September 28, 2006
Three Days Of Thanksgiving
Early recordings indicate that the Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving for three days. Today, Thanksgiving celebrations often resemble a family reunion and can even exceed three days. Due to the geographic distance between most family members, Thanksgiving get-togethers often begin with relatives traveling and arriving on the Wednesday preceding Thanksgiving and ending with their departure on the following Sunday. It can be a wonderful and warm family bonding time for everyone.
According to historians, the main meats that were available to the Pilgrims and served during the first three-day Thanksgiving event included a variety of fowl, including the infamous wild turkey, venison and lots of fish and shellfish. It is interesting to note that seafood is again making its appearance at Thanksgiving and other holiday events as Americans are becoming more health conscious. Not only is it good for everyone’s health, it is also relatively quick and easy to prepare because you never want to overcook it.
But times have changed a lot since the Pilgrims’ first celebration when the main emphasis was harvesting, hunting, fishing and meal preparation. Now, most of our Thanksgiving weekend hosts work full-time jobs and find preparation time extremely limited. Besides addressing space, linens and activity issues, decisions have to be made about how to feed all the kinfolks for three to four days.
Meal planning alone can become an exercise in strategic planning. It appears that on Thanksgiving Day the majority of households still go with the traditional turkey and accompaniments for the main meal. Family members often contribute their specialty to the meal. After the initial turkey day celebration, leftovers help to provide lunches and snacks for the rest of the weekend. Aside from that, most people appreciate a little deviation from the turkey. The majority of the hosts still plan and prepare all the meals for the other days as well. However, some families try to alleviate the stress on the hosts and have found that making day by day meal assignments to guests works well. It allows the hosts to relax a little and spend some time with their guests. Whichever way you do it in your family, you are quite aware that the larger the crowd the earlier the planning needs to start.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing, has developed delicious Florida seafood recipes for your Thanksgiving weekend meal planning.
Guests coming in the day before Thanksgiving will enjoy quick and tasty Oyster Basil Chowder. It can be served alone or with a salad. Another great time to enjoy Florida seafood is the weekend after Thanksgiving when the guests are ready for a light hearty meal. Flounder Cordon Bleu makes a perfect dinner choice. Or, if you are looking for football party snacks, try these Fried Gator or Jalapeno Hoe-Cakes with Shrimp Sauce recipes.
Oyster Basil Chowder
1 pint Florida oysters, drained
3 cups Florida milk
1 cup chopped Florida onion
5 slices sourdough bread
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 cups fresh Florida yellow corn kernels
2 tablespoons dry sherry
chopped fresh Florida basil
Remove any remaining pieces of shell from oysters; set aside. Combine milk, onion and bread in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Place the mixture in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and add salt, pepper, corn and drained oysters. Simmer 15 minutes. Add sherry and basil. Mix well and serve immediately.
Serves 6
Nutritional Value Per Serving
Calories 379, Calories From Fat 74, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fatty Acid .12g, Cholesterol 42mg, Total Carbohydrate 60g, Protein 16g, Omega-3 Fatty Acid .38g
Flounder Cordon Bleu
2 pounds Florida flounder fillets
6 1/2-ounce slices cooked ham
6 1/2-ounce slices Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon grated Florida orange rind
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/4 bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup Florida milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Place one slice each of ham and cheese in the center of each fillet. Cut cheese and ham to fit. Sprinkle orange rind and pepper evenly over each fillet. Roll the fillets and secure with wooden picks. Gently dip rolls in beaten egg and then coat with bread crumbs. Place in 12x8x2-inch baking dish. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Blend in the flour. Slowly stir in milk and cook until thickened. Pour sauce over fish and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
Serves 6
Nutritional Value Per Serving
Calories 365, Calories From Fat 139, Total Fat 15g, Saturated Fat 9g, Trans Fatty Acid .04g, Cholesterol 161mg, Total Carbohydrate 8g, Protein 44g, Omega-3 Fatty Acid .36g
Fried Gator
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups cold water
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 Florida green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
2 pounds Florida alligator meat cut in strips
vegetable oil for frying
Combine first 4 ingredients; slowly add water and mix well. Set aside. Combine cornmeal, onions and pepper in a small bowl or pie plate. Mix well and set aside. Dip meat in flour mixture, let excess drain and then coat with cornmeal mixture. Deep-fry in hot oil (375 degrees F) for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.
Serves 6
Nutritional Value Per Serving
Calories 476, Calories From Fat 62, Total Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fatty Acid 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Total Carbohydrate 27g, Protein 73g, Omega-3 Fatty Acid 0g
Jalapeno Hoe-Cakes with Shrimp Sauce
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup fresh, seeded and chopped Florida jalapeno peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Shrimp Sauce
Combine all ingredients except oil and Shrimp Sauce; mix well. The batter will be thin. Add just enough oil in the skillet to cover the bottom and heat to medium high. Spoon 3 tablespoons of cornmeal mixture in skillet. Cook until edges are browned, turn and cook until brown on the other side. Remove from skillet and drain on absorbent paper. Set aside and keep warm. Serve with Shrimp Sauce. See recipe below.
Serves 8
Nutritional Value Per Serving
Calories 121, Calories From Fat 65, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat .75g, Trans Fatty Acid 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Total Carbohydrate 12g, Protein 2g, Omega-3 Fatty Acid 0g
Shrimp Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped Florida onion
1/2 cup chopped Florida green pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried summer savory
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large Florida tomatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 pound cooked Florida shrimp, peeled and deveined
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and green pepper and sauté until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in flour, savory and salt. Fold in tomatoes, water and hot pepper sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened. Add shrimp and heat through. Spoon shrimp sauce over hoe-cakes. Serve immediately.
Serves 8
Nutritional Value Per Serving
Calories 212, Calories From Fat 67, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fatty Acid .17g, Cholesterol 238mg, Total Carbohydrate 11g, Protein 26g, Omega-3 Fatty Acid .02g
More Florida seafood recipes can be seen on the www.FL-Seafood.com and www.WildFloridaShrimp.com web sites.
For more information:
Phyllis McCranie
(850) 488-0163
mccranp@doacs.state.fl.us
