I saw Bob in the hallway at our company yesterday. “Bob, we picked the 19th to have our annual Thanksgiving lunch at work before we learned that your wife will be checking into the hospital to have the baby on that day. I am sorry that you will have to miss the lunch this year.”
Bob’s expression changed to one of pure pain. “But I want to be at the lunch.” Bob shuffled his feet. “Maybe I can slip away from the hospital. I will just be waiting anyway.” It was clear that Bob preferred enjoying the turkey day celebration with his coworkers to sitting in the impersonal waiting room with other expectant fathers. Bob has always loved the days when all the employees bring their favorite dishes for a special lunch and always goes back for seconds. He is a dedicated father and family man and has been excited that this baby is a girl, a delightful addition to his three boys. But he is also dedicated to good food, and the thought of missing either the birth of the baby girl or our Thanksgiving lunch caused such an emotional tug-of-war that it left him squirming.
“Bob, your wife would kill you if she learned that while she was in the delivery room you were here eating turkey and yams,” I told him, realizing she might kill me, too.
Bob wailed, “But I want some of the turkey!”
Turkey is an American tradition which goes back to the days of Columbus. He discovered the bird, native to the United States and Mexico and a food that was part of the culture of the Native Americans, and took it back with him to Europe in the 16th century. It was soon raised domestically and reserved for the banquet tables of royalty.
Turkey became a food associated with American history and each November school children decorate their classrooms with images of Pilgrims and turkeys.
Benjamin Franklin called the birds “true American originals” and became angry when the eagle was chosen as the national bird rather than the turkey. Somehow, it just does not seem appropriate to use carvings of turkeys as finials on our flagpoles and serve roasted eagle on Thanksgiving day, the day of the year when we eat the most turkey. Forty-five million are eaten each Thanksgiving followed by twenty-two million on Christmas day.
The wild turkey that Franklin and Columbus admired is hardly the same bird that we find in today’s supermarkets. To accommodate the customer, breeders have produced a bird which is 70% white meat and 30% dark meat and is so top heavy that it falls over and, unlike the wild turkey, cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly up to 55miles per hour for short periods and can run 20 miles per hour. Wild Turkeys spend the night in trees, flying to their roosts around sunset. They have excellent hearing and a field of vision that is about 270 degrees. They are found in every state except Alaska. And, yes, it is true that if turkeys look skyward into the rain, they will drown.
Tradition has taken the choice of what to have on Thanksgiving out of our hands. It is a good choice, turkey. Turkey is a very good source of protein. A four ounce serving provides 65.1% of the daily value for protein, along with 11.9% of the daily value for saturated fat, about half the amount of saturated fat found in red meat. The structure of the human body is built on protein.
Turkey is a very good source of the trace mineral, selenium. Selenium is of fundamental importance to human health, beneficial to thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems and immune function. Studies have shown a strong inverse relationship between selenium intake and cancer.
Turkey is also a good source of vitamin B, niacin, and B6 which are important for energy production. Niacin is essential for the conversion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates into energy and helps optimize blood sugar and insulin activity.
Turkey is naturally low in fat without the skin, containing only 1 gram of fat per ounce of flesh. As well as being a good source of the B vitamins, a 5-ounce serving provides almost half of the recommended daily allowance of folic acid, zinc and potassium. These nutrients have been found to keep blood cholesterol down, protect against birth defects, cancer and heart disease, aid in nerve function and growth, boost the immune system, regulate blood pressure, and assist in healing processes.
But does a turkey dinner make a nap mandatory? Perhaps. It contains L-tryptophan, which is a natural sedative if taken in large quantities, and most people believe it to be the cause of their sleepiness after a large Thanksgiving feast. But perhaps it is the high carbohydrate meal of potatoes and gravy, cornbread stuffing followed by pumpkin pie.
Most knowledgeable cooks take special safety precautions when they deal with poultry and follow handling instructions carefully. Some of the basic are:
(1) Turkeys must be kept at a safe temperature and not allowed to thaw above 40 degrees. Never thaw meat of any kind on the counter at room temperature. The danger zone between 30 and 140 degrees F allows harmful bacteria to multiply rapidly. Turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator, a microwave or under cold running water.
(2) Make sure to cook the bird to the proper temperature. A partially frozen bird requires additional time in the oven and the use of a food thermometer is advised. An internal temperature of 165 degrees F for safety and 189 degrees for the best quality of thigh meat. A tent of foil, a roasting pan with a lid, or a cooking bag will each change the required cooking time.
(3) Keep raw poultry away from ready to eat foods and wash your hands and utensils with hot water and soap after handling raw turkey.
(4) Remember, a stuffed bird needs additional time to cook over an unstuffed one and stuffing which is not properly cooked can also be dangerous.
Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without cranberries to go with the turkey. Cranberries are packed with dozens of different antioxidants. It is easy to make your own cranberry sauce from whole fresh berries, a more nutritious and tastier dish with less sugar than what you will find in a can. Cook one 12 oz package of fresh or frozen berries with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water until the berries burst open and the mixture thickens slightly. There is nothing like a warm tart cranberry sauce made from fresh berries. And it takes only minutes to make.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Pumpkin (before it is made into a pie) is low in fat and calories and is loaded with potassium and other important vitamins. Pecans are great sources for heart-healthy fats. Now that is a traditional Thanksgiving table suitable for a magazine cover.
We took pity on Bob and agreed to send him a sample of each dish for his dinner. So, you are thinking, “Bob will get his turkey dinner.” No, this year we decided to surprise the employees with an untraditional Thanksgiving lunch and will cook a standing prime rib roast on the outdoor grill. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
