friday almost as much as Thanksgiving itself because that means I will have a lazy wake up at my parent’s house and then we will put on Amy Grant’s Christmas album while decorating the tree. 

While our Thanksgiving celebrations this year will go well into the weekend, I am most of all thankful for the mundane moments in life. Thanksgiving isn’t just the big presentation of the turkey- it’s the laughter from jokes, extra cups of coffee poured, and quality time together. However you choose to spend this long weekend, may it be filled with moments to breathe and be grateful for the little happy blessings life has given us.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!