Thanksgiving Food Fit for a Rebel

By Katie Huang and Sophie Estrada

Everyone knows the traditional Thanksgiving feast: the turkey, the stuffing, the gravy, the mashed potatoes, the cranberry sauce, the pumpkin pie, maybe even that green bean casserole your parents force you to eat because it's your grandma’s “special recipe”.

The fact is that here in the United States, traditional Thanksgiving food tends to follow a particular pattern; however, there are some exceptions to this rule. In fact, numerous students at Vestavia Hills High School veer off the traditional Thanksgiving path, and they do so in many ways.

Some people, for example, opt not to cook since, let’s face it, preparing an entire Thanksgiving feast can be a rather daunting task. The family of one VHHS student instead ate their Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel, one of many restaurants that remained open on Thanksgiving. According to Cracker Barrel, Thanksgiving is their busiest day of the year. On this day, Cracker Barrel offers a limited menu with Thanksgiving options like turkey, stuffing, and pie. The student recalls the restaurant being busy and crowded, with many people buying their renowned pecan and pumpkin pies to take home. However, customer service didn’t falter, and the student thoroughly enjoyed their unique Thanksgiving experience.

Others put their own spin on the typical Thanksgiving meal. By this, we mean the families who incorporate some of their own cultural backgrounds into their food. For example, my (Sophie) family honors our Cajun roots by including one of the culture’s staple foods, gumbo, in our Thanksgiving meal. Gumbo, which is technically classified as a stew, includes a plethora of distinct ingredients that differ from recipe to recipe. My family typically adds seafood meat like shrimp and andouille, as well as chopped okra. The roux, however, which is a mixture of flour and fat, is the foundation for this dish and is where most of the flavor comes from. Gumbo is one of those meals that warms you from the inside, and this is a great distraction from the cold Thanksgiving weather.

The same is true for another student at VHHS whose family celebrates their Puerto Rican background on Thanksgiving every year. For them, a standard meal may include rice and beans or tostones, which are fried plantains common in Puerto Rico. The student has fond memories of preparing Puerto Rican favorites like Mofongo, another dish made of plantains and topped with pork skin, with their family. Such activities help facilitate family bonding, which is, of course, the whole point of Thanksgiving.

My (Katie) family’s choice of Thanksgiving dinner was hotpot. Hot pot, or 火鍋 (huǒguō) is a Chinese dish where there is essentially a pot of soup on the table over a heat source, and a variety of ingredients, ranging from vegetables to noodles and thinly sliced meat, which are plunked into the broth to cook. I’ve never considered my family to be one that’s big on celebrating Thanksgiving, with our extended family being too far to visit and our nontraditional food. Nevertheless, hotpot is very much a meal meant to be shared, making it a perfect “Thanksgiving” dinner.

At the end of the day, one common, fundamental thread can be found throughout all Thanksgiving festivities: food. Food is instrumental in bringing us all together. So, it doesn't matter if you celebrate Thanksgiving at a restaurant or in your own home, or if your main entrée is a roasted turkey or a steaming, hearty broth. Ultimately, what matters is coming together and sharing these moments with your loved ones.