Sea Fare: It's What the Pilgrims Really Ate

Have you read those articles that claim that everything you learned in grade school was a sham? Have you heard that they may not have even had turkey on Thanksgiving at all?

I'm not one to get my knickers in a twist about these things, keeping my focus on the point: THANKS GIVING. After all, turkey is a tradition by now, simply because everyone I know has had turkey for thanksgiving since they were wee little tots.

But you won't catch me looking down on those who go for the no turkey Thanksgiving. After all, according to History.com, non-traditional fish and shellfish (as well as many other items you didn't see on your Grandma's table) were most likely a very big part of the first Thanksgiving. In fact, historians agree that seafood was most likely quite abundant.

So in that light, I thought it would be fun to feature an ultra traditional, non-tradtional Thanksgiving menu -- a Coastal Thanksgiving Menu featuring gifts of the sea. Even those strict Pilgrims knew that everything is better with a coastal flair! ;) Just click on the link beneath the photos for recipes.

:**Disclaimer: if you haven't eaten in a while, this post will most likely induce the case of the munchies.

~Natalee

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Rustic Thanksgiving at the Beach

Welcome to my imaginary rustic beach house where we will be hosting Thanksgiving this year. It's warmish here at the beach, so we're planning a Thanksgiving outside.

CountryLiving.com

I raided the yard and lopped off the tops of some ornamental grasses that I have, cut some flowers and some various vegetation, and created a casual, rustic centerpiece for my Thanksgiving table. The burlap runner and fabric underneath aren't even finished ... we are talking about comfortable, casual, quaint Thanksgiving.

It's all about the details, so I dressed down the wine bottles by wrapping the label in twine and placing some fresh nuts and some candles on a nearby side table for some ambiance.

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For my place setting I chose more of nature's offerings ... each one of these leaves were selected by my real children in my imaginary scenario. Rustic is simple. That's the charm of it.

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Our Thanksgiving menu is quasi-traditional: a nod to the traditional meal with a bit of flair thrown in.

Here are the recipes:

Cornish Hens with Morels and Leeks
Roasted Garlic and Basil Mashed Potatoes
Thyme Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Apple Glazed Baby Carrots
Streusel Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Crunch Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'll probably be wearing something like this:

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And after the meal, we plan to walk on the beach and create these Thanksgiving memories:

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And maybe even get our Christmas card photo, because we are on the ball like that. We are in the final countdown, folks! Are you ready?

~Natalee