Battle of the Tables

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe

As a Yankee working in an office blooming full of authentic steel magnolias, I found out quickly that Thanksgiving up north and Thanksgiving down south equals two very different tables of food.
“I love a good dressing,” one belle sighed.
“Dressing?” I asked.
“You know, dressing,” she was beginning to become startled, coming quickly out of her holiday food reverie.
“Um…”
“Child! You’ve never had dressing on your turkey?”
“Oh! You mean gravy?”
Her eyes narrowed in on me. She paused. Then, “No, baby.”

Apparently, dressing is the same thing as what I’ve known to be stuffing, except Southerners often put it on top of turkey carvings, or under them as a fluffy bed. During my Maryland Thanksgivings growing up, stuffing—or dressing—was, and is, always very much separate from the turkey on the dinner plate. Even if the stuffing is cooked inside the turkey, it is plucked and presented as its own side item.

According to www.history.com, the first Thanksgiving meal in 1621 consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. Today, corn and roasted meat—I’m guessing our turkeys would qualify—are still a staple and piece de resistance, respectively, both in the North and the South.  Because the pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a much-anticipated hallmark of contemporary Thanksgivings in both regions.

In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; however, the South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition (www.history.com). Due to this fact, I’d like to postulate that we Yankees prepare a feast that is most closely related to the grand smorgasbord of our ancestors.

As I mentioned there were roughly four dishes shared among the pilgrims and Native Americans.  Where I grew up in Maryland, we serve about five: turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, and cranberry sauce. Sometimes brown sugar mashed yams or string beans (plain—not string bean casserole) will make a cameo appearance on the table. But in the South, many families need two tables to accommodate all the side items, or as they call them, fixins’.

Below is a comparison of the dishes and desserts typically served. I guess I got to hand it to the South for taking tradition to the next level.

North: Roast turkey with gravy, corn, mashed potatoes, yams, string beans, cranberry sauce, stovetop stuffing (bread based with celery and onions ad

ded), pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin roll

South (put your bib on and loosen your belt!): Turkey (often fried), dressing, corn, string bean casserole, field peas with snaps, butter beans, baby lima beans, candied yams, potato salad, collard greens and cabbage, shiny rice (i.e, rice cooked with the grease from the turkey), stuffing made with chicken livers, gizzards, turkey, onions, peppers and sage; and macaroni and cheese. For dessert, choose from: carrot cake, pumpkin pie, red velvet cake, pound cake, banana pudding, and pound cake.