Thanksgiving is about coming together with family and friends to share thanks and indulge in a traditional meal that never seems to vary. We live in a fast-paced, crazy world, so I can understand the comfort some may find in a little predictability. However, I have never really liked Thanksgiving food. Sure, there are some dishes I enjoy, but as a passionate recipe developer, I rarely want to make the same thing twice. Over the next few weeks, I will share some semi-traditional recipes with new twists for those who are interested in shaking things up.
I credit a lot of my cooking to my time in the Navy, as I learned so much about different ingredients and dishes. Meeting people from all over the world was also an inspiration, as the conversations often turned to food. One former sailor, named David, is originally from Memphis, TN. He and I deployed to Iraq together in 2008-2009, and reconnected on social media more than fifteen years later. We had a lot of fun catching up and sharing deployment stories, then, naturally, we talked about cooking.
Southern recipes are quite different from Northern recipes, and I find the differences fascinating.
