Turkey's a staple, but what else are Palm Beach residents gobbling up this Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is here, bringing with it tables filled by loved ones, uncomfortable political debates with family and best of all, the feast. But as with so many occasions on the island, Palm Beachers take their traditions seriously, albeit with a twist.
Sure, the whole roasted turkey remains cemented as the quintessential Thanksgiving entrée, but plenty of residents have their own meals and treats to mark the holiday.
Brad and Susan Gary
In some households, like that of North End residents Brad and Susan Gary, Thanksgiving entrées are split. While Susan remains true to turkey, her husband looks forward to a roast beef every year.
“He hates the taste of turkey — instead he loves having roast beef,” she said.
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Nicki McDonald
Others, like Planning and Zoning Alternate Commissioner Nicki McDonald, switch it up each year, replacing the turkey with lamb.
“We usually eat turkey, but we’ve also cooked lamb a few times,” she said.
Kendall and Rob Corso
Kendall and Rob Corso, who are vegan, love cranberry sauce, but turkey is off the menu. Celebrating a tradition coined as "Animal Day," the couple prepare an animal-product free feast, often accompanied by volunteer work afterwards.
"Every year, my husband and I are inspired to create new dishes that are 100% vegan, yet stay true to the festive holiday flavors," Kendall Corso said. "Whatever we come up with absolutely must be paired with a tangy cranberry sauce — that’s something I have once a year that I can’t live without.
"We love sharing these plant-based pairings with friends during our annual 'Animal Day' tradition, which usually includes volunteering at an animal sanctuary nearby," she said.
Geri Emmett
Geri Emmett, chairwoman of the nonprofit Duffy's Foundation, says two dishes are always on her Thanksgiving table, regardless of what else might be served.
“Candied yams with plenty of brown sugar and candied carrots always tossed with paprika to add spice to the sweetness,” she said.
Anne Fairfax and Richard Sammons
Influenced by their respective Virginia and West Virginia ancestries, Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Anne Fairfax and Architectural Commissioner Richard Sammons bring Southern flavors to Thanksgiving with their favorite dishes — spoon bread and oyster dressing.
A soft texture variation of cornbread, spoon bread uses nearly all the same ingredients to create a soufflé-like dish.
"It's my favorite Thanksgiving accompaniment. We have it every year," said Fairfax.
Sammons' mainstay, oyster dressing — a coastal variation of traditional Thanksgiving stuffing — consists of bread, vegetables, herbs, spices and chucked oysters.
According to Fairfax, the tradition began with Sammons' grandmother.
"His grandmother used to reside near the train lines in West Virginia," said Fairfax. "So, when the oysters would get shipped in barrels from the Virginia coast, she would always buy them for Thanksgiving."
William Gilbane
Planning and Zoning Alternate Commissioner William Gilbane looks forward to a refreshing seven-layered salad during his Thanksgiving feast.
The salad is composed of layers of peas, iceberg lettuce, sour cream, onion, tomato, hard-boiled eggs and shredded cheese drizzled with pieces of bacon.
"It's a nice crisp and cold salad that works perfect for Thanksgiving," Gilbane said.
Aron and Henryka Bell
Some spend the holidays preparing meals in memory of the past, such as Aron and Henryka Bell and their preferred dish, a Polish stew called bigos.
Also known as hunter’s stew, the humble dish is composed of sauerkraut and meat, such as salami.
Born and raised in Poland, Henryka Bell explained with nostalgic detail how her family made sauerkraut during her childhood, cultivating cabbage year-round until the beginning of winter, when it was then harvested, shredded and seasoned with salt and pepper.
"Then we'd get a barrel and stuff cabbage into with a wooden stick until it was completely packed," Henryka said. "After five weeks of fermentation, it's sauerkraut."
The culinary practice was not done out of tradition, but of necessity. "We ate bigos because of poverty, because it was cheap to make," she said.
For Aron Bell, the meal was a staple during his time with the Bielski Partisans, a Jewish partisan group created by his brothers that fought Nazi Germany while rescuing Jews and creating a community known as "Jerusalem in the Woods," in what is now western Belarus.
He stayed in Poland during its absorption into the Soviet Union before emigrating to Palestine, and later to the U.S. during the 1950s.
Henryka Bell, who also emigrated from communist Poland, credits the dish for husband's survival.
“During and after the war, it was the main dish because it helped keep your strength," Henryka said. "Especially with the probiotics in sauerkraut, it helped them not get sick.”
Accompanying bigos on the Bells' table is another Polish staple — homemade half-sour pickles, cured in garlic and dill.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach residents' Thanksgiving tables laden with special favorites
