What? No turkey?????

I heard this so many times in the last month. Yes, you heard me right. We do not have turkey for Thanksgiving. Most see this as blasphemy. You can't possibly have Thanksgiving without turkey!!! Even my work gives all employees a free turkey for the holiday. I, however, would have preferred a grocer's gift certificate so I gave mine to my coworker so she would have an extra for Christmas.

So turkey is supposed to be the epitome of Thanksgiving. Afterall that IS what the Pilgrams had at the first Thanksgiving.......... Right? There is only one written account of the first Thanksgiving and turkey isn't even mentioned. And cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes weren't even invented yet. Instead they are reported to have eaten duck and venison along with seafood, cabbage, onions, corn and squash. Even my 2nd grader, Sara, told me that the Pilgrims didn't eat turkey. So I wonder where the idea started? Historians state that the Pilgrims called any wild fowl "turkey" so perhaps that is why.

Well, enough of the history lesson. The boring truth is that I used to cook a big turkey with all the trimmings even just for Hubby and me. He always seemed appreciative. Then one year he suggested we have ham instead. I followed the crowd and was shocked, asking why on earth would we not have turkey for Thanksgiving? Turns out after all those years, Hubby doesn't like turkey!!!!! Well, I aim to please and a ham is MUCH easier to cook than a turkey (especially if you order a spiral honey ham, LOL!!!) and I still make all the trimmings. We can give thanks for all we have over a ham just as well as a turkey. So that, my friends, is how we came to have ham for Thanksgiving.