Good Press

By Regina Schrambling As a food writer, I should never admit this, but I really hate Thanksgiving. Not the day, not the food, not the cooking or the shopping, not even the sappy reason Americans ostensibly gather to gorge in late November. What makes me totally crazy is the persistent pressure to reinvent a wheel that has been going around quite nicely for more than 200 years. Every fall, writers and editors have to knock themselves out to come up with a gimmick—fast turkey, slow turkey, brined turkey, unbrined turkey—when the meal essentially has to stay the same. It's like redrawing the Kama Sutra when readers really only care about the missionary position. ... More

There is something hollow and phony to me about going around the dinner table at Thanksgiving and telling what we're thankful for. If that is your tradition, that's fine for you and I am not belittling it. It is not my tradition as I strive to give my thanks to God every day or at least every week at church. Specific thanks for His general goodness and for instances where I believe I have seen His handiwork in my life, such as divine appointments and deliverances. When I am a guest somewhere and pressed to share what I'm grateful for, I usually say something flip but honest like "four-wheel-drive and coffee." But it is immensely important to me to be real (and I am thankful for go-in-the-snow ability and the caffeine that gets my motor running every day of the year.) Being real is so important that when I hear children at my table singsong "God is great, God is good" seemingly without contemplating the words' meaning or, worse, rushing through it or ...

Some of the tried-and-true recipes in my personal cookbook come from the "back of the box." Those are the recipes companies put on products -- whether they come in boxes or cans -- to show consumers different ways to use them in hope that they buy more. I found a variation of this recipe on the back of a can of Del Monte corn more than four years ago. I don't make it a lot but it is easy as in quick to make, inexpensive and good on cold fall evenings. SMOKY CORN AND POTATO CHOWDER 1 1/2 cups milk 1 14-ounce can creamed corn 1 cup cubed cooked ham 1 14-ounce can diced new potatoes, drained 1 can golden sweet corn, drained 1 cup shredded smoked cheddar, Swiss or Gouda cheese Stir milk into creamed corn in large saucepan. Add ham, potatoes and whole kernel corn. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted. Serves 4.