Entries by Jeff Westover

The Art of Stuffing

Only in America could something as unromantic sounding as stuffing be classified as an art. For many, the star of the show during a Thanksgiving feast is not the turkey and it is not the pumpkin pie – it is the stuffing. Stuffing is the one food element of Thanksgiving that seems to have multiple […]

The Story of Black Peter

By Mac Carey Before elves and eight tiny reindeer, St. Nicholas had a much more menacing assistant. Named Black Peter, this companion was the physical opposite of St. Nicholas. Tall and gaunt with a dark beard and hair, Black Peter was associated with the punitive side of Christmas. Traditionally St. Nicholas would hand out presents […]

The Christmas Pickle

It is a quaint tradition that nobody wants to claim. And its story would not be the first tradition of Christmas born of a total fabrication. It is the little-known tradition of the Christmas pickle. The Christmas pickle is not really a pickle at all. It is a pickle-shaped ornament that is the last one […]

Great Debate: To Baste or Not to Baste?

By Jeff Westover (Author bias: I’ve never basted our turkey. After he is stuffed we give him a light rub down with vegetable oil to give him that overall toasty look and then lightly cover him in foil. That foil stays on until the last hour and then it is removed. The habit of opening […]