Thanksgiving Menu Thanks to Mr. Clemens
When Mark Twain was traveling abroad he became homesick for American food so he put together a menu of foods he wanted to eat as soon as he got off the boat in the states. This list of foods, which can be found in his book, A Tramp Abroad, seems appropriate today especially the roast turkey, Thanksgiving style. It's also interesting to see the regional foods he mentions. The Connecticut shad he lists is still caught in the Connecticut River today, a stone's throw from our house. Note that there are a many game dishes, too. Enjoy the list and I'll bet it'll have your mouth watering by the time you are finished. Perhaps if I were to add a couple of really American foods to this list it would be a cheeseburger and maybe buffalo wings.
"Greens, Southern style; Hominy; Radishes; Baked apples, with cream; Fried oysters; stewed oysters; Frogs; American coffee, with real cream; American butter; Fried chicken, Southern style; Porter-house steak; Saratoga potatoes; Broiled chicken, American style; Hot biscuits, Southern style; Hot whent-brond, Southern style; Hot buckwheat cakes; American toast; Clear maple syrup; Virginia bacon, broiled; Blue points, on the half shell; Cherry-stone clams; San Francisco mussels, steamed; Oyster soup; Clam soup; Philadelphia Terapin soup; Oysters roasted in shell, Northern style; Soft-shell crabs; Connecticut shad; Baltimore perch; Brook trout, from Sierra Nevadas; Lake trout, from Tahoe; Sheep-head and croakers, from New Orleans; Black bass from the Mississippi; American roast beef; Roast turkey, Thanksgiving style; Cranberry sauce; Celery; Roast wild turkey; Woodcock; Canvas-back-duck, from Baltimore; Prairie hens, from Illinois; Missouri partridges, broiled; Possum; Coon; Boston bacon and beans."
