In 1621, the first Thanksgiving was held a year after 102 pilgrims landed on the shores of Massachusetts.
Only 53 were still alive.
Given the unspeakable hardships that had befallen them, their festival seemed more an act of will than a celebration of good times.
For three days, those 53 survivors celebrated Thanksgiving with meals, games and prayers.
Such gratitude reminds me of the assurance of Jeremiah 29 that even in seasons of uncertainty, God is still shaping “a future and a hope.”
The pilgrims clung to that same promise. They could not see what lay ahead, but they trusted that God was working in their lives, even in the middle of tremendous loss.
Four hundred years later, their faith still inspires.
On this Thanksgiving, I will once again be grateful for the family gathered around our table, while remembering those no longer with us — my mother and father, family and friends, teachers and loved ones who shaped my life, caught me when I stumbled and continue to walk with me every day.
And I am thankful for you.
I pray that your Thanksgiving will be filled with love, and that together we can work to make more gentle the life of this world.
Happy Thanksgiving. We will see you again on Monday. 🙏🏼
GAME TIME
GAME TIME
The holidays, and all the games and competition attached to them, are in the air. So we asked the Tea team what their favorite board games are! What do you think?
Joe’s top five board (and card) games: Uno, Oh Hell (card game), Catan, Risk, Cards against Humanity
Uno remains an intense family favorite, Oh Hell! is an old family favorite, the kids love Catan, Andrew prefers Cards Against Humanity and Risk remains the favorite for those of us who like to scheme for hours trying to fortify Kamchatka.
Here’s what the rest of the Tea team had to say!
Alex Korson:
Trivial Pursuit (genus edition only), Life, Stratego, Clue, Hearts. Trivial Pursuit for the useless facts, Life for the whole family, Stratego for the strategy, Clue for the characters and Hearts so you can “shoot the moon.”
Dan Norwick:
Scrabble. You can’t spell “T H A N K S G I V I N G” without a fierce game of Scrabble. No U? No problem! Try “Qi” for 11 points and an almost-certain challenge from your sister …
Rachel Campbell:
The Sicilian game of arguing and yelling at every meal (and Uno). A Sicilian Thanksgiving meal is not complete without the unexplained outburst or the sudden eruption of a long-simmering feud that followed the family over from the Old Country. 😂
Rachael Baylee Singer:
Salad Bowl for laughs, Catan for the chaos: The dice have favorites; pray it’s you and not your sibling.
Johannah Lowin:
Taboo, Scrabble. Taboo rewards clever clues but ultimately turns on the chemistry and connection between players. My best friend from kindergarten and I remain undefeated against our husbands, who were college roommates. Thirteen extra years of friendship and shared memories give us a telepathy they simply can’t match (and they’re not happy about it!). I also love Scrabble. As usual, Dan and I are in agreement — down to the letter!
Natalie Sanders:
Monopoly, Apples to Apples and blackjack are longtime favorites. I do have a tradition with friends to play a game called Villainous during the holiday times.
Divya Murthy:
Codenames. Always the guesser, never the prompter!
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN 🦃
We asked The Tea readers what their favorite dish was, and drumroll …
Stuffing was the runaway victor.
“My mom’s stuffing recipe! The typical Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix, but also includes sauteed Jimmy Dean sausage with the celery & onion … and raisins!” <3 — Renee H.
“Turkey stuffing and mashed potatoes! Carbs, carbs and more carbs!” — Patricia M.
Sweet potatoes came in at a close No. 2.
“Pecan streusel topped sweet potato casserole” — Anonymous
Cindy K., Beth M. and Peter S. all voted sweet potato casserole, too.
And thanks to Ron E. for sharing a recipe with his story!
As for a “dish,” probably the green bean casserole that I cobbled together from a couple of online recipes some years back. It’s got thick-cut bacon, sour cream, slivered almonds, Ritz crackers, crispy onions and 16 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese in it. Oh yeah, and fresh steamed green beans. I used to only have a pound and a half in there, but then my wife complained there weren’t enough green beans in my green bean casserole, so I added another half pound.
Ron’s Green Bean Casserole
12/27/21
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced (sometimes, though, I just chop the whole onion and put it in there)
1 cup sour cream
About 2 pounds of green beans, ends trimmed off and the beans cut into 1-1 ½-inch pieces, steamed
16 oz. package shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Three Ritz Fresh Stacks packages of crackers, crushed inside the bag. Can also use one long regular Ritz package.
12 oz. Wright (or other brand) thick-cut, hickory-smoked bacon (about half of a 24-oz. package).
One package slivered almonds (they look like tiny spikes, not flat discs)
1 large can, or 2 smaller cans, of crispy onions
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Chop bacon into roughly ½ -inch squares and cook in a large skillet until just done. Scoop bacon into a bowl and save bacon grease in a coffee cup.
3. In the same skillet, make a roux by heating two tablespoons of bacon grease, then stir in flour until smooth, cooking for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the salt, sugar, onion and sour cream.
5. Pour mixture into large mixing bowl with the green beans, bacon and almonds. Stir them all together to coat well.
6. Transfer the mixture to a large casserole dish. Spread shredded cheese over the top. I bought a taller casserole dish for this purpose, but a regular-size one works too.
7. Pour remaining bacon grease into a small pan (or add a slice of butter or oil), then add cracker crumbs. Stir constantly to coat and toast over medium to medium-high heat. Be careful not to burn.
8. Sprinkle over the cheese, then spread the crunchy onions over that.
9. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven. Can also lengthen time at lower temperatures if baking with other dishes, like sweet potato casserole.
10. If you go with a hotter temperature, watch the crunchy onions on top so they don’t get too brown.
To store, let it cool completely to maintain onion crunchiness. You can cover it with a paper towel so condensation doesn’t affect the onions but still keeps it from smelling like the fridge.
As for favorite smells of Thanksgiving, that would be the wonderful scent of a turkey roasting that has been basted in white wine. That was my grandmother’s technique, and she taught it to my mother, who asked her, “Mom, how much wine do you use?”
Grandma replied, “Oh, the bird gets a drink, then you get a drink.” Each year I toast my grandmother’s technique and humor with the same tradition.
CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls "revolutionary." In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is "The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again."