Alexander Hamilton would be proud: Cracker Barrel offers turkey for Thanksgiving

I watch a YouTube channel fairly regularly called Early American. It features a young lady named Justine, who lives in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, and in a very zen and peaceway way, cooks recipes from the late 1700s and early 1800s. She does this while in her period-appropriate log cabin and dressed in her pioneer woman clothes. It is calming, interesting, and a lovely channel if you enjoy history and food. But these episodes always make me think about how the food for our Thanksgiving feast may have changed since those times, and which dishes remained the same.

In the early 1800s, Alexander Hamilton is credited with saying, "No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day." So while there may not have been a turkey at the original Thanksgiving feast, it has been the staple for quite some time. I was in a Thanksgiving mood and hungry for some turkey before the main event, and let me tell you, it's not easy to find turkey, even at this time of year. I mean, you can find turkey sandwiches all over the place, but roasted turkey? Forget about it.

I did finally find roasted turkey at Cracker Barrel. Apparently, Turkey N' Dressing is the special on Thursdays, so I gathered the family and went. Aaaaand unfortunately, Cracker Barrel was out of dressing, which is arguably the best part of making a turkey. Dressing, by the way, is cooked outside of the bird's body, while stuffing is stuffed and cooked inside of the turkey. Dressing/stuffing was a regular dish served along turkey by 1836, Google tells me, though people were probably serving it up together long before that. Dressing is a delicious way to get rid of crusty, stale bread, and very little edible food was wasted. But anyway, roasted turkey at Cracker Barrel was not my mom's Thanksgiving. It was served with some delightful cranberry relish, however. I still missed the dressing.

What I did get at Cracker Barrel that was amazing and wonderful and cool was a mixed drink. The Glitter Globe Spritzer was a splurge that was absolutely worth it. Made with Moscato, a splash of Sprite, and sprinkled with edible glitter, this thing was everything my server told me it would be. The Sprite made the glitter constantly and slowly rise and fall, and it really did look like a snow globe. It was almost too pretty to drink, but I managed it okay.

I also ordered a Merry Berry tea because I had to try all of the seasonal beverages, apparently. This tea was sweet, with a deep and abundant berry flavor. Little bits of berries were encountered at the bottom of the glass, so the flavor was authentic and delicious.

The Glitter Globe Spritzer, an edible snow globe and fun to watch.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

Cranberries are real old-timers. First mentioned in 1692 in a report of the American colonies, they were said to be boiled in sugar and served with meat. And, in the 1796 cookbook American Cookery, cranberry sauce was noted as being a good pairing for turkey. Canned cranberry sauce was first released in stores in 1912 by Ocean Spray. I'm a fan of both freshly-made and canned cranberry sauce, but I'm well aware that not everybody feels the same. There's just something I enjoy about the tart sweetness of cranberries.

According to Saveur magazine, the earliest mention in print of sweet potatoes being served with toasted marshmallows was in 1917. The company Angelus Marshmallow hired a chef to write a cookbook featuring marshmallows to bring the sweet, puffy treats into the mainstream. It worked swimmingly, though I prefer a cornflake and pecan topping for my yams.

1955 is the year that chef Dorcas Reilly's imagination gave birth to green bean casserole. Dorcas was looking to create a canned recipe that people enjoyed, because canned food was one of the few reliable foods post World War II. This is the recipe that came out on top. Campbell's has reported that 40% of its Cream of Mushroom soup sales for the entire year comes from people making green bean casserole for Thanksgiving.

If you do not get to eat a homemade feast this year, please look into getting some turkey from Golden Corral's Thanksgiving Day buffet, or Cracker Barrel's Thanksgiving Day plate. Or maybe visit Curly's Kitchen at Elks Lodge in Jackson on Thanksgiving Day for a free meal. Donations are accepted, but not required. Listen to Alexander Hamilton and enjoy some turkey. Happy Thanksgiving.