31 Recipes for a Gloriously Extra, Next-Level Thanksgiving (2024)

FAQs

What was on the menu at the first Thanksgiving answer key? ›

Although turkeys were indigenous, there's no record of a big, roasted bird at the feast. The Wampanoag brought deer and there would have been lots of local seafood (mussels, lobster, bass) plus the fruits of the first pilgrim harvest, including pumpkin. No mashed potatoes, though.

So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

While Thanksgiving technically isn't a religious holiday, the “giving thanks” part of it struck Jefferson as being far too religious for his tastes. As our nation's third president, he stirred controversy by refusing to recognize Thanksgiving.

Mashed potatoes are a traditional Thanksgiving side dish for a reason, and we definitely look forward to serving up this delicious dish every November.

What are Americans' favorite Thanksgiving Day dinner side dishes? Most enjoy dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, corn casserole, yams, mashed potatoes, and hot rolls. This will vary from home to home, of course, but these are the more traditional.

Three of the New York Times cooking section's most popular Thanksgiving recipes are potato-related: a mashed potato casserole, potato gratin and cheddar mashed potatoes. As with potatoes, there's a Thanksgiving-preferred way for green beans to be consumed: the casserole, of course.

There are only two surviving documents that reference the original Thanksgiving harvest meal. They describe a feast of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, a bounty of cod and bass, and flint, a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

What is a must for Thanksgiving dinner? ›

Turkey; stuffing; gravy; scalloped corn (special recipe); green beans with cream sauce and onion rings; mashed potatoes (I make them ahead and they have creamed cheese in them); cranberries; pies of various sorts, including at least one pumpkin pie and one chocolate pie.

Cornish game hen, goose, duck, ham, beef, salmon, and mushroom recipes make worthy centerpieces for holiday meals.

Lasting three days with no turkey or pie, and very few women, the first Thanksgiving was a political gathering focused on cementing an Indian-Pilgrim military alliance, and nothing like what we celebrate today.

A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin" - the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution.

Just like us today, the Pilgrims usually ate three meals a day. But how they ate these meals is a little different. Many people would “break fast” in the morning with a little bread and butter, or cheese, or something left from the day before.

The first Thanksgiving banquet consisted of foods like venison, bean stew and hard biscuits. And while corn and pumpkin had their place on the table, they hardly resembled the cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie we feast on today.

They probably ate fowl, like wild turkey, deer, mussels, ducks, corn, beans, lobster, squash and pumpkin. This grand feast is considered the very first Thanksgiving. The colonists and Native Americans ate together and expressed gratitude for the harvest.

While turkey is the staple for Thanksgiving today, it may not have been on the menu during what is considered the First Thanksgiving. The First Thanksgiving meal eaten by pilgrims in November 1621 included lobster. They also ate fruits and vegetables brought by Native Americans, mussels, bass, clams, and oysters.

The Pilgrims sat down with Indians for a big meal of turkey, cornbread, cranberries and pumpkin pie. The Pilgrims dressed in black, and the Indians wore feathers and colorful beads. In fact, many Americans today still recall if they were “pilgrims” or “Indians” in their school pageants.