Happy Thanksgiving , y'all! “Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.” says Amy Leigh Mercree. So let’s take a look at some appropriate toasts and inspirations for the day, from Americans, the French, and beyond, to guide you not just through Thanksgiving, but maybe through life. As Robert Lintner said, "Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.”
Let’s start off with some toasts/quotes which are very appropriate for these polarized times, when a holiday meal in many families has become a fraught war zone:
“May the roof above you never fall in, and those gathered beneath it never fall out. Here's to health, peace, and prosperity.”—Irish blessing
Author Nora Ephron offers us a bit of hope:
“The turkey. the sweet potatoes. The stuffing. the pumpkin pie. Is there anything else we all can agree so vehemently about? I don’t think so.”
And a few more:
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the eons, it’s that you can’t give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.”—Rick Riordan
"Thanksgiving day is in the same month as election day so that we can drown our sorrows in gravy."--anonymous
"After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.” --Oscar Wilde
Now let’s move along to something a bit more inspirational, to express gratitude and love to friends and family:
Here is a lovely thought from Marcel Proust
“Soyons reconnaissants aux personnes qui nous donnent du bonheur; elles sont les charmants jardiniers par qui nos âmes sont fleuries.”
(”Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Gotta love his use of the feminine pronoun here).
And while we’re going international, here is a bit of inspiration from a German poet:
“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” --Johannes Gaertner
Simple but beautiful:
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”--Maya Angelou
And finally, here are inspirational words from Voltaire that we absolutely do NOT want to follow on Thanksgiving Day:
“La modération est le trésor du sage”.
(Moderation is the pleasure of the wise).
On my part, I'm particularly grateful, today and everyday, to the loyal readers who keep this little blog going. Have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving !
RECIPE: What to do with that Leftover Turkey
This year, we're making sandwiches from fresh biscuits, for tucking those delicious leftovers inside. Just make some biscuits, (recipe here), maybe with an oversized cutter, and pop some turkey and cranberry sauce inside. They would be even better with last week's sweet potato biscuits.
We did a trial run earlier this week with some leftover roasted chicken in a biscuit, spread with dijonnaise (for Ron), and for vegetarian me, I stuffed mine with a fried green tomato and some pimento cheese. Actually, the possibilities for a biscuit sandwich are endless! Or just go with the classic: biscuits smothered in leftover gravy.
In the COMMENTS: Tom, who knew Thomas Jefferson made sweet potato biscuits! I’m a little slow to catch up. Amy, buttermilk is absolutely an option, I use it for biscuits when I have it around. Susan, I confess I’ve never known the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, but I’m guessing either will work. And Natalia, an ooey gooey sweet potato casserole will for sure be on my thanksgiving table.
For your Thanksgiving viewing: We have been loving Magpie Murders, a PBS Masterpiece series based on the Anthony Horowitz book, which should be fun holiday viewing for the whole family. It inspired me to sample aHorowitz mystery in print; I chose A Line to Kill, which was as clever and creative a romp as the show.
