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The Perfect Thanksgiving Bite
My Thanksgiving dinner favorites since childhood include the following:
- Turkey (dark meat preferred)
- Gravy (on the side)
- Mashed potatoes (some chunks OK)
- Cranberry anything (sauce or jelly, molded by can or made by hand)
- Stuffing (dry over wet; bonus if chestnuts are involved)
- Kimchi (from a fresh batch of the red and spicy napa cabbage kind, just before peak fermentation/ripeness)
(Optional: Brussels sprouts, green beans, carrots, [any other vegetable])
From one plate so assembled, I make my bites. First, a round of each item on its own. Next, layers of turkey, mashed potato, and stuffing garnished with a dab of cranberry sauce and crisp kimchi balanced on top. Then, turkey and potato dredged through gravy, perhaps followed by a dollop of stuffing wrapped in a leafy piece of kimchi.
Joy is discovered in the myriad of possibilities, the combinations of flavors and textures in each curated forkful of food lovingly prepared by generations of family. I savor bits of this with bits of that, assembled in ways that may make sense only to me.
- Turkey (dark meat preferred)
- Gravy (on the side)
- Mashed potatoes (some chunks OK)
- Cranberry anything (sauce or jelly, molded by can or made by hand)
- Stuffing (dry over wet; bonus if chestnuts are involved)
- Kimchi (from a fresh batch of the red and spicy napa cabbage kind, just before peak fermentation/ripeness)
(Optional: Brussels sprouts, green beans, carrots, [any other vegetable])
From one plate so assembled, I make my bites. First, a round of each item on its own. Next, layers of turkey, mashed potato, and stuffing garnished with a dab of cranberry sauce and crisp kimchi balanced on top. Then, turkey and potato dredged through gravy, perhaps followed by a dollop of stuffing wrapped in a leafy piece of kimchi.
Joy is discovered in the myriad of possibilities, the combinations of flavors and textures in each curated forkful of food lovingly prepared by generations of family. I savor bits of this with bits of that, assembled in ways that may make sense only to me.
About the Contributor
The author’s extended family gatherings, such as Thanksgiving, include up to three generations and two religions comprising one large, food-loving family with roots in Korea, Germany, England, Scotland, and Macedonia and healthy branches in at least six US regions: CA, IL, TX, NY, Northern NJ, and Central NJ.