3 Styles of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving……Mom’s style

Many years ago, when my husband
Marvin was alive, we had moved to
R.I. And then there was the first
Thanksgiving dinner together at Mom
and Dad’s house. We went to sit down
at the table, and I saw the look on
Marv’s face. I whispered in his ear….
Outside in…

You see on the left is 3 forks… on
the left is two spoons and one knife.
You say WHAT? Well, it gets worse
for those of us, who use one plate and
one fork, one spoon and one knife.
There is a large plate, but don’t put
food on it. There are extras and after
all these years, I have forgotten some
of them. I am sure there is someone
who was raised like I was, who will tell
you all of them. Because they still use
them all. Me, I am a 3 utensil gal.

So what does Outside in, mean? It
means to use the utensil from the
outside and go inward. The first fork
is your cocktail fork. The second one
is the main fork and the third fork is
your dessert fork. But then again, there
might be a fourth fork. That one would
be between the cocktail fork and the
main fork. Because that would be your
salad fork. Got it? Cocktail fork,
salad fork, main fork, and dessert fork.
Now going over to the other side…
you have a large head spoon. That is
your soup spoon. And then your main
spoon. And of course every one has to
have a knife to cut with.
Then there is a tiny bowl with salt in it…
it has a teensy spoon in that. And if it is
really done up right, there is a tiny bowl
of water. To wash your fingers off. All
these are of course, as my mother would
say… are sterling silver.

But what about the large plate? Well,
that one is called a serving plate. You
NEVER EVER eat off the serving plate.
That is to sit each course on. First the
shrimp cocktail cup sits there, then the
soup bowl sits there, and then the main
plate sits on top of that..(that being the
second large plate.) and then to finish it
up, the desert plate or bowl sits there.
BUT never eat off the serving plate.
One of my uncle did that once.
Oh, what a rise that was. My mother’s
friend got up from the table and went
into the kitchen and said… Betty, do you
know what he did, of which … my mother
looked. Oh, the Horror of it all. And it
was the tale of many years later, Thanksgivings.

Thanksgiving Dinner was served as this,
year after year…and my duty as a child
and as an adult was to wash and polish
all that silver. Which, I hated with a passion
as a child. As an adult it wasn’t so bad, as it
was like polishing up an old friend. (my
real friends will like that phase). And this
is what was served.

Shrimp Cocktails,
Onion Soup,
Turkey, mashed potatoes,
mashed summer squash,
mashed turnips (my favorite)
gravy, stuffing,
Relish dish was 3 kinds of pickles,
black olives, green stuffed olives,
tiny pickled onions, stuffed celery,
green onions
Rolls.
Choice of pies, usually apple,
mince and pumpkin
Ice cream for the pies.

I am sure my brother could remember
more of these than I, as he attend more
of them than I did. He always lived in R.I.
Me, being the wayward child, only did
the first 17 years and then 4 more with
my family in the 70’s.

The other Thanksgiving is California style

Skip the cocktails and soup. But the
rest was pretty much the same. Oh,
yea, skip the fancy table settings.
And add about 10 more people. The
Chef? My Uncle.. better know as Dad
to all of those of us who shared our
meal with him.

Both dinners were quite filling.
Both great cooks.

My Home

Pretty much the same as
the California style. And in the past
18 years the Chef changed to the King.
He loves to cook. He does a great job.
Although the King cooks his carrots
and turnips together. No squash.

May you all have a great Thanksgiving…
great food, great friends and family and
many great conversations. And remember
you are adding to the memories of
Thanksgiving for your children and theirs.