Good Food with Evan Kleiman: What Foods Are You Really Thankful For?

Meerschaert used to do the traditional Thanksgiving spread with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the works until she realized that no one in her family really liked any of those things. So she decided to do something novel - she asked everyone in her family what foods they were most thankful for and made those foods instead.

Yes, her table ends up being pretty eclectic! The rule is that you can be thankful for whatever you want (no judgment!), so sometimes they do end up with bowls of Pringles and plates of pizza for dinner. Though Meerschaert says that she herself usually chooses to be thankful for something green just to even things out.

No matter what is being served, they set the table, light some candles, and lay the food out on nice serving platters. Each family member gets a chance to say what they're thankful for and then everyone digs in to their favorite dish.

What would be on your Thanksgiving table look if you served just the foods you were most thankful for?

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(Images: Flickr members Monkeycat!, MontageMan, poluz, and kmakice licensed under Creative Commons)

Come one.. you cant ask us to pick just one! Im thankful for so many things and types of food. A meal that Id be thankful for?
Oxtails (jamaican style), rice and peas, Sorrel (spiked w/Rum), and Rum cake for dessert

posted by crasht1224 on November 25th 2008 at 10:02am
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I'd need a really, really big table.

The food I cook on a regular basis is food that I'm thankful for, but Thanksgiving for me is a time to visit a tableful of treats I don't really make during the rest of the year. I did an early Thanksgiving this past Sunday because my Hun can't come back to California with me when I visit my parents, and after asking him and my guests what side they most wanted, the unanimous response was mashed potatoes. It was mostly a traditional Thanksgiving, but I made versions of the dishes that I loved--smoked turkey, roasted leg of lamb, saged and buttered crisp Brussels sprouts, roasted zucchini, chorizo (I should say Soyrizo) and cornbread stuffing, roasted crimini mushrooms, mac 'n' cheese, pumpkin pie cheesecake, winemakers grape cake with fleur de lait (milk ice cream--it's still warm here in Phoenix), and a guest brought ham and sweet potato casserole. This Thursday, once I get to California, I get my beloved annual Filipino-American Thanksgiving, complete with fried rice, lumpia, adobo, pancit, and a turkey about three times bigger than we need. Feast, friends, and family--hooray! I'm thankful for that!

posted by OneWallKitchen on November 25th 2008 at 10:45am
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Big up! crash1224!

Sounds good to me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIFrgQlIW4I

posted by art on November 25th 2008 at 11:18am
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I'm thankful with my diet restrictions for alternatives to a lot of foods. Rice flour instead of wheat flour for example, makes my life not so miserable.

posted by crazykj on November 25th 2008 at 11:38am
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any meal eaten with friends and/or family is something to be thankful for. If it was only foods I loved there would definitely be roasted brussel sprouts, BBQ ribs (Dad's style), homemade gyoza and yakisoba (not the instant kind I've been seeing the ads for on this site)

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on November 25th 2008 at 11:54am
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avocado, cheese, eggs, fresh bread, potato in many forms (usually fried).

thai cuisine, indian cuisine, ethiopian cuisine, mexican cuisine.

spicy, sweet, soft, salty, savory.

I'm thankful I have working tastebuds (and few food allergies) that allow me to enjoy everything I eat.

except brussel sprouts.

posted by Amandica on November 25th 2008 at 1:42pm
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i'm especially thankful that i recently found a local farm with fresh eggs - besides being delish, i feel better buying local, and knowing the hens are happily clucking away in a roomy coop just yards away from me.

posted by 2T on November 25th 2008 at 3:58pm
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I'm thankful for the food that is already on the Thanksgiving table, since those have become my favorite dishes.

posted by Damfino on November 25th 2008 at 6:23pm
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