• Cooking a Thanksgiving feast in Breezy Point

    John Makely / NBC News

    Thanksgiving on Breezy Point: Terri Dodge and her fiancee Steve Peterson drove from Portland, Maine to Breezy Point, NY on Wednesday to cook Thanksgiving dinner for up to 30 people.

    By John Makely, NBC News

    In the weeks since Superstorm Sandy sent a wall of water through Breezy Point and more than 100 homes burned to the ground, the battered neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., has seen a flurry of activity with relief workers, volunteers and utility crews creating traffic jams on the one road into town.

    Thanksgiving Day in Breezy Point started with a few residents still cleaning up and dozens of crews working on the natural gas lines, but little else happening -- except over by the Point Breeze Volunteer Fire Department where Terri Dodge and her fiancee Steve Peterson were in high gear cooking dinner in the parking lot.

    John Makely / NBC News

    Steve Peterson adjusts the heat under a deep fryer as a large turkey cooks.

    Dodge and Peterson, who were recently engaged, drove from Portland, Maine, to Breezy Point on Wednesday and slept in their rented van next to the canned vegetables and coolers in the fire department's parking lot.

    Thursday morning they started cooking for a guest list that kept getting longer. "First it was seven people, then we added 17 and now we're up over 30," Terri said as she carved one of eight turkeys. 

    John Makely / NBC News

    A deep-fried turkey is placed in a cooler to keep it warm until dinner is served.

    John Makely / NBC News

    Terri Dodge served up Turkey, mashed potatoes, green beens, yams, stuffing, gravy and a canned pork item grilled with maple syrup dubbed "Hurricane Ham"

    Improvisation and outdoor cooking is not new for Terri and Steve. The couple run "A Lobster Affair" catering company in Portland, but cooking next to a flooded car in the middle of a town recently devastated by Sandy has offered some challenges. "We had to use bottle water to cook the potatoes - that was fun." The biggest challenge? "We need more side dishes, " she said as she mashed a pot full of steaming potatoes.

    John Makely / NBC News

    About 60 volunteers, police and firefighters enjoy a Thanksgiving meal prepared by Teri Dodge and her fiancé Steve Peterson at the Point Breeze Fire Department in Breezy Point, New York, Nov. 22.

    John Makely / NBC News

    Teri Dodge shows off the company patch she was given from Firefighter Sebastian Danese as she receives a round of applause for cooking Thanksgiving dinner at the Point Breeze Fire Department, Breezy Point, New York, Nov. 22.

    Nearby, Mathew Bruno and Ryan Pascuzzi of the Westchester Fire Academy handed out turkey sandwiches to whoever was hungry.

    John Makely / NBC News

    Ryan Pascuzzi, left, a cadet with the New Rochelle Fire Department, hands out turkey sandwiches to Finbar Devine, center, Tim O'Malley and Tom Ball on 216th Street in Breezy Point.

    "You've got to do your part" Pascuzzi said. "We're going to be devoting our lives to helping other people, we might as well start with a tragedy down here."

    "This is my community," Bruno added. "I've been down here every weekend doing what I can, pumping out people's basements. It makes your day when someone gives you a hotdog, a hamburger or a sandwich while you're working trying to do your part. I've been on that side of working and doing the construction and now it's time for me to come down here and do what I can."

    John Makely / NBC News

    John Dalton, left, and his nephew Al Dalton salvage items from a neighbor's house before the home is razed. The second floor furniture was moved to Dalton's house at the owner's request.

    Elsewhere in Breezy Point, John Dalton was salvaging bedroom furniture for a neighbor whose house will be razed. "I'm thankful that no one got killed in this area," Dalton said. 

    In a neighborhood hard-hit by Sandy, even people who are storm victims themselves find ways to bring Thanksgiving to others. NBC's Kate Snow reports.

  • Parade over, confetti and memories remain

    Carlo Allegri / Reuters

    Confetti is left on a utility access cover after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on November 22, 2012.

    Take a look at some more traditional pictures of the parade (and parades past) in the slideshows below:

    Slideshow: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

    Louis Lanzano / AP

    See images of the giant balloons and festivities at the 86th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

    Launch slideshow

    Slideshow: Macy’s Thanksgiving Parades of the past

    Yana Paskova / Getty Images

    Since 1924, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been an annual holiday tradition. See some of the attractions that have delighted spectators young and old over the decades.

    Launch slideshow

    Follow @NBCNewsPictures

    •Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

     

  • Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords serves Thanksgiving meal to troops in Arizona

    Matt York / AP

    U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and her husband, retired Capt. Mark Kelly, meet both active and retired airmen after serving a Thanksgiving meal to troops at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 24.

    Matt York / AP

    The AP reports:

    U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.

    Giffords arrived in the dining hall at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base at midday Thursday wearing a ball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front. She was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, who also donned an apron.

    Giffords used only her left hand as she served, a sign that physical damage remains from the injuries she suffered when she was shot in January.

    Kelly supported her from her left side as she worked the turkey station on the serving line. He served ham.

    Afterward, she mingled with service members, exchanging pleasantries and mostly one word greetings and responses.

    She did tell Airman 1st Class Millie Gray, of Kansas City, Mo., "Happy Thanksgiving, thank you for your service." Read the full story.

  • Thanksgiving fare goes multi-legged at insectarium

    Gerald Herbert / AP

    Stephanie Smith, an educator at the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans, holds a plate of boiled mealworms, left, and a cornbread stuffing with mealworms, for visitors to sample Thanksgiving-inspired foods with insects at the Audubon Insectarium Friday, Nov. 11, 2011.

    Gerald Herbert / AP

    Zack Lemann, visitor programs manager at the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans, and Stephanie Smith, an educator at the bug museum, prepare cranberry sauce with wax worms, cricket pumpkin pie, and turkey with cornbread and mealworm stuffing for visitors to sample Thanksgiving-inspired foods with insects.

    By James Cheng

    Would you try this at home?

    AP reports:

    Gerald Herbert / AP

    Cornbread stuffing with mealworms.

    Anyone who wants can try this at home, said Zack Lemann, the museum's visitor program manager. "These particular recipes follow an old adage for beginning bug chefs: if a recipe calls for small bits or chopped pieces of fruits, vegetables, nuts, or meat, you can add or substitute insects," he said.

    So just take a favorite recipe and add bugs, making sure they've been raised in a pesticide-free environment. "Mealworms are usually boiled for a good 10 minutes. Wax worms are simmered for only three minutes or so. The softer body of wax worms will burst if boiled for too long, so we use less heat and less time when cooking them," he wrote in an email.

    "Crickets are done at 350 for 30 minutes and stirred into the pie mix."

    Read the full story here.

     

    Gerald Herbert / AP

    Corinne Hufft of Dallas, feeds her daughter Ella Hufft, 3, a boiled mealworm.

     

  • Thanksgiving comes early for those who need it

    Alex Wong / Getty Images

    Antionette Erby-Jones feeds her eighteen-month-old grandson Anthony Erby as seven-year-old granddaughter Kayla Williams looks on.

    Alex Wong / Getty Images

    DC residents arrive for the annual Safeway Feast of Sharing on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

    Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

    Goldie Brown with Child and Family Services Agency hands out traditional Thanksgiving turkey meals on Wednesday night.

    Alex Wong / Getty Images

    Local residents pick free clothing after the dinner on Wednesday.

    By James Cheng

    As we celebrate this holiday season don't forget those less fortunate, please donate to your local food pantries.

    From Getty Images:

    The 12th annual Safeway Feast of Sharing feast provides a free turkey meal, a job fair, free clothing and free health screenings for low income and homeless DC residents to celebrate Thanksgiving. The event feeds more than 5,000 local residents through a variety of corporate and community partners.

  • Thanksgiving travel up despite higher prices

    Lynne Sladky / AP

    Jose Mendes sits in line with his daughter Maria Celeste Mendes at an air ticket counter waiting to travel to Venezuela before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at Miami International Airport, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, in Miami.

    By Rich Shulman

    This family doesn't look like they are looking forward to their trip. Full story.

    Holiday travel slideshow.

    Millions of Americans are expected to hit the airways, roadways and rails this holiday, even as the cost of travelling is sky high. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

     

  • President Obama pardons Thanksgiving turkeys

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    President Barack Obama, with daughters Sasha and Malia, pardons Liberty, a 19-week old, 45-pound turkey, on the occasion of Thanksgiving, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011, on the North Portico of the White House in Washington. At left is National Turkey Federation Chairman Richard Huisinga.

    President Obama pardons the national Thanksgiving turkey, a 19-week-old, 45-pound bird named Liberty. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

     

  • Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Children watch a float go by from an apartment on Central Park South during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York on Thursday, Nov. 25. The 84th annual celebration featured approximately 8,000 participants including more 1,600 cheerleaders and dancers, twelve marching bands, and an assortment of celebrities in addition to 15 giant character balloons.

    A room with a view: Happy Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

    By Elena Grothe

    What a treat to look out the window and see one of these giant balloons go by. You can check out more images from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade here.

  • Michael Reynolds / EPA

    Apple, a 21-week-old, 45-pound turkey, waits to be pardoned by President Barack Obama before the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington DC, Nov, 24, 2010. Obama celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, by pardoning a 21-week-old, 45-pound turkey named Apple. Following the holidays, the National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate will live in a custom-made enclosure at Mount Vernon's livestock facility.

    In defense of the turkey

    By Robert Hood

    In response to Mish Whalen’s PhotoBlog post in which she said turkeys are unattractive, I’d like to take a moment to defend the delicious bird.

    Did you know Ben Franklin favored the turkey over the bald eagle as the symbol of America? Writing to his daughter from France in Jan. 1784, Franklin said:

    I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labour of the fishing hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him….

    The turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on."

    Here are more interesting facts about the distinguished bird:

    • Turkey is the only native poultry breed of the Western Hemisphere.
    • Turkeys can hear very well but they don’t have ears.
    • Turkeys can see colors.
    • When excited, a male turkey's head turns blue, when ready to fight it turns red.
    • Turkeys are so sensitive that they can have heart attacks when they are startled.

  • Gerry Broome / AP

    Workers sort through sweet potatoes at Vick Family Farms in Wilson, N.C. on Friday Nov. 19, 2010.

    Sweet potatoes are cleaned and sorted

    The humble sweet potato, a staple of Thanksgiving dinners and Southern cooking for generations, has recently gone cosmopolitan, thanks to a booming appetite for the vegetables in Europe, where they were all but unknown as recently as 10 years ago. See the story here.