Happy Thanksgiving! Pass the Fish?

It’s turkey day already. We’ll follow a lot of holiday traditions, perhaps without knowing exactly why. Consider this: The Pilgrims never strayed very far from the ocean. Have you ever wondered why turkey was the meal of choice on that first Thanksgiving? Why not tilapia? Surely tilapia could be found in the estuaries in the Plymouth vicinity. The idea that fish could have been the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving Day feast isn’t all that far fetched. According to a spokesperson for the living-history museum Plimoth Plantation, that first Thanksgiving the natives and the Pilgrims feasted on fish, lobster and clams, in addition to venison, birds and nuts. They had peas and carrots too. I’ll bet the Pilgrim kids fed that to the squirrels.
Of course, had they chosen tilapia, cornbread stuffing probably wouldn’t have been an option. Nor would gravy be a popular item. A lot of restaurants serve tilapia these days but I have never seen, let alone tasted, tilapia gravy. A creative chef could no doubt make one, but would it go well with mashed potatoes? No wonder turkey was the surviving tradition. Let’s face it; a tilapia sandwich Thanksgiving night, with or without cranberry sauce, is about as appealing as a Detroit Lions – Cleveland Browns football game.
Regardless, pumpkin pie would still be an important part of the holiday. But, then again, that might be by default. Did the first settlers try cranberry pie the first few years? Maybe they got tired of scrubbing the red stains out of the special tablecloth. Tide wasn’t around then to help. And beating that tablecloth on a few rocks in cold water is no match for cranberry stains, that’s for sure. They probably decided that the cranberry didn’t mix well with Cool Whip either. Yes, pumpkin pie was a safer bet.
I suppose turkey is the quintessential American meal. People from all cultures have immigrated to America, especially over the last 150 years. Regardless of their origins, most have adopted turkey on Thanksgiving wholeheartedly. But, had another culture settled America first, would turkey have become the Thanksgiving table superstar it is today? My parents were first generation Italian Americans, born in the USA. My mother dutifully prepared a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but there were a few items that I don’t think the Pilgrims ever tried. Mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and garlic come to mind. At least she never stuffed the turkey with meatballs and sausage. Listen: had the Italians arrived first (right after Christophoro Columbo) there’s a distinct possibility that the Thanksgiving menu would look more like what one can get any night of the week at Buca De Beppo. They’re open Thanksgiving if you’re so inclined.
A lot of people say they really look forward to enjoying leftovers for a couple of days. Turkey sandwiches for lunch, pie for a midnight snack and so on. Of course, if you’re having company you must cook a turkey that’s big enough to send guests home with provisions too. Advance planning is critical. There is nothing worse than having to turn over the drumsticks to your brother-in-law, leaving you with turkey gizzard and the wishbone. The Pilgrims and the natives probably didn’t have that problem. For starters, the closest thing they had to a Frigidaire was a stream filled with cold water. Without Tupperware to hold the leftovers, the tilapia still swimming would have taken revenge and eaten them.
Regardless of what’s on the menu, the purpose of the holiday hasn’t changed all that much over the centuries. Originally what is now known as thanksgiving was meant to celebrate the harvest season. Europeans, American Indians and other cultures held feasts to offer thanks to the good Lord for their sustenance and survival. Of course the vast majority of Americans were farmers in the early years. Today, not many of us are connected to farm work.
Except for the wizards of Wall Street who have the privilege of collecting huge annual bonuses, most of us don’t actually celebrate a harvest on Thanksgiving. But we are thankful for what we have.
Like Old Glory and raucous town hall meetings, Turkey on Thanksgiving is truly an American touchstone. President Obama should be grateful for that. If tradition holds, he will pardon a turkey today. He should be grateful tilapia isn’t the centerpiece of dining room tables. Dropping a gasping fish into a river would have been a lousy photo-op.

Copyright 2009, Len Serafino. All rights reserved.