Family Meal Plan: Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread + Whipped Maple Butter + Maple Pumpkin Frappé

Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• blend :

  to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• whisk :

  to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.

History of Cornbread!

• Cornbread is a batter bread made with cornmeal, originating with Indigenous Americans. The Native people grew corn and cooked with the kernels and ground cornmeal for thousands of years before it reached Europe and West Africa. They showed the colonists how to grow and harvest corn and some of their cooking techniques, like making a simple cornbread with ground cornmeal and water and baking it over an open or hearth fire. 
• Enslaved Africans may have already been familiar with using corn and cornmeal in their cooking when they were brought to America. Since corn was a cheaper crop than wheat, they were supplied with cornmeal for cooking and baking. Cornbread became a staple of the Southern diet. 
•  All cornbread batter has cornmeal, and some include wheat flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar, and buttermilk. With the addition of baking powder rather than yeast, cornbread becomes a quick bread, usually baked in the oven. Southern cornbread uses less, if any, sugar and flour compared with cornbread from the north. 
• Variations of cornbread are "johnnycakes" or "hoecakes," pancake-like cornmeal batter fried in a skillet. "Hush puppies" are deep-fried balls of cornmeal and buttermilk batter, a popular Southern side dish with fried fish. 
• Cornbread is a popular side dish for barbecue, chili, and ham and beans. It is often served with butter and honey. Cornbread crumbs or cubes are frequently added to turkey stuffing.

Let's Learn About Thanksgiving!

• A Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated on various dates in a few countries and cities. It is a national holiday in the United States on the third Thursday in November and Canada on the second Monday in October. The holidays began as a celebration of the harvest and the past year's blessings.
• In the US, the traditional beginnings of the holiday began in 1621 as a three-day celebration to give thanks for the harvest. The Pilgrims living in Plymouth Colony (Massachusetts) were joined by several members of Wampanoag Indians, who may also have brought food with them. Although the Pilgrims did not refer to their feast by name, it is usually called the "first'' Thanksgiving.
• The foods the Pilgrims and Wampanoag ate would have been somewhat different than our traditional Thanksgiving dinners. According to an account written in the journal of William Bradford, the leader of the Plymouth Colony, the Pilgrims had access to cod, bass, and other fish, venison (deer), waterfowl, wild turkeys, and Indian corn (as bread or porridge). Later reports of their crops besides corn may indicate they also had beans, carrots, grains, lettuce, onions, peas, pumpkins, and turnips. 
• Since that "first" Thanksgiving, national proclamations made to celebrate a day of Thanksgiving included ones in 1782 by the US Congress, in 1789 and 1795 by George Washington, in 1798 and 1799 by John Adams, and in 1814 by James Madison. Various states also proclaimed days of Thanksgiving.
• Starting in 1846 and continuing for 17 years, Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book magazine, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving holiday to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. She sent her requests to newspapers and government leaders. 
• Finally, in 1863, during the Civil War, Sarah's editorials moved President Abraham Lincoln to proclaim Thanksgiving a national holiday to give thanks for the nation's general blessings and military successes. Since then, it has been observed every year. 
• In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving dinner typically consists of turkey, dressing or stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole or other vegetables, and pumpkin or other pies. After the feast, families often take walks, watch American football games, go to the movies, play games, put together jigsaw puzzles, or decorate for Christmas. Some families volunteer to serve dinner at homeless shelters. 
• Cooking methods for the Thanksgiving turkey have changed over the years. In addition to roasted, you might be served a turkey that has been deep-fried, smoked, broiled, or grilled.