New orleans thanksgiving (part 1)

1 servings

Ingredients

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THANKSGIVING IN NEW ORLEANS
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1995 eaches Edward J. Branley
Dedication
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Directions

This article (and its accompanying web page on Virtually New Orleans) is dedicated to Mr. Frank Davis of WWL-TV, Channel 4 in New Orleans. Frank is the star of "Naturally New Orleans," a biweekly segment he does on the evening news on Channel 4. An accomplished chef, Frank also does biweekly segments on the Channel 4 Morning Show. This morning show is so popular locally that Channel 4 (the local CBS affiliate) doesn't pick up the CBS Morning Show. Each year in November on the morning show, Frank Davis does a series of cooking segments called "Franksgiving," where he cooks up lots of the country, Cajun, and Creole recipes that we all enjoy in New Orleans. It's a wonderful spot, and sadly missed this year, since Frank is recovering from heart surgery and some complications that followed that surgery.

Look for a "heart healthy" Frank Davis cookbook sometime in the coming year, no doubt. :-) Anyway, Frank's "Naturally New Orleans" spots are part of the spiritual inspiration for Virtually New Orleans, my city guide on the web.

This is my way of letting Frank know he's missed, and how much we're looking forward to his return to the tube.

Introduction

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Thanksgiving is only one of two days where it's common practice in New Orleans for families to watch a parade on television. The Macy's parade never ceases to amaze local kids because it's all those people are out on the streets and nobody's throwing anything to them. Still, the balloons are fun, and there's the occasional year when there's a local band marching down Broadway. Thanksgiving is a relatively quiet day in New Orleans. Kids in schools in the metro area traditionally have the entire week off, so it's the fourth day they're home.

Some families take advantage of the school downtime to take a fall vacation; others get things ready for the invasion of out-of-town relatives. New Orleans is still very much a destination city, a place people come home to. Those who still live here, be they parents, brothers, sister, or cousins, are charged with making things ready for the family.Which, of course, brings us to the subject of food. Gorging ourselves on Thanksgiving is a national pastime. That makes it different here is that we do it with such style. We don't differ much from the traditional turkey-with-all-the-trimmings dinner you find from Maine to California, but the differences are delicious. We're not beneath a fad or two as well.

Fads ++ The TurDuckHen

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Turkey. Duck. Chicken. Put them together and you get a TurDuckHen.

The first time I heard of this dish was about ten years ago when Paul Prudhomme was making his rise to fame and fortune. He was on TV this time of year back then talking about this traditional Cajun dish. I'd never heard of it (if you have knowledge of this earlier than the '80s, please drop me a line). That's neither here or there by now; the dish is now a part of New Orleans.

It works like this: get one of each, a turkey, a duck, and a roasting hen. Bone each one. Yup, that's right, bone them. Rub them inside and out with herbs and spices (bet you can't guess what the primary spice is in Prudhomme's version). Stuff the chicken. Put the stuffed chicken inside the duck. Put the chicken/duck combination inside the turkey. Bake several hours until done. The idea is the the flavors from the three different types of fowl, along with the seasonings and stuffing all blend together. It's overkill in the worst way, which is the perfect way to give thanks for an abundant harvest. Since Prudhomme gave this dish life, lots of variations have popped up. The most interesting I've heard of is an Italian deli on the west bank that does the three-bird combo with lots of sweet basil, several Italian cheeses, and tomato sauce. Sounds decadent.

Submitted By SAM LEFKOWITZ On 11-29-95

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