The center of attraction of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is a large meal, generally centered on a large roasted turkey. The majority of the dishes in the traditional American version of Thanksgiving Dinner are made from foods native to the New World; according to tradition the Pilgrims received these foods from the Native Americans.
The use of the turkey in the USA for Thanksgiving precedes Lincoln's nationalization of the holiday in 1863. Alexander Hamilton proclaimed that no "Citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day". By 1857 turkey had become part of the traditional dinner in New England.
Thanksgiving Dinner Menus
A Thanksgiving Day dinner menu includes Pickles, green olives, celery, roast turkey, oyster stew, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, dressing, creamed asparagus tips, snowflake potatoes, baked carrots, hot rolls, fruit salad, mince meat pie, fruit cake, candies, grapes, apples, French drip coffee, cigars and cigarettes. Turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner; Thanksgiving is sometimes called Turkey day or poultry day.
Most Thanksgiving turkeys are stuffed with a bread-based stuffing and roasted. Sage is the traditional herb added to the stuffing along with chopped celery, carrots, and onions. Deep-fried turkey is rising in popularity. Nontraditional foods other than turkey are sometimes served as the main dish for a Thanksgiving dinner. Goose and duck, foods which were traditional European centerpieces of Christmas dinners before being displaced, are now sometimes served in place of the Thanksgiving turkey.
In a few areas of the West Coast of the United States, Dungeness crab is common as an alternate main dish, The beverages served at Thanksgiving can vary as much as the side dishes, often depending on who is present at the table and their tastes. Spirits or cocktails occasionally may be served before the main meal. On the dinner table, unfermented Apple cider or wine are often served.