Food Talk | Tracing Southern USA culture and cuisine

The Southern states of the USA are a vibrant blend of traditions, culture, hospitality, and cuisine that have a profound influence on holiday celebrations, such as Thanksgiving. From exploring the origins of Thanksgiving to modern festive customs, these Southern states have maintained their culture and cuisine around the holidays as a testament to community spirit and a joyful way to kick off the festive season.

A Cultural Celebration: Thanksgiving and Holiday Traditions in Missouri

Missouri offers many opportunities to create memories and traditions over Thanksgiving, celebrating culture and community like no other. Holiday lights in downtown Kansas City are a beautiful sight, and for many families, the season is not complete without them. A flip of the switch on Thanksgiving evening reveals thousands of jewel-toned lights outlining every dome, tower, and window in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.

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The lights illuminate the 15-block shopping district, creating a sparkling scene every year. In addition to its own beautiful holiday decorations, The Raphael Hotel in Kansas City boasts incredible views of Kansas City’s dazzling Country Club Plaza light display. From Thanksgiving through mid-January, the historic shopping district glows in jewel-tone colours. A flip of the switch on Thanksgiving evening reveals the lights outlining every dome, tower, and window in the 15-block area. The lighting ceremony has been a Kansas City tradition since 1930.

The Christmas tree fields at Meier Horseshoe Pines Tree Farm, near Jackson, and Starr Pines Christmas Tree Farm, near Boonville, offer a family-friendly experience that ignites the festive spirit and marks the start of the joyous holiday season, typically around Thanksgiving. Climb aboard a wagon pulled by Belgian horses to pick your perfect pine, fir, spruce, or cedar, where visitors can cut their own tree or shop for wreaths and gifts and meet friendly donkeys, to enjoy a holiday farm experience from Thanksgiving through Christmas.

Alabama’s Thanksgiving Table

Alabama celebrates Thanksgiving with its Southern warmth, blending traditional as well as progressive recipes and culinary rituals that capture the true spirit of the season. In June 1923, W.C. Bates received nine turkey eggs as a wedding gift from his aunt. Almost nine decades later, Bates Turkey Farm in Greenville still raises free-range turkeys and markets its products, whole turkeys, turkey breasts, turkey jerky, turkey sausage and more. Just down the road, Bates House of Turkey serves everything from turkey sandwiches to turkey soup and turkey casserole. Each year at Thanksgiving, in a tradition that dates back nearly 65 years, the governor of Alabama pardons a turkey (always named Clyde) from the Bates farm.

Every good Thanksgiving meal begins with a holiday beverage, and luckily for you, Fairhope Brewing in Fairhope has just what you need. The Judge Roy Bean Coffee Stout is carefully crafted and consists of a nice, creamy cold coffee flavour that mixes perfectly with the base stout. This beer is a light option, which means it is a great way to begin your meal. However, if you are more into cocktails, give the Holiday Old Fashioned at the Haberdasher in Mobile a try. This drink consists of house-made cranberry syrup, genever, London dry gin, and bitters.

Before you dig into the main course, take a minute to warm yourself up with a cup of house-made soup from the Basketcase Cafe in Dothan. Choose from a cup of savoury Cream of Tomato Soup or Sweet Corn Chowder for the perfect local way to start Thanksgiving. After a nice, warm cup of soup, indulge in the flavours of the Butcher’s Board from Acre in Auburn. This appetiser includes four house-cured meats, pickles, pecan mustard, local cheese, fruit, and benne crackers, all served on a piece of Alabama wood.

Louisiana’s Culinary Vision for Thanksgiving

In Louisiana, New Orleans’ culinary scene offers all sorts of dining options for a Thanksgiving dinner, including prix fixe, à la carte or catering feasts for brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert featuring traditional holiday favourites to Southern contemporary twists. The Thanksgiving table d’hôte at Arnaud’s typically features roasted butternut squash soup, the chef’s signature Shrimp Arnaud marinated in Creole remoulade sauce, traditional roast turkey with cornbread or oyster dressing and candied yams, and more.

Brennan’s offers a three-course menu starting with the classic turtle soup topped with brown-butter spinach and grated egg. For the main course, options have included roasted buttermilk-brined turkey breast with cranberry and rosemary jus, chicory-rubbed beef tenderloin with red wine sauce or Creole-spiced Gulf fish with Brussels sprouts and hazelnut butter. Finish with a seasonal dessert or Brennan’s world-famous bananas foster, flambéed tableside.

Thanksgiving dinner at Ralph’s on the Park typically includes turtle soup or roasted squash and pumpkin soup, before moving on to traditional roasted turkey with giblet gravy, cranberry compote and roasted sweet potatoes or seared duck breast with citrus-glazed baby carrots. Finish with pumpkin cheesecake or praline bread pudding. Luke’s Thanksgiving menu features a quirky Louisiana dish: a turducken served with wild mushroom giblet gravy and satsuma cranberry marmalade.

If turducken is not your thing, consider a garlic and herb-roasted prime rib. Add a side like blue crab mac and cheese or spinach Madeline before ending the meal with a Lyonnaise pink praline tart. To try something new this Thanksgiving at Jack Rose. Previous menus have included lamb bacon pappardelle, flounder en papillote with crab boil butter, fall vegetable-and-jackfruit pot pie and more. Do not miss their famous Mile High Pie or trendy DuBayou Chocolate Cake for something sweet.