I mentioned Thanksgiving options for American expats before.
I don't think I had a chance to list any from down under.
Today, I remedy that thanks to a Soul Food Thanksgiving Dinner shared by Debbie Elkind for SBS Food in November 2008.
She opens her article by giving credit where it's due:
"Although I lived in California for eight years, where I enjoyed many wonderful Thanksgiving dinners, the most memorable Thanksgiving I’ve ever spent was at Victor’sSoul Food Kitchen in Ultimo (now closed), which was then owned by Louisiana-born chef Victor Kimble, a true master of American southern cuisine."
Further in her article, Victor gives us a bit of a food history lesson:
“I tell people all the time that [southern cooking] goes back to the time of slavery. People got scraps and they learned how to make the best of what they had. The beauty of it is that they made food delicious with herbs and spices they’d harvested themselves.”
The Menu suggested by the Birmigham (Alabama) native is/was:
- Roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce to serve
- Honey-glazed ham with maraschino cherries and pineapple
- Green beans or collard greens
- Black-eyed peas
- Cornbread
- Pumpkin and/or sweet potato pie
Since the article was published, Victor Kimble has left the restaurant business and instead put his focus on teaching Southern Cooking to our Australian friends and promoting his sauces and spices.
Thanksgiving got soul!
(My illustration is Collard Green Dip as offered by Nealy on Dixie Caviar in November 2009)