My Favorite Thanksgiving Memory Is a Crystal Dish Filled with Celery
One of my mom’s most treasured family heirlooms is a crystal celery dish, passed down from her great-grandmother, Roseanna (I am her namesake). Mom says they didn’t call celery "a palate cleanser," but it “sure functioned that way,” pointing out they must have known the celery was important, because they devoted a really pretty dish to it. They lived on the Kansas prairie, and special things were just that—special.
It turns out that neither my mom nor I ever cleansed our palates with celery during our respective childhood Thanksgivings. But when [digital editor] Claire asked us for Thanksgiving food memories, I piped right up, no pausing, that I remembered my dad’s grandmother serving celery sticks as a palate cleanser during the heavy feast.
For both me and my mom, Thanksgiving celery is a family story. But I love that my memory includes the experiences of my ancestors, living on in my brain cells and so real I can taste them. (I can confirm, however, that my dad’s grandmother’s walnut-stuffed dates, tossed in powdered sugar, were actually served to me on Thanksgiving. We continued to make them after her passing, along with her roasted blanched almonds.)
Also, Roseanna was right. Celery is a great palate cleanser. It’s bright, bitter, juicy, salty and snappy. Everything Thanksgiving is not (except salty). I love the simplicity, practicality and elegance of placing a dish of plain celery sticks on the table.
But if you want an actual recipe, try our Celery Salad with Lemon-Parmesan Vinaigrette. The celery functions in the salad the same way it does on the whole Thanksgiving meal, balancing rich, fatty flavors and soft textures with its astringent herbaceous-ness and satisfying crunch. The crystal serving dish is optional, though recommended.
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Rosemary Gill
Rosemary Gill is the Director of Education at Milk Street Cooking School. An educator dedicated to helping people create lasting home cooking habits, she oversees the development of hands-on and online cooking classes as well as Milk Street's community initiatives.
