Looking for an old-fashioned Thanksgiving experience? Pull up a chair to a re-creation of an early American holiday dinner or open hearth cooking demonstration. You’ll get a savory journey into the past — along with a heaping helping of history.
That’s what guests find when they attend the 18th-century Thanksgiving dinner at Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield. (The annual event takes place this year on Nov. 16.)
Mr. and Mrs. Silas Deane, (re-enactors in period clothing), host the event, and the menu, based on centuries-old New England recipes, was created by a food historian. The meal is served in the facility’s Webb barn.
“It’s a fascinating way to experience Thanksgiving as it was,” says Lyle. “Tasting the food of the past makes it much more interesting than reading a history book.”
Dishes served at Thanksgiving in the 1700s might have included venison pie, roasted goose, puddings and vegetables, all of which are included on the Webb-Deane-Stevens bill of fare. At a pre-dinner reception, attendees can sample Madeira, a fortified wine popular in the 1700s, while being entertained by 18th century music.
Though turkey is on the menu, it’s not necessarily the star of the show.
“In the 1700s, there may have been turkey, but it would have been a wild turkey, not the big fat birds we have today,” says Lyle.
Historical dinners are very popular throughout New England, says food historian Sandy Oliver.
“Seeing traditional meals and how they were made is like time traveling. It’s very appealing, especially when we know we can return to our modern conveniences,” says Oliver, who founded the fireplace cooking program at the Mystic Seaport Museum and is the co-author of “Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving History and Recipes.” “Cooking then was more involved than we can imagine. Even the ‘scratch’ was made from scratch.”
At Plimoth Plantation’s “Harvest Dinners With the Pilgrims,” guests get a taste of 1627 Plimoth, Mass (or Plymouth, as we know it today). The series of dinners, which take place on Saturdays in October and on Nov. 23, 26, 28 and 29, offer a “bucket list” experience that draws visitors from across the country and around the world.
“It’s not just Thanksgiving,” says Kathleen Wall, Plimoth Plantation’s colonial foodways “culinarian” . “It’s Thanksgiving in Plymouth. It’s where it all began.”
The meal includes fish, corn, venison, cider, “sallet” (boiled vegetables), “pompion” (pumpkin), pottage of cabbage, leeks and onions, mussels, pies and other dishes.
“There’s also turkey,” says Wall. “Not to have it would be, well, too different for guests.”
Plimoth Plantation spices up the events with tales of England, discussions of table manners and recipes in the 17th century and renditions of centuries-old psalms and songs.
While many living history museums offer open hearth cooking demonstrations throughout the year, November is prime time for re-enactments of harvest meals. Some visitors book months in advance and many of the programs sell out each year.
During Thanksgiving week at Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Mass., visitors can see open hearth cooking demonstrations, learn the history of harvest celebrations of the past and the evolution of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Historical Society of Glastonbury presents a late 1700s/early 1800s Thanksgiving program on Nov. 16 at the Wells-Shipman-Ward House in South Glastonbury. Activities include house tours, cooking and food preserving demonstrations and samples of traditional Thanksgiving foods of the time, including chicken pie and Marlborough pudding.
And Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum in Sturbridge, Mass., does an 1830’s Thanksgiving celebration with special demonstrations during Thanksgiving week. (Contemporary versions of Thanksgiving Day feasts, with the more familiar turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, are served in the Village’s two restaurants.)
“People are surprised when they learn how much has changed. Foods were different. Traditions were different. Thanksgiving in times past wasn’t even on a fixed date,” says Jim O’Brien, Old Sturbridge Village’s coordinator of special events “It was celebrated anytime between October and early December. It was not until Lincoln that we had an official holiday.”
Programs at the Village cover varied aspects of an early 19th-century New England Thanksgiving, including 1830s dining etiquette; post-dinner target shoot, Native American Thanksgiving customs, and open hearth cooking methods.
“We immerse people in the sights, the sounds and the tastes of the past,” says O’Brien. “It’s what makes an impression and really sticks with them. They feel like they’ve visited the past and that’s just what we want.”
Historic Celebrations
>>On Thanksgiving Day, the Oliver Wight Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass., serves a Thanksgiving buffet and Bullard Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village serves a traditional Thanksgiving feast. (most seatings at Bullard Tavern are sold out for this year.). Thanksgiving buffet is served from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The price is $49.95 for adults; $$26.95 for children, 4-12. Children 3 and under are free. Buffet dinner reservations: 508-347-0285; www.osv.org/owtavern (museum admission is required).
>>Thanksgiving programs at Old Sturbridge Village continue Thursday, Nov. 27, through Saturday, Nov. 29, including cooking demonstrations, a musket shooting match and a wedding re-enactment. Demonstrations are included with admission. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission prices are $24 for adults; $22 for seniors 55 and over and $8 for children ages 3-7. Children under 2 are admitted free. Information: www.osv.org.
>>Historic Deerfield holds “Thanksgiving Dishes” a series of open-hearth cooking demonstrations and lectures on harvest celebrations and the evolution of the American Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 22, 28 and 29. Programs take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Visitor Center at Hall Tavern Kitchen and are included with general admission to the museum, which is at 84B Old Main Street Deerfield, Mass. Admission prices are adults: $14; youth, ages 6-17: $5. Children under 6 are admitted free. Information: 413-774-5581 or www.historic-deerfield.org.
>>Harvest Dinner With the Pilgrims takes place at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. on Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 23, 26, 28 and 29. All dinners are at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $68 for adults and $48 for children under 12. Prices include museum admission and tax. Advance reservations are required. (some seatings may be sold out.). Information: 1-800-262-9356, ext. 8353, or www.plimoth.org.
>>Tickets for the 18th century Thanksgiving dinner at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum on Nov. 16 at noon are $85 per person and include a reception, 18th century music and optional tours of the three historic homes at the museum, which is at 211 Main St., Wethersfield. Reservations are required. Information: 860-529-0612, ext. 12, or www.webb-deane-stevens.org.
>> “Thanksgiving Is Here!,” a special program at the Wells-Shipman-Ward House, 927 Main St., in South Glastonbury, will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16, from 1 to 4 p.m. The event includes tours of the house and barns, cooking and food preserving demonstrations and tastings. Admission is $5. Information: 860-633-6890 or www.hsgct.org.
