Gratitude is the most important reason to celebrate Thanksgiving, but, in fact, it is our primary food holiday. It’s a foodie’s dream! A day to be spent in blissful cooking nirvana with no excuse required. Recipes are pulled from old, tattered cookbooks, looseleaf notebooks and magazines. Tried and true, or new and trendy? Family favorites or experiments? To each his or her own!
In many families, there exist special dishes carefully made, lovingly served, only on this day, without which Thanksgiving would not be considered complete. Some of these dishes are local or family specialties, some have become a necessity for all—like the bird: fragrant, juicy, gorgeously browned, adorned with parsley, the turkey is enthroned on the platter, the apple of everyone’s eye!
Mention stuffing (or dressing) and there is a major difference of opinion: bread, onion, sausage and sage, cornbread, onion and oyster, some newfangled concoction? Unique and myriad variations, often not stuffed at all, but baked separately in a casserole. What did Mom make? Grandma? Something new and fashionable? Martha Stewart’s version? These choices were once determined by where you came from, and what was locally available. No longer. Our Thanksgiving food choices have become much more homogenous, probably due to the influence of media, and the movement of families across the country, beginning in World War II and continuing ever since.
Accompaniments, or sides, are more varied. Butter beans or collards are found in our area, whereas mashed potatoes or a sweet potato dish are more universal. And, of course, there are the pies: apple, pumpkin and pecan have pride of place, with variations due to individual preferences. Chocolate cream, lemon meringue, and even shoo-fly pies can be found here and there.
There are those folks who purchase the whole feast, but generally Thanksgiving is probably the holiday in which more home cooking is served to an appreciative gathering than any other.
Christy and Andy Cornell, Apex residents, have fond memories of Thanksgivings past, celebrated with family, large and small.
Christy’s grandma, when confronted with the problem of too many potential diners at Thanksgiving than would fit at her table, solved the issue by holding the family holiday dinner at a church hall. Fifty or more attendees brought all kinds of wonderful dishes to share at a potluck Thanksgiving feast! Christy, a local gal who grew up in Cary, and whose grandma lived in East Charlotte, wishes that the occasion could be revived, and that the whole cornucopia of delights could happen again. It was the warmth of her grandma welcoming all of those thankful people which made it so very special. Christy’s grandma was famous for her traditional chicken and dumplings. “Grandma rolled them out herself.” She fondly remembers the hash brown potato casserole served at the potluck feast. Grandma passed away in 2008 at the age of 100.
Christy’s grandfather had his own special foods to make, as he was Hungarian, and missed some tastes. His black-eyed peas topped with onions and vinegar were memorable.
Over-performing in the kitchen was a regular exercise for Christy. Once, after she proved her status as a super-cook, a friend said to her: “You done split your shirt!” Christy thought he was really telling her she had torn her clothes! But no. It means that you have overwhelmed your guests, turning out food far beyond anything expected.
Thanksgiving at Andy’s parents’ home in Tidewater Virginia was, and still is, graced with delicious home-cooked food, presented in a more formal family setting. Dinner started with hot pepper jelly and cream cheese on crackers. Then to the full table, laden with roasted turkey with bread stuffing, mashed potatoes and simply mashed sweet potatoes (no marshmallows to be found!), homemade Parker House rolls, and many other sides, plus the all-important gravy. Then, the desserts! Pies, of course, made with a paté brisée crust: pecan, apple and pumpkin, but also a delicious sour cream pound cake. Crowning all is wine jelly made with sherry from a prized family recipe and served piled with freshly handmade whipped cream. Andy’s mom is a firm believer in scratch cooking. Her favorite cookbook is Virginia Hospitality from the Junior League of Hampton Roads, which can still be found as ‘a collectible’ with careful searching. Some of the best cookbooks are those produced by small organizations or are vintage.
The Cornells’ daughters, Caroline and Kate, who are local high school students, have been recruited to help in the kitchen since they were small. One of the girls has become a healthy food expert in her own right.
Sherie Powell has lived in the Raleigh/Garner area for 20 or more years. As a caterer, she makes a huge variety of excellent food, but her favorite dishes are made to serve with the Thanksgiving feast. These not to be missed, or messed with, are collards simmered with garlic, onion and mild banana peppers for the best, mellow flavor. She also serves rich macaroni and cheese, made two ways, as her husband is lactose-intolerant. Peach cobbler and cake, either red velvet or German chocolate, round out a bountiful table. All homemade by Sherie.
Warren Holleman grew up in Apex when it was a much smaller town. He remembers old Apex well, and also the New Hill area where the Holleman family lived and farmed. Their farm was drowned by Harris Lake many years ago.
Warren recalls that their Thanksgiving dinners were the standard: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, field peas and many varieties of Jell-O dishes. The more unusual touch was his mother’s insistence on oyster dressing. Now, Warren and his brother, Toby, did not like oysters, but his mom did (for various reasons subject to speculation), so they likely picked them out! Chances are also good that their mother ate them and benefited from their dislike! Warren thinks that a true Southern aspect of their holiday dinner was the ample selection of desserts. Several kinds of pies, plus cake, graced their table.
Warren related a Thanksgiving tale he and his brother call Ruth’s Revenge. Their mother was Ruth. There was a family dilemma each Thanksgiving because, on one hand, their dad had grown up hunting quail at this time in November and insisted on continuing that tradition, but mom felt strongly that the family should go to the 10 a.m. Baptist service. Dad insisted he had to go hunting, and mom resisted, both because of the church service, and the big meal she had prepared. On this particular holiday, Preacher Robbins suggested that his family and theirs share the Thanksgiving meal, at the preacher’s home. Warren’s dad was supposed to be back from hunting in time for dinner….but he wasn’t. He came home late to an empty house, no note, nor any food. When the family came home, mom had not even brought back any leftovers! He ate a banana sandwich that year.
After the Holleman family farm disappeared under lake waters, the Hollemans started a new tradition of meeting for Thanksgiving dinner at one of the two family-attended churches, Collins Grove Baptist Church near Holleman Crossroads or Bethel Baptist. Fifty or more folks met at noon sharp for the potluck feast and this continued from the 1970s for forty years, until COVID put a stop to it. Another Holleman family Thanksgiving tradition is visiting the graves of their beloved dead.
Thanksgiving time was also the time to prepare the Christmas fruitcake. Warren relates that everyone was put to work cutting up dried fruits with scissors. The cake was stirred up and baked, then carefully wrapped in a cloth soaked in red wine and put to age in the same closet where the country ham was hanging. Lovely smells! Wonderful memories!
Thanksgiving evokes warm family memories. We all remember Norman Rockwell’s painting of the family at the holiday table with Grandma presenting a huge turkey on a platter. (How did she ever put that thing down safely?) In another painting, Grandma is trimming the edge of a pie crust, carefully watched by a young boy.
May this Thanksgiving provide happy memories for you and your loved ones as you celebrate your plenty.
