What Do I Want To Eat For Thanksgiving This Year?!

I've been on the outs with turkey for a few years now.  Last year for TG I burned the bridge and made Cornish hens for everybody, but even those left me totally unimpressed.  My problem is really with poultry.  I just don't hold it in high enough regard to serve it on special occasions.  You get a few good helpings of dark meat and  then you're stuck with pounds of big breasted'd white meat that can't be helped that much even by the briniest of brines.  Maybe I should try it deep fried before I give up on it for good, but otherwise... 

My lack of regard for poultry as a holiday centerpiece is that it's so ordinary.  I eat rotisserie chicken once every couple weeks as an affordable and easy grocery store pickup, which I enjoy, and I eat sliced turkey on sandwiches for lunch pretty often, also good.  Then there's ground turkey, again something I like, but something I eat on a Tuesday night rather than the biggest food holiday on our calendar.

This isn't a revelation for most people who readily acknowledge that they come for the fixins. Getting down to brass tax, turkey is the beast of burden on which the gravy, sauce, and hodge podge of sides ride.  What I'm saying is for my money I'd like to diverge from the turkey trot to have a protein more dynamic, more pleasing in and of itself, which to me means almost anything but poultry.  What about the issue of staying true to the original pilgrims and what they would have or might have eaten?  Well, why not roasted fish or even lobster?  They probably had those things readily available in 1621.      

I like the idea of trying to observe an early settlers' meal, but I think it's open to interpretation, and getting people together to share good local, seasonal food in a harvest festival is how it began and why we celebrate.  Besides, most of the dressings and accompaniments people liken to Thanksgiving tradition were probably invented in the 1950s or 1960s.

The influence of the Food Network and our increasing awareness of what we eat has changed my mentality over the past several holidays to promote quality over quantity.  People are sometimes incredulous at the idea of this dish or that being omitted from the menu simply because it's been there as long as they can remember, but when six pretty good things are replaced by three real nass things and you even take the time to have distinct courses, it's a proper celebration to me.

I'm not Italian [american] enough to have had a pasta course as a starter during my Thanksgivings growing up, but I really like the idea.  You may think it's way too untrue to the pilgrims, but few people know that one of the original Mayflower passengers, John Tilley, was really born Gianni Puzzaculo, from Agrigento.  You don't have to go Italian though to have a multi-course meal; it's just a way to break up the eating and give people time to enjoy the spectrum of flavors usually present. 

I'm not trying to be preachy, so if you really look forward to turkey every November, good for you and enjoy.  

Some things swirling around my mind:

Appetizers/1st Course
Butternut squash soup with fried polenta croutons
Butternut squash ravioli with sage and brown butter
Ricotta gnocchi with brown butter
Cavatelli with parsnips and pancetta
Roasted beet salad with bleu cheese and toasted walnuts
Spinach salad with bacon, bleu cheese and pomegranate
Schiacciatta (focaccia) with grapes and robiola
Spiced roasted nuts (Nicolee Zeoli Special)

Main Course
Roasted loin of lamb with rosemary
Red wine braised venison with juniper and dried cherries
Oven roasted seabass filets with roasted root vegetables
Roasted pork belly alla porchetta (fennel, garlic, herbage)
Coffee braised pork shoulder with apricot and caramelized onion relish
Fettucine with duck ragu

Sides
Roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips with rosemary
Mashed sweet potatoes with vanilla
Roasted brussels sprouts with garlic and hazelnuts
Good old mashed potatoes
Mashed potatoes and celeriac 
Dressing with sausage, apples and chestnuts
Sauteed kale with dried cranberries
Sweet rosemary and olive oil bread
Sweet potatoes au gratin
Spinach and wild mushroom dressing
Spiced pears cooked in wine

I don't think there's anything wrong with the tried and true desserts so I have nothing to add there.  Although a pumpkin panna cotta is nice.