When the Pilgrims invited the local native tribe, the Wampanoag, for a harvest dinner, it's not completely clear what was on the menu. Culinary historians believe that much of the Thanksgiving meal consisted of seafood, which is often absent from today’s menus. Mussels were abundant in New England and could be easily harvested from the rocks along the shoreline. The colonists occasionally served mussels with curds, a dairy product with a similar consistency to cottage cheese; we serve them with cream, not so far off. Lobster, bass, cod, clams and oysters were most likely also part of the 3-day feast.
One thing we do know from letters from one of colonists, only the men of the Wampanoag tribe came to the event. They brought venison, still on the hoof, so to speak.
I can only imagine the conversation on the way to the feast - one of the Wampanoag says "Do you think we should bring something?" when a small herd of unfortunate deer appear. Bam, five dead deer for a hostess gift - just not gutted, skinned or ready to cook. They were handed over to the Pilgrim women to clean and prepare for the spit - it's no wonder the event lasted three days.
One wonders why the native women weren't invited - or perhaps they declined the invite to stay home and not have to do much cooking for a few days, for which they were undoubtedly thankful.
For those of you who are not cooking this Thanksgiving, but are going to partake with friends or relatives, I have a venison-free suggestion as a hostess gift that doesn't require any preparation at all - take some of our cooked shrimp with cocktail sauce, some oysters (East Coast to go along with what the Pilgrims ate), some smoked salmon, or one of our tasty spreads. No skinning or gutting involved, though someone will have to open the oysters -- we have an oyster shucking video on our web site - check it out here.
Your host/hostess will thank you, for bringing something wonderful that requires no work on their part!
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