Thanksgiving is the time to feast and the grandly laid meal is the first thing that comes to mind when talking about it. It's that time of year when family members get together to eat, pray, play and thank. People get together to rejoice and feast on various dishes. The table is laid with food like mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing's, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie etc. with Turkey being the center of attraction.
Turkey:
Turkey is a traditional food eaten on Thanksgiving Day. It is the main course of the meal and thus a huge roasted Turkey is placed in the center of the table. Turkey is prepared in different ways; the most common way is to oven roast it with herbs applied over it. Some people even grill or barbecue it. Turkey is served with gravy made from its broth that drops in the oven while roasting it. Thanksgiving may be considered incomplete with feasting on a turkey.
Stuffing or Dressing:
A Thanksgiving meal is not considered complete without the traditional stuffing or dressing. Generally a bread based dressing is made which differs from region to region. Cornbread is used in Southern regions while in other parts of the country people use white bread. Other ingredients used to make the stuffing are oysters, celery, sage etc.
Sweet Potatoes:
Sweet potatoes are a very common food item eaten during Thanksgiving. Sweet potato is a tuberous root and is a staple diet of Central America. Various dishes made with sweet potatoes include baked sweet potato, mashed sweet potato with honey, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato patties etc make place at the feast.
Cranberries:
Cranberries have become a traditional staple Thanksgiving food in modern days. Fresh cranberries are used to make sauce and relish which makes for a great side dish.
Green Beans:
Green beans or French beans are vastly eaten during Thanksgiving. A Thanksgiving dinner table has to have green beans casserole on it. It's prepared by mixing chopped green beans with cream of mushroom soup and topped with fried onions.
Seasoned Vegetables:
A platter of seasoned vegetables is an important part of Thanksgiving meal. The platter consists of all the seasonal veggies like carrots, beans, broccoli etc.
Pumpkin:
A wide variety of desserts made from pumpkin are relished by Americans on Thanksgiving Day. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin crumb cake are some of the most favorite.
Corn:
Corn makes a sacred part of a Thanksgiving dinner as it was harvested during the origination of Thanksgiving.
Pecan:
Pecan is a walnut like fruit and a traditional food for Thanksgiving. It is the main ingredient of the delicious Pecan pie.
It is believed that all these food items were not originated from the first Thanksgiving meal. A lot of them did not even exist at that time but slowly over the period of time became a part of Thanksgiving meal.
