We all know the story of the “First Thanksgiving”. The pilgrims stood on Plymouth Rock and
welcomed the Native Americans to join them in a feast of thanks. Together they prepared the bountiful feast
which included roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and
of course pumpkin pie ….well maybe not.
There are only two surviving descriptions of the first
Thanksgiving. The first is in a letter by colonist Edward Winslow. The second description was in a book written
20 years later by William Bradford. His hand written account was stolen and didn’t
resurface for almost 100 years and had little impact on today’s Thanksgiving
traditions.
In Mr. Winslow’s letter the only food references are venison
and foul. The foul most likely wasn’t turkey;
instead it would have been other birds.
Culinary Anthropologist suggests the colonists regularly consumed ducks,
geese and swans. Don’t worry all you
swan lovers; I will not be sharing a recipe for Swan Sauté”.
The stores of sugar brought over on the Mayflower were
depleted, so desserts were in short supply. Potatoes had not yet found their
way north from South America. The
colonist didn’t have ovens for baking bread; this meant no rolls, breads or stuffing.
Cooked cranberries were not seen for
almost 50 years after the first feast.
However one thing the colonist did have in abundant supply
and is often overlooked on Thanksgiving Day menus is seafood: fresh mussels,
lobster, clams and fish. Add some
authenticity to this year’s menu and include fresh New England Seafood.
When I was a child, Grampi Pasquale and I would go down to
Nahant Beach and pick mussels right off the rocks, (just like the colonist
would have) then headed straight home to make this simple dish and feasted!
Mussels
Pasquale
·
1 lb. fresh mussels
·
½ small red onion – julienned
·
1 Tbl spoon fresh chopped tarragon
·
EVOO – extra virgin olive oil
·
¾
cup white wine
·
Salt and pepper
Coat the bottom of a pan large enough to hold twice the
amount of mussels with oil, add onions, salt, pepper and sauté on med until
onions are translucent.
Add the mussels, white wine and tarragon - sauté over med
heat until mussels open
Add more wine if needed - Serve with fresh Italian bread
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