The First Turkey

It took a long time before my parents were willing to bake a turkey for Thanksgiving.
They didn't understand the hullabaloo with meat that tended to be undercooked in some parts and dry at other spots. "The fault lies not with you, but with Mother Nature: Turkeys were clearly never designed to be roasted," Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen comments on PBS.

Asians have always known this intuitively and seafood is our family's usual winner. Our first turkey was a fantastic affair.
My mom had stuck the bird into the oven and left to do some errands.

Thắng, who was 10 then, saw the meat thermometer glowing. He thought it was a sign that the turkey was done and helpfully turned off the oven two hours into the roasting. My mom didn't get home until evening.

We had a good laugh at our little chef and proceeded to pan-fry the turkey.
Thắng began our family's honorable tradition of breaking the fowl into parts, then cooking it.

He would be proud to know that Julia Child, herself, did this.
And so does Chris Kimball.

The sisters this year won't have to worry about a turkey.
A friend dropped off a barbecued wild boar.
Not your typical Thanksgiving menu item.

Neither is pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce.
Or the celebration of Thanksgiving itself.
Contrary to what your third grade teachers told you, the 1621 Plymouth "Thanksgiving" was a harvest celebration. In the 17th century, a Thanksgiving day was a day of fasting.

In 1841, publisher Alexander Young printed Winslow's description of the Plymouth gathering and then added his own label, the "First Thanksgiving." Edward Winslow was the leader of the Plymouth colony.

Young's denotation became widely accepted. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

Sometimes a moment of thanks comes by accident.

ps1. Photo credit http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/turkey-candelabra-668070/
ps2. Cooking advice from NPR http://www.npr.org/2010/11/18/131418777/thanksgiving-makeover
ps3. Thanksgiving Facts and Myths http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101124-thanksgiving-2010-dinner-recipes-pilgrims-day-parade-history-facts/

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