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THANKSGIVING IN NEW ORLEANS Dedication
=========================== ~~~~~~~~~~
1995 ea Edward J. Branley

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
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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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