Thanksgiving Song

Here's wishing all my truckbuddies a happy Thanksgiving Day. M.P. hasn't felt well lately, so we are postponing our turkey dinner to Sunday.  This song by Mary Chapin Carpenter is a favorite of his.

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Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

The beloved hymn of thanksgiving as performed by renowned organist Diane Bish:

Be still and know that I am God.  --Psalm 146

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Jeffrey Kevin: Blue and White Thanksgiving Tablescape

Jeffrey Kevin goes over the top once again for Thanksgiving. It's much more than we would ever put on one table, but he does have some very pretty things, and he enjoys displaying them.  And why not?  À chacun son goût!

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Kamala and Tim: Thanks and Hope

The light of America's promise will burn bright

as long as we never give up and we keep fighting.

--Vice President Kamala Harris

Some encouraging words from Team Blue, down but not out:

What I Say:  We all owe a great debt of gratitude to our two standard-bearers, who suddenly took on a massive, gruelling campaign they never expected to run, and did it with grace, good cheer, and unstinting effort all the way down to the finish line.  Just to think of the sheer physical effort it took staggers me - a stroll through the grocery store wears me out at this late age - to say nothing of the mental and emotional strain they and their families went through in that whirlwind campaign.

It was a damn hard job, and an uphill battle; but they took up the challenge gladly and fought to win against all odds.  That they lost is no reflection whatsoever on their courage and character.  As the old hymn goes, which inspired the likes of Harry Truman:

Dare to be a Daniel,

Dare to stand alone,

Dare to hold a purpose firm,

Dare to make it known.

And I will say this:  the idea that Kamala lost because she was a woman, or a black woman, or any other personal characterstic is utterly false:  weenie-whiney bullshit.  She very nearly did win:  the difference in the popular vote was less than 2 percent.  In my view, she lost because she wasn't selling what a slim majority of voters wanted.  They chose rotgut whiskey instead of bottled water.  It's just real simple.

'

They will have a hell of a hangover, too, when they come to their senses.  It's a damn shame that the rest of us will have to suffer along with them.

It is most interesting to study the eye-opening results of the popular vote, as well as the exit polls, broken down by sex, race, religion, education, income, and much more.  I encourage all my truckbuddies in this country and abroad to do so before you say another word about the election.  Knowledge is power.

Keep the faith, brothers.

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Thanksgiving Men

 By J. C. Leyendecker for the Saturday Evening Post:

Click to enlarge.

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Thanksgiving Song

By Mary Chapin Carpenter: 

Here's wishing all my truckbuddies a pleasant and peaceful Thanksgiving with the ones they love.

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Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

For some of us, the beloved 1844 hymn is as much a part of Thanksgiving as the turkey.

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Talking Turkey

M.P.'s favorite meal is Thanksgiving dinner, so turkey cookery is taken very seriously at our house.  He has his own particular methods and secret ingredients, developed over many years, that I can't possibly share with you all.  But as a public service, here are some tips and tricks from leading authorities to make your turkey day a success. 

Butterball is, of course, the go-to source for all turkey info:

 

If all else fails, call or text the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line at 1-800-BUTTERBALL.

But before you cook, you must thaw that bird. Which means, start today! Here's how:

 

For more turkey safety tips, check out the USDA guidelines here. 

And if you need in-depth, step-by-step directions on all aspects from start to finish, see the Betty Crocker website here. 

Bon appetit, y'all.

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A Day of Thanksgiving (1951)

Last year's Thanksgiving table at our house,
which I never got around to posting here.

A week ago, M.P. had a sudden whim at dinner and proposed that we should each name three things we are thankful for each night until Thanksgiving.  This is an excellent idea, and I recommend it to my truckbuddies.  It need not be a religious exercise, just a thoughtful moment of honesty and humility:  an attitude of gratitude is a healthy thing to cultivate.

The same thought is contained in this educational film from 1951 - the sort of thing that smug, self-satisfied sophisticated types roll their eyes and snicker at.  But there is a deep truth here that we ignore at our peril.

Having survived three miserable days without electricity or heat - off and on - in last year's Deep Freeze, my heart really goes out to all those poor people now suffering from lack of the most basic necessities in Ukraine on a scale never seen in America; and winter is only beginning there.

Don't think it can't happen here or can't possibly happen to you; sudden calamity or just simple misfortune can happen to anyone at any time.  Count your blessings while you have them. 

 

All good wishes to my truckbuddies for a safe, warm, and happy Thanksgiving.

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Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

A beautiful presentation of the beloved harvest hymn:

 

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Thanksgiving Hymn: Come Ye Thankful People, Come

Though M.P. and I are relatively poor in material terms, we are rich in good company, good food, and good health (mostly) - that is a great deal to be thankful for, and we are.  I hope all of my truckbuddies are similarly blessed and enjoy a happy day with friends and family, rejoicing in everything good and lovely:  such remembered joys can never be taken away from us.

Here is a beautiful rendition of the familiar Thanksgiving hymn, written in 1844, played on dulcimer, mandolin, and fiddle:

 

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Thanksgiving Memories

 The Thanksgiving cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1927, illustrated by J. C. Leyendecker, certainly resonates with your Head Trucker.  How about you?

Click to enlarge.

Here's wishing all my truckbuddies a safe and happy Thanksgiving with those they love.

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Sunday Drive: Thanksgiving Song

 Written and performed by an American treasure:  Mary Chapin Carpenter.

 

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The Pork Boys Do Thanksgiving 2019

Our festive board was particularly pretty this year, I thought.

Some hand-painted plates that belonged to M.P.'s mama added a charming touch to our place settings.

M.P.  had dinner with his children and grandchildren down in the big city last Thursday, so we had our turkey dinner on Sunday, and it was grand.  This being his favorite meal of all, M.P. worked on it for two days and nights, and pulled out all the stops as usual, as you can see.

Scrumptious appetizers:  from 12 o'clock, cranberry cheese, stuffed mushrooms, gruyere cheese, ham and cheese pastry rolls, and pâté made with chicken livers, gizzards, and pork pieces, all ground very, very fine of course.  Captain's wafers were on hand, not shown in this pic.

The turkey, about 18 lbs., roasted to perfection low and slow, and every bite tender and juicy as could be.  M.P. stuffed it with a truckload of cornbread dressing and basted it with wine and herbs every 15 minutes for about six hours.

Left to right:  sliced turkey, green bean casserole, and sweet potato soufflé topped with mini marshmallows. I made the last two dishes, which require no particular skill.  At top under the mixer is a bowlful of mashed potatoes.

Giblet gravy, left, and maque choux, a Cajun corn dish covered with crumbled bacon.

Plated:  from 1 o'clock, schoolhouse roll, turkey partially covered with cranberry sauce, maque choux, green bean casserole, sweet potato soufflé, and mashed potatoes with giblet gravy.  At center is cornbread stuffing, also covered with giblet gravy.  Every single bite was luscious.

Homemade pecan pie headed the dessert list, along with a pumpkin pie (not shown), and real whipped cream.

What else can I say?  Everything was larrupin' good, boys.  I tell you what.  Sure do wish I could hand each one of you a plate.  Hope your Thanksgiving was as happy and tasty as ours, and you have as much to be thankful for as we do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

--by Joe Phillips

M.P. is having dinner with his children and grandchildren today.  We'll be having our own turkey feast this weekend, and I'll post some photos afterwards.  Meanwhile, good wishes to all my truckbuddies for good food and good cheer today.

Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Award-winning fiddler Craig Duncan presents a sweet rendition of this beloved Thanksgiving hymn:

Giving Thanks

A guest post by my truckbuddy Tim, now resident in Spain:

This Nivanfield short was written in response to a fan who asked for a Thanksgiving-themed tale. Being English, Thanksgiving is not part of my culture, so fingers crossed I have the detail right.

Captain Chris Redfield is center stage here as he gives a speech before the meal. This is a man who doesn't like making speeches. He prefers action, not words, and he's making it off the cuff. He sees inspiration in the faces looking at him, not a set of notes in his hand.

Happy Thanksgiving! Tim.

Giving Thanks

He smiled at the irrepressible Finn Macauley. Alpha teams’s very own "exploding" expert, who seemed to be wearing a turkey-shaped beanie that evening.

"Oh my! Captain Redfield, what a big one you've got!" The young girl opened her eyes wide in surprise and delight. "I’ve never seen one so ...” she was almost lost for words. "… so enormous!" she giggled.

"Ha, ha! That's just what Piers said!" Chris turned around. "Didn't you Ace?"

Piers was busy turning scarlet. "Chrisss!" he hissed, "Tone it down; we don't want everyone to know."

"The best part of 30 pounds—it's a monster, all solid meat!" Chris beamed proudly, as if he'd reared it himself.

"Ok Chris, it's huge, I have to admit, but get over it. Stop showing everyone, please!" Piers wished he could disappear, but he'd left his shemagh in the truck with Ruff. Its familiar smell helped the puppy settle down when he was left alone.

"Ha! If you've got it, flaunt it!"

"It's a turkey Babe, not a new plan or an assault rifle or your d—.” Piers checked himself just in-time. "I mean, I don't know if it will even fit in the oven." He pouted; he knew who'd have to cook it.

"Then we'll get a bigger oven. Do you sell them here ..." Chris peered at the commissary checkout girl's name tag, "... Mary-Jo?" He gave her his best 'little boy lost' smile.

"Oh yes Captain, over in Major Appliances. Two aisles down and on the left at the back."

"Remember those co-ordinates Ace, you might need them later … on my tab please, Mary-Jo. Oh, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving yourself." He left her a large tip as she bagged up their purchases, except for the turkey that was … she didn't have a bag big enough for that. They headed out for the car park.

Continued after the jump . . .

Let's Talk Turkey (1955)

It's that time of year when some people get a little hot and bothered in the kitchen, what with all the holiday cooking to do.  Are you sweating it?

An overseas correspondent recently suggested that your Head Trucker publish some guidelines for preparing a real American Thanksgiving dinner. Well, I suppose I could; but since this falls under the heading of What Everybody Knows over here, I doubt that it would be of much use to anyone living between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. And of course the only correct way to roast a turkey is--the way your mama did it.

And the components of a Thanksgiving dinner are too standardized to bear repeating in detail: a turkey with stuffing or dressing; giblet gravy, which each diner pours over his dressing and his mashed potatoes too; down South here, next comes green bean casserole, which in my lifetime has become the sine qua non for any large family meal; and another vegetable or two to round things out (in my family, we usually had canned asparagus gently heated in butter sauce, and candied yams or perhaps a sweet potato souffle); and some kind of dinner rolls, preferably the classic Brown & Serve rolls that you just pop in the oven for ten minutes. And one must not omit the cranberry sauce, as essential with turkey as mint sauce is with lamb.  For dessert, it is de rigueur to have at least one of pecan pie, pumpkin pie, or sweet potato pie, along with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream, and of course a good cup of coffee or two.

Beyond all that, each family has its own particular and time-hallowed menu traditions. A few years ago, it came to the attention of M.P. and myself that many black families have a tradition of eating macaroni and cheese instead of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. Now to my way of thinking, mac and cheese from a box is very tasty, but too pedestrian a dish to be considered for a festival meal; mais a chacun son gout. M.P. taught a black friend and co-worker how to make the dish from scratch, with a few extra-yummy ingredients, which he was thrilled to learn, and he has since, we hear, become the King of Mac and Cheese at every family gathering.

If you have lost or forgotten your mama's directions for cooking a turkey, there are any number of YouTube videos that will show you how to proceed; but as in all things culinary, no two are exactly alike, so I would suggest looking at several before settling on the version that seems most practicable to you. But I will make one suggestion if there are only a few persons to be fed at your house: it is nowhere mandated in law that you must eat turkey on Thanksgiving, believe it or not. Thus, a very small gathering can be well and easily fed on a roasting hen instead of a turkey; it can be prepared like a turkey and served with all the traditional trimmings, and you'll have plenty of bird to go around, but much less left over. Or for a few dollars more, a capon is a delightful change from ordinary chicken, with an elegant, delicious flavor all its own. Just sayin'.

Well, I have said all I know that is worth saying about turkey dinners.  But here is a very helpful video from six decades back that may teach you some things about turkeys you never knew before:

The Pork Boys Do Thanksgiving 2017

Click to enlarge.

We had a lovely feast last week, beginning with an 18-pound turkey that M. P. found on sale for only six dollars or so; two new supermarkets have opened near us in recent months, and isn't competition a wonderful thing?  When it works in your favor, that is.  At any rate, turkey and dressing is M. P.'s favorite dish, so he set to with a will, and when he was done very late that night, our menu included the following:

Hors d'oeuvres

Ham roll-ups
Beef roll-ups
Swiss cheese bits
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese bits
Deviled eggs
Green olives
Black olives
Boudin balls, breaded and deep-fried (a Cajun delicacy; M. P. had made the boudin from scratch the week before)

Appetizer

Velouté de brocolis with Velveeta cubes in lieu of croutons

Main Course

Roast turkey stuffed with sausage dressing
Cranberry sauce
Mashed potatoes
Giblet gravy
Maque choux (a Cajun corn casserole, like M. P.'s mama used to make)
Cornbread salad
Green bean casserole*
Sweet potato souffle*
Cranberry sauce
Homemade biscuits and butter

Wine

White Zinfandel (Winking Owl, California, 2017)

Dessert

Pumpkin pie
Pecan pie
Crockpot caramel cake with whipped cream and caramel sauce
Maple-bacon cookies
Coffee

* - Your Head Trucker made the starred dishes, both of which are much too simple to qualify as haute cuisine.  But M. P. ate them up just the same.

As a matter of fact, we had so much on our plates, we forgot about the biscuits until all was said, done, and eaten!  But of course we have enjoyed them since, along with a truckload of very tasty leftovers.  (Confidentially, fellas, after eating turkey for seven days in a row, I am now getting just a wee bit tired of it.  But shhh - don't tell M. P.!  I think a little talafia meuniere would be a nice change of pace, and that's another dish that requires no culinary talent to slap out.)

And so the Pork Boys feasted well and long again.  But just so you understand - these occasional feasts, along with our simpler Sunday dinners, are about the only recreation two gray and grizzled retirees can afford anymore - we never eat out, and only once or twice a year can we scrape our nickels and dimes together for a little KFC.  Other times, M. P. conjures up a homemade pizza instead of calling Domino's, and he says my cheeseburger pie - a trifling dish - rivals the taste of a good Whataburger.  So please don't begrudge us a little festivity in the kitchen now and then - when youthful charms and money have flown, food is one of the very last comforts - and one of the best. For all of which, we are truly grateful

Alas, I am too old and slow to chronicle all the kitchen doings in pictures these days, but here are a few snaps that show off M. P.'s artistry - he really loves to set a nice table and make things pretty.  I hope all my truckbuddies had a fabulous turkey day too.

The Pork Boys Do Thanksgiving 2016

Just a few pics to show you fellas how it went at our house.  First, a couple of pics of last month's Halloween decorations, all the credit for which goes to M.P., the creative partner (I just do the dishes):

Click to enlarge.

Some daylight photos of the Thanksgiving table:

The hors d'oeuvres included egg salad and pimento cheese, both homemade, as were the whole-wheat wafers; also cheddar and swiss cheeses, pepperoni slices, and sliced beef roll-ups.

The appetizer was fluffy, savory quichettes hot from the oven, with egg, ham, broccoli, and cheddar wrapped in a flaky homemade crust.

M.P. set a beautiful Thanksgiving table with a gold damask cloth and a handmade cornucopia, partly filled with found items from the yard and garden.

The turkey took a long time to cook, M.P. basting it in a slow oven for about ten hours, but when it was finally done, it was worth the wait:

A couple of side dishes are pictured below:  maque choux (a Cajun corn mixture) and the classic green bean casserole, which I made from the original Campbell's Soup recipe - it's getting to be one of my specialties. Since we didn't have a can of French fried onion rings, M.P. sliced an onion very thinly and fried the rings himself.  He also julienned by hand a whole can of regular green beans, which he says was not so daunting as you might think.

I also made a sweet potato souffle topped with mini marshmallows (not pictured, alas), which I've been doing for the last forty years or so, a very simple thing but always a crowd pleaser. M.P. made his marvelous featherbed rolls, so called because they are so soft and light - wonderful with a big pat of butter:

We also had a few other things I should have gotten pictures of - the homemade sausage M.P. used in the dressing, flavored with fresh herbs from the garden, also his lovely homemade pecan pie, and my store-bought pumpkin pie, but at this point hunger overcame photography, so I will close with a picture of my full plate, moments before it mysteriously vanished:

From 12 to 2 o'clock:  sweet potato souffle; 3 to 6 o'clock: turkey and dressing; 7 to 10 o'clock:  maque choux; squeezed in from 10 to 12:  green bean casserole.  Not pictured:  real mashed potatoes, which I had no room for, and the giblet gravy and cranberry sauce, which were waiting just offstage to be added.

And of course we will have plenty of good leftovers to feast and refeast upon for a good long while, as is only to be expected. So despite a rather tight budget this year, we ate very well and were most grateful for all our blessings, culinary and otherwise.

How did it go with you fellas?