I put a note on Facebook just before Thanksgiving that I was thankful for my husband who went to all three grocery stores in Sioux Center looking for rutabagas for me so we could have them with our Thanksgiving dinner. Many people commented that they have never eaten rutabaga so we took pictures so you can all see what you are missing. My grandmother always served mashed rutabaga with holiday meals, a tradition continued by my parents. For some reason, my grandmother always called them turnips. My own kids called them orange potatoes when they were little.You peel and cut up the rutabaga and boil it, just like you do for mashed potatoes. My grandmother's secret was to put a potato in the pot to "draw out the bitterness" and we always do that too. Then you mash the cooked rutabaga with butter and milk, again just like mashed potatoes. Finally, it is time to eat. You put a scoop of mashed potato on your plate, plop a scoop of rutabaga next to it and pour gravy over it all. My definition of comfort food! I think I like rutabaga for three reasons. One, they really are yummy. Two, people who love me have always made these for me and that adds a special flavor you can't get any other way. Three, I pretty much love everything that goes with gravy.
Out East we called them turnips and I'm sorry no matter how you fix them, they are still bitter. They were my dad's favorite so we always had them at Thanksgiving, same way you do, but it didn't pass down to this generation. He would be so glad -- it's the Irish in you and him I think.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of rutabagas but I have heard of turnips. Both sound bitter and kind of unappetizing; however,your picture of the cooked rutabaga looks very much like the mashed parsnips/apples that Mike's aunt has made for Thanksgiving. They were very good and not at all bitter.
ReplyDeleteI never had rutabega until I started courting Kathleen, I like them too. I think they taste like a cross between cooked carrots and boiled cabbage, but not really very bitter. Of course I like brussel sprouts also.
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