Thanksgiving may be synonymous with turkey. But these days, the bird is de-emphasized on many holiday tables, more a symbol than a savored part of the meal. And in some cases - most notably among vegetarians - the bird is dismissed entirely.
Discussing Thanksgiving menus with 10 Food section readers at random this month, I found that half will serve a favorite alternative entree as a separate course or as part of a larger buffet or family-style selection, often along with the turkey.
Three of those readers will include recipes that focus on fish and seafood, and two will prepare dishes suitable for vegetarian family members and guests. (Two others will stick to the basics, never venturing much beyond coleslaw or sweet-potato pie. The final three spend the holiday at the homes of family or friends, with no cooking required.)
While seafood isn't the first thing most people think of for Thanksgiving, it's clearly a key element in many holiday meals.
Coquilles St. Jacques has been the highlight of Thanksgiving dinners for Hannah Dougherty Campbell, 51, of Havertown and her five siblings since they were children. Now, all six kindred families carry on the tradition, which began in 1954.
That's when Betty Dougherty, matriarch of the clan, enjoyed the classic scallop dish so much at a restaurant that she persisted in getting the chef's recipe (by bribing the waiter with a handsome tip, according to family legend). In time, she added more shellfish and made the recipe her own.
Thanksgiving dinner being the mega-meal that it is, the coquilles (the name of the scallop dish literally means "shells of St. James") are served as a fish course. But the ceremony of the presentation emphasizes its importance as a family tradition: The scallop shells are served on antique gold-embossed china plates, which are used only on Thanksgiving, for this one special dish, and are passed from mother to daughters.
Since the Campbells will dine tomorrow with Hannah's sister Elizabeth Moore, the Campbell children (daughter Tara, 22, and sons Patrick, 20, Andrew, 18, and Daniel, 14) pressed to have their own holiday meal at home anyway, just on another day. And Campbell invited The Inquirer to share in the meal.
