1. May Your Holiday Be Filled With Thanks And Blessings!
2. A Little History Of The Holiday. Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2019 occurs on Thursday, November 28. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English.
Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days.
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; in it, he called upon
Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.
In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the traditional.
3. How Long Are Thanksgiving Leftovers Good For? Kim Bussing, TASTE OF HOME magazine
- Leftovers should be stored within two hours of cooking. Divide leftovers into smaller portions and refrigerate or freeze them in covered shallow containers so they cool quickly. A large container or whole turkey will take too long to cool down to a safe temperature, which gives bacteria a chance to multiply.
- The turkey should also be portioned to ensure quick cooling in the refrigerator.
- Seventy-six percent of respondents in a recent USDA study said they would refrigerate leftovers after letting them cool to room temperature first. This is not necessary and could make your food unsafe. Leftovers should be placed in the refrigerator or freezer as soon as possible, even if they still have steam or heat coming off them.
Satisfy your holiday food cravings year-round by properly refrigerating and freezing your Turkey Day favorites.
It’s that time of year again: wandering through pumpkin patches, bundling up in scarves and whipping out trusted holiday recipes, like pecan pie. There’s nothing like cooking up a full Thanksgiving feast for your family—and having plenty of leftovers for weeks to come. How long do leftovers last? Long enough if you follow this advice:
Turkey Leftovers:
A leftover Thanksgiving turkey lasts for three to four days in the fridge and two to three months in the freezer. Just make sure to carve it off the bone first (which you can learn how to do here). We like adding a splash of gravy to the meat to help retain moisture.
Gravy Leftovers:
Gravy doesn’t have a very long refrigerator shelf life: just one to two days, although it keeps two to three months in the freezer. To achieve a flavor that evokes fresh Thanksgiving Day memories, bring the gravy to a boil on the stove before serving. (This only refers to homemade gravy—like our classic turkey gravy.)
Green Bean Casserole Leftovers:
A creamy green bean casserole will last about four days in the fridge. Since most recipes contain dairy, crunchy fried onions and green beans that have been cooked multiple times, we suggesting skipping freezing this casserole. You should definitely add one of these green bean casseroles to your Thanksgiving table.
Cranberry Sauce Leftovers:
Stored in a glass or plastic container, your cranberry sauce will last for up to two weeks in the fridge. Put it in the freezer to last up to two months. While this certainly applies to the store-bought variety, there’s nothing quite as good as our favorite lemon cranberry sauce.
Mashed Potatoes and Yams Leftovers:
Whichever you prefer, you’ll be able to keep mashed potatoes or yams in the fridge for up to five days or up to a year in the freezer. However, this doesn’t apply to ones that you bake—they won’t fare as well in the freezer. Before storing, place in a clean container separate from the one in which they were served at dinner. And to capture all the flavors of fall, try our apple mashed potatoes.
Pumpkin Pie Leftovers:
Just because Thanksgiving is over doesn’t mean pumpkin pie season is. If you can resist eating the whole pie after dinner, leave it in the fridge Page 4 for up to four days, or up to two months in the freezer. Be aware that the texture might change once reheated, but the flavor should stay the same. Of course, we’re fairly certain that with this spiced pumpkin pie, you won’t have leftovers.
Apple Pie Leftovers:
Pies aren’t created equally, especially when it comes to how you treat leftovers. Apple pie will only last up to three days in the fridge and two months in the freezer. To make sure it retains its sweetness and crispness, wrap it tightly with either plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or secure it in a plastic bag. Need inspiration? Try our upside-down apple pie this year.
Bread Leftovers:
Though bread can last up to five days in the fridge, storing it there is not recommended and can leave it stale. If you’re not going to eat it immediately, you can keep it in the freezer for up to three months.
Stuffing Leftovers:
After it’s removed from the turkey, your stuffing can have another life in sandwiches or just as a snack. It will last for up to four days in the fridge and a month in the freezer. Mix up your usual recipes with this raisinstudded apple stuffing.
Wine Leftovers:
Have a few too many open bottles lying around? If you’re anything like us, you know wine should never go to waste. Both white and red can last three to five days in the fridge, but you can freeze it for up to two months. Thawed wine is safe to drink, but the flavor might change; we recommend cooking these wine-y recipes to use it up.
Storage Tip:
Leftovers should be cooled down as quickly as possible and reheated only once. While the food will still be safe to eat, the more you put it through reheating, the more taste and texture it will lose. Our trick? Divide each item into individual servings before storing.
In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621. Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird—whether roasted, baked or deep-fried—on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.
DO YOU COOK YOUR TURKEY IN A DEEP FAT FRYER? When you’re finished cooking your turkey, DO NOT pour the oil down the drain. Mix it with soil, cat litter, sand or flour until solidified, place in a plastic bag and then dispose of it in your solid waste container.
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