Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. One of my favorite blogs out there, Ghost in the Machine, links to an excellent article in the Christian Science Monitor that speculates on what the Pilgrims actually ate in the fall of 1621. For starters, forget roast turkey with all the trimmings. What few people realize is that their "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner is the brainchild of a 19-century ladies' magazine editor, and that many of the foods associated with the holiday didn't become regular features of American cookery until long after the days of Myles Standish and company. Although wild turkeys may have been included in the fowl that the Pilgrims were by then regularly hunting, the main entree was very likely venison, courtesy of King Massasoit of the local Wampanoag tribes. Lobster and other shellfish were probably part of that first Thanksgiving table, as according to contemporary accounts lobsters were so plentiful that they'd wash up by the thousands along the Massachusetts coast after a storm, and until modern industrial times gathering mussels and clams in New England was simply a matter of walking down to the water and picking what you needed. Cranberries may have already entered the Pilgrims' diet, but not as the sugary sauce or relish that many now eat alongside our turkey, as sugar was an extremely expensive commodity, and not a regular part of the 17th century Pilgrim pantry (an interesting note: based on what we know about the cooking staples and equipment that the crew of the Mayflower did bring with them, food historians have suggested that the earliest colonial New England cuisine was more Mediterranean than Northern European, with an emphasis on grilled and roasted meat, the use of fresh herbs, and a reliance on imported olive oil until dairy cows and locally-produced milk and butter transformed the diet into something more like your classic "traditional" Northeastern fare). Potatoes weren't yet available, nor were there sweet potatoes, and while a variety of indigenous squashes may have been part of the feast, pumpkin pie was not, although it would not be long before colonial New Englanders would hollow out pumpkins, fill them with apples, pie spices, sugar, and milk, and bake the gourd whole.

For the first time in our five years together, my wife and I did not hit the road this Turkey Day. Since we're expecting our first child, due in April, we thought it was about time to start our very own family tradition, so we stayed home for the holiday and cooked up our own feast. Maria spent the day making gingerbread cookies, while I prepared what I hope will become our standard Bruno-Zervos Thanksgiving meal, all the while completely unaware of the above article, mind you. Here's a menu of what we ate:

Cranberry Salsa
Cranberries, Chipotle Peppers, Onion, Cilantro, and Lime Juice

Mashed Sauteed Butternut Squash
Squash, Onion, Olive Oil, Sherry Wine, Oregano, Red Chile, Salt, and Black Pepper

Baked Stuffed Lobster
Lobsters, Bay Scallops, Shrimp, Ritz Crackers, Butter, Onion, Tarragon, Parsley, Salt, and Black Pepper

I come from a fairly contrary family to begin with, when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. The holiday meal of choice (not just for T-Day, but Christmas, Easter, and Flag Day as well) in my parents' home is Pork Roast with Baked Macaroni and Cheese, and has been since time out of mind. The roast pork I imagine is a Slavic thing, as pork is the New Year's entree bar none throughout Eastern Europe and my mother is Polish on both sides of her family, though I'll be damned if I know how the mac-and-cheese dish got into the picture. Every once in a while, my mother would try to rebel against our demented household tradition and sneak a mainstream feature like stuffing or cranberry sauce onto our table, but if ever she wanted turkey as part of the holiday meal, she'd have to roast one alongside the pork loin, or else meet with out-and-out mutiny from the Bruno males. Compound this upbringing with my wife's - she being the daughter of Greek immigrants, Thanksgiving never really had any special significance to them, although my mother-in-law was nice enough to cook a turkey for all the Thanksgiving dinners we've shared with them (by the way, turkey with tzatziki is absolutely fantastic!). So let's just say Maria and I were primed to try something new this year.

Dessert was a key lime pie. Completely un-authentic, from a food historian's perspective, but delicious nonetheless. Maybe next year I'll try baking a whole pumpkin...