Lieutenant General Russel Honore (Ret.), 61, has built his career on being prepared. Known nationally as the tough and efficient general who devoted more than 35 years to the United States Army, General Honore is perhaps best-known as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina. In that effort, he deployed thousands of troops to provide military relief for grief-stricken New Orleans. Affectionately called "The Ragin' Cajun," he is the man who led the U.S. Armed Forces in their mission to finally bring order to the rescue of thousands following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans. Life-preparedness, says the general, is his new calling, and not only on the home front.
On Thanksgiving, part of being prepared and ready for service means the three-star general is on call as his wife, Beverly, does most of the Thanksgiving cooking in the Honore household. "I usually end up going to the store three or four times over the course of the day; that’s my official role" he laughs.
"My wife does some small preparations the day before the holiday, but she cooks most of the food the morning of Thanksgiving," he says. "We like a peaceful holiday so the family arrives the night before, but we usually cook that morning. That’s my wife's rule: fresh food."
The general grew up on a subsistence farm, in a Creole family with 11 siblings. He says he was very fortunate to have his grandfather, Ferdinand St. Amant, living in the house with them. St. Amant was General Honore’s only living grandparent, a hard worker throughout his life who served as a life inspiration. "He was a great man to look up to and growing up with him in our home was a gift. He always told me, 'Son, to work is a blessing, and you remember that.' I hope to be in the same position with my grandson and future grandkids," he says
Today, Thanksgiving dinner remains reminiscent of those he had as a boy: turkey with bread dressing and potatoes, casserole, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and baked macaroni. The day was a time to focus on the food and "a day where everyone sits around the table and says what they are thankful for," he says, a tradition upheld in his home today.
General Honore says that his parents, Udell and Lloyd Honore, were both "pretty good cooks," who always made a ham on Thanksgiving from pigs they raised on the farm, in addition to the customary turkey. In honor of that tradition, the self-professed "Grill Master" makes his "specialty dish" for his family the day after Thanksgiving. "When the kids come to the house for Thanksgiving, I always do pork, just like my mom and dad" he says. "I do ribs for them, or a Boston butt, seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and cayenne."
And Thanksgiving is particularly meaningful for General Honore. It will be his first as an Army retiree, a time he can focus strictly on his immediate family: his wife, his grandson, James, and his daughters Stephanie, James’s mom, Jimmy, Stephanie’s husband, and Kimberly, all of Florida, and his sons Sergeant Michael of Fort Hood, Tex., Michael’s fiancée, Nicole, and his young son Steven, an ROTC cadet at North Georgia College.
The logistics of a family Thanksgiving are an easy pleasure for this soldier who recalled his years overseas during the holidays and the effort it took on behalf of the U.S. Army to feed thousands of troops ham and turkey; the logistics, physical and mental, to prepare a meaningful day for the men and women, so far from home on the family-oriented holiday. The day, says General Honore, "had to be special when you are away from home, with the troops, and reflect on times when you are in the peace and safety of your own home."
Continue to the recipes: Lieutenant General Russel Honore's Thanksgiving Pork and Beverly Honore's Sweet Potato Soufflé
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