More than any other holiday, Thanksgiving is a celebration of home and family. For many Americans, Thanksgiving is the only time of year when family members gather together and enjoy a long day of cooking, eating, and talking. The traditional Thanksgiving meal almost always includes turkey with a bread-based stuffing cooked inside. Other traditional foods are cranberry, mashed potates, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Grocers sell more food at Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. And many people eat more food on Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year.
With the holiday season approaching us once again, it's the
perfect time to discover new and interesting dishes which take advantage of autumn's bounty. It's a great opportunity to try the countless varities of squash and pumpkin that are available at most markets, as well as new and interesting recipes for the traditional Thanksgiving meal.
It's almost a given you'll roast the turkey and make the pumpkin pies for your holiday meal, but what if you're looking for a new twist? Well, we have some recipes that take a new angle on Thanksgiving cooking and will knock your socks off with their wonderful flavor pairings!
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f you're looking for hearty and warming harvest soups, we recommend the Curried Pumpkin Soup. With a slightly spiced taste and a twinge of orange zest, this treat is sure to warm the chill right out of those crisp November days. Another fabulous alternative is Butternut Squash Bisque. Butternut Squash has a decidedly sweet, nutty flavor which is reminiscent of sweet potatoes. If you're looking for an alternative to the more traditional squash soups, why not try Roasted Cauliflower Soup? With a hint of thyme and garlic, this hearty, creamy delight is loaded with nutrients and guaranteed to please the palette.
What is Thanksgiving without stuffing? We have two new stuffing recipes packed with flavor that will be enjoyed by family and friends alike. With sweet Italian sausage, apples and prunes, our Sausage Apple Stuffing is moist and flavorful. Another staff favorite is Bread Stuffing with Apples, Bacon and Carmelized Onions.
Three great new side dishes for your Thanksgiving gathering are the ever-traditional Candied Yams, the prefect flavor combination of Orange Glazed Beets, and the sweet Southern-inspired Praline Sweet Potatoes.
What to do with the always abundant supply of leftovers the next day? Our staff recommends a wonderful Turkey Hash recipe. Hearty and filling, it's a wonderful meal for the crisp and often snowy late autumn days.
Interesting Thanksgiving Facts
Did you ever wonder.... What kinds of food were actually served at the first Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and the Indians? 
According to Kathleen Curtin, Food Historian at Plimouth Plantation, we're not completely certain about the details of that first meal, but historians are certain there was venison and wild fowl. They suspect there weren't any pumpkin pies or other sweet foods, as the Colonists had only a dwindling supply of sugar brought over on the Mayflower. Furthermore, the number of vegetables available to the Colonists at this time of year was limited, so it's unlikely they had any vegetable dishes beyond corn and barley.
Thanksgiving was held twice in 1815... Up until President Roosevelt sanctified the holiday by law in 1941, Thanksgivings were held randomly, and in 1815 James Madion declared Thanksgiving would occur twice, neither of which happened in autumn. One of the feasts was called in celebration of the Union victory at Gettysburg.
The first Thanksgiving... lasted for three days and was a secular event not repeated again until 1789, when George
Washington declared it a National Day.
Over 280 Million... turkeys are sold in the United States each year for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Strange turkey facts... Turkeys can drown if they look up when its raining. Turkeys sleep in trees, can run up to 20 miles per hour, burts into flight at speeds of 50-55 miles per hour in a matter of seconds, and have a field of vision of 270 degrees, making them very elusive to hunters.
