Well, according to historical records, the pilgrims did eat some wild turkey at the first thanksgiving, but the majority of the food eaten was venison, water fowl (probably duck or geese), shellfish (lobster, clams, mussels), fish and corn - both cornbread and porridge. We tried a real traditional T day meal a few years ago, with fish cakes, lobster, shellfish, cornbread, Boston-baked beans (seemed traditional) and my favorite - Indian pudding (essentially corn porridge sweetened with molasses). It went over pretty well except for the Indian pudding which everyone insisted looked like brown vomit (or worse, if you use your imagination), and tasted the same. Since then we've gone back to turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and all the modern-day expected Tday food, but I have continued to make Indian pudding every year for spite - and I get to eat it all myself.
And if you want to be a Thanksgiving hero, here is the Durgin Park Restaurant recipe - considered by Indian pudding aficionados to be the standard by which all other IP recipes are measured. My mother created a variant which was even better, but alas the recipe died with her many years ago (and anyway I never could get the hang of her instructions like "add just enough..." or "bake until it's ready.")
Total Time: About 7 hours
Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings (or about 2 for me)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup black molasses
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use brown sugar for a bit more full-bodied taste - to go with my full bodied gars after desert).
- 1/4 cup lard or unsalted butter, softened, plus more for baking dish
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) warmed whole milk, divided
- Garnish: freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 450° and generously grease a 2-quart baking dish, preferably one made of porcelain or stone.
Whisk together the first seven ingredients and 3 cups of the warmed milk.
Bake until the mixture begins to bubble, about 10 minutes; then stir in the remaining 3 cups of milk. Reduce the heat to 275° and continue baking another 5 to 7 hours.
Serve warm with freshly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
