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CNN Live Event/Special

Thanksgiving in America. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired November 28, 2024 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome back. This is our first ever Thanksgiving in America special right here on CNN.

Yes, that is the Pillsbury Doughboy on your screen. They're just starting to make his way moving again there, making his way down the street here in New York City as part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

We're celebrating Thanksgiving, though, all across the city. Here in New York, parade goers, the spirits are very high, even if the rest of the day is very, very wet. There you see him, Santa, the man in Houston, exciting stuff. Santa's making appearances pretty much every parade, or I'm told maybe that is Detroit.

Are we moving on to Detroit? Oh, look, there we are. On to Detroit, we have seen so many great folks on the streets of Detroit. There are a lot of excitement for the Lions in the crowd there. You may see a lot of blue. Our own our own Nick Valencia met a dog dressed as a lion in honor of the team, looking fabulous earlier today, a little dog named Cash. Lots of great folks coming out in all of these cities to celebrate the holiday, to celebrate each one of their individual cities here.

Looking at live pictures out of Chicago, where there are also a number of performances throughout the morning in the parade. They're really celebrating the diversity of the Windy City.

A fantastic hour still to come for you here of Thanksgiving festivities on CNN. Ahead, not just the praise. We also have our good friend, superstar chef Bobby Flay, who's going to join us again this morning from the Food Network Kitchen, showing us how to take your Thanksgiving feast and played it like a professional.

Also, what better way to kick off the holiday season than with a performance by the one and only Temptations, the group celebrating the 60th anniversary of My Girl. And just a little bit later in the show, they're actually going to join us to perform a popular Christmas classic. So, lots to look forward to.

Let's get you straight though to Houston, where my good friend, Rosa Flores, is standing by. And as I understand it, oh, I think I have a clue as to who may be headed your way in a matter of moments, as I see you've done another costume change. ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erica. Santa Claus is in Houston, and, of course, you're having a special guest right now, Mrs. Claus. Santa Claus gave me the naughty and nice list. I hope you can hear me because I can't hear myself speaking right now because of the band that's behind me. But I'm going to put this naughty and nice list down for just a second because I want to get to business here.

I have Patrick and Leonard here from True Barbecue. And when we talk about Texas, we got to talk about barbecue.

You're from True Barbecue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes ma'am.

FLORES: It is legend now in Texas. Tell me a little bit about barbecue during Thanksgiving. Tell me a little bit about barbecue on Thanksgiving in Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's actually a lot bigger than you would think. A lot of people come to True for smoked turkey and brisket during Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, we actually go through a ton of barbecue during the holidays.

FLORES: Now, some of this barbecue is smoked for hours, right? How long does it take?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, the brisket usually takes anywhere between 14 and 16 hours. And you have to constantly rotate and make sure that the fire is right. So, it takes a lot of hard work.

FLORES: That's a lot of investment. Now, I want you to show us some of this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course. So, this one took about 16 hours to cook, low and slow. All the wood is from Central Texas. No electricity, no gas, all live fire.

FLORES: And that's what makes it so special, right? Now, what's your secret sauce?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Salt, pepper, garlic and onion. That's it.

FLORES: Very simple but delicious.

Now, take a look at this. People are salivating everywhere else. And we were talking about how in Texas, it's not just the turkey, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that?

FLORES: In Texas, it's not just turkey that people have on the table today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there's actually a ton of brisket and a ton of smoked meats. Everybody's very passionate about their barbecue in Texas.

FLORES: This looks delicious. Now, tell us about what else you have here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have some of our good merch. We offer our trinity packs, all the good items that we make in house, our pickles, our onions, and our house escabeche. And we also have one with our sauce. All of these items are made in house. Everything is made fresh daily.

FLORES: Now, before I toss back to you, Erica, I got to share the naughty and nice list with you. And with a little help of my producer, are you ready for this? Because this is coming straight from Santa Claus because I am Mrs. Claus after all, I want to start with the nice list.

[11:05:07]

Let's see who we have.

We have Patrick, Leonard from True, Sarah Weisfeld (ph) holding my microphone, our engineer, Michael David behind the camera, and Bonnie who helped us organize all of this.

And on the naughty list, on the naughty list, Erica Hill and John Berman. And, Erica, I hear that John Berman is no longer with you on the desk. That is just not fair.

HILL: It is true. He had to rush to his Thanksgiving dinner. But I think there's a misprint. I think I'm going to have to make a call to the North Pole. We should definitely be on the nice list.

FLORES: I think John Berman, because he left you by yourself, he definitely deserves to be on the naughty list.

HILL: I'll let Berman fight his own battle. But if you could maybe put in a good word or just maybe the direct line, I'll message you when we're off the air. And I think, I think we can get this taken care of. I'm confident that we'll get it fixed by, you know, Christmas Eve.

Rosa Flores, they -- I'm sorry, Mrs. Claus, thank you again. The barbecue looks amazing. I am so hungry right now. I wish I had smell a vision. Sadly, I don't.

We're going to get back to Rosa in just a minute. I want to take you now over to Detroit. The balloons, the marching bands, the floats, the clowns are a big part of that parade. That's where we find CNN's Nick Valencia along the parade route there.

And, Nick, you have also acquired some bees were accessorizing at this point in the show.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The atmosphere here has been absolutely electric, and just what an eclectic crowd. And I want to bring in here somebody who has a big role here, Max Sangerman. You're part of the Neil Diamond Broadway Musical Production. Tell us about it.

MAX SANGERMAN, BROADWAY PERFORMER: Yes, sir. Thank you so much for having me, by the way.

VALENCIA: Thank you for being here. Happy Thanksgiving.

SANGERMAN: Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.

Yes, so I've been a part of Neil Diamond's Beautiful Noise, the Broadway musical, since its conception. It's it's about Neil's life, since he was a young kid, his humble beginnings in Brooklyn, selling his music on Tin Pan Alley all the way up until his superstardom all over the world, selling out stadiums and everything like that.

VALENCIA: And this is what he wanted reflected for his legacy. He didn't want a biopic. He didn't want a documentary. He wanted a musical.

SANGERMAN: Exactly. Yes, he wanted this to be the way his story was told to everybody on stage, just like he was for his whole life.

VALENCIA: So, what has been your favorite song to perform? And if you could play us something from Neil Diamond, I'd love to hear it. I know our audience would love to see it.

SANGERMAN: Absolutely. Well, you're going to have to sing it with me, all right. Is that all right? You know, it goes a little like, Oh, sweet Caroline.

VALENCIA: Oh, oh, oh.

SANGERMAN: Good times never seem so good.

VALENCIA: So good.

SANGERMAN: So good.

VALENCIA: I love it. Is there anything nerve wracking about evoking his spirit here?

SANGERMAN: You know, there's nothing really nerve wracking about it. It's more exciting, you know? Once I put on the wig and the jacket and the guitar, it just kind of comes second nature.

VALENCIA: That's not your real hair?

SANGERMAN: You know what? It's not, surprisingly.

VALENCIA: It looks real.

SANGERMAN: I know, it looks very -- it's real hair, but it's not my hair.

VALENCIA: I'm loving the whole outfit, the whole look. This is Thanksgiving. Tell us about what you're grateful for. Tell us about what you're thankful for, especially this year.

SANGERMAN: Oh my gosh, I'm so grateful, and it's like every year, just for my family, my friends. and just incredible opportunities to connect with new people and just share the love of music and be a part of something so eclectic and so exciting like this. I'm very, very grateful for all of that.

VALENCIA: You have a lot to be grateful for. Is there anything that you've seen here so far, any of the floats, the band's, anything that's really stood out to you?

SANGERMAN: You know, the marching bands, especially because --

VALENCIA: They're so good.

SANGERMAN: They're incredible when I when I grew up, when I was in high school I was on drum line, and so it's kind of throwing me back to that. And I remember marching down It wasn't quite this big but in Gary, Indiana, walking down the streets there for parade. So --

VALENCIA: Take us out here with a little tune We're going to have much more from Detroit here, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the America's Day Parade presented by Gardner-White. Thank you so much, Max, for joining with us.

SANGERMAN: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

VALENCIA: I'll send it back to you guys.

HILL: Oh, so great. Nick, I appreciate it. Thank you. Who doesn't love a little sweet Caroline? Bop, bop, bop. There we go.

Let's check back in now with our crew right here in New York City. Omar Jimenez is back with me. So, Omar, you're near the end of the parade route. How close is it to finishing or has Santa already made his way by?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Santa made his way by then I'm not doing my job. I completely missed it. But we're in the home stretch right now. And this is what it's looking like.

All right, so we've got marching bands going through and obviously it's raining. You know that. But the people in the good seats are up there looking through the windows as this parade has gone by. This is the West Virginia University marching band here.

And, look, I've been showing you the bystanders over the course of today. It doesn't matter how loud it's been because we'll be quiet as we look here.

[11:10:00]

We got some of our littlest fans just knocked out in the rain, completely comfortable. I mean, look, she could just be sleeping in her bed right now and you wouldn't know.

This is her dad, Sean (ph), from New Jersey. All right, Sean, I'm going to instill you as the representative for the wet fans here. How are you guys feeling? What have you been most excited to see? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing great. The kids absolutely love being out here. There's so much excitement. We have met some friends from South Dakota, whose son was in one of the marching bands. So, it's been a tremendous day despite the rain.

JIMENEZ: So, can you offer comment for your daughter who's knocked out right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is the toughest three year old I've ever met. She's amazing. And she's a real trooper.

JIMENEZ: Amazing. And these are your other two kids here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) and Penelope.

JIMENEZ: How are you guys feeling right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.

JIMENEZ: You?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.

JIMENEZ: All right. See, that's what we want. That's what we want. Good vibes.

And, look, I'm going to show you what we're seeing right here in this home stretch. We've got all the parades and floats that have come by. And then, of course, I'll present to you West Virginia University marching band coming through.

And I do see a little Santa float there in the background as well in this home stretch. It's been raining. But one of the things that has changed in the last few minutes, it's actually a little light out right now. We've got the light at the end of the tunnel, the light at the end of the parade. It's rained, but it has not rained on the spirit of this parade. Let's take a look at the band right now. Listen in.

And that's the West Virginia marching band rolling through. We've seen different bands over the course of this. Obviously they've got flags as well. Are you at the West Virginia marching band?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am the current director.

JIMENEZ: Oh, amazing. Can you just tell us how you guys have been feeling over the course of marching through?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it's a great been incredible, especially seeing the other West Virginia Mountaineer fans here in New York City has been astounding. It's just been so exciting to see all the love for the West Virginia Mountaineers

JIMENEZ: And through the rain, I feel like I'm more rain dress than you are right now. How has everybody been holding up and able to play their instruments and twirl the flags over the courses? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are being troopers. I will tell you that and they're just so excited to be here. And this has been a wonderful opportunity. So, yes, thank you so much for having us. We're excited to be here.

JIMENEZ: Amazing. Well, stay dry. Good luck. Happy Thanksgiving.

Look, see, even without proper rain gear, smiling in the rain, we're thankful for each other. I'm thankful for you, Erica, always. Good to see you.

HILL: I am -- thank you for you, my friend. That's good because we're spending the morning together tomorrow on CNN. So, it's a good thing that we like each other.

I love to -- as you point out, she was with the color guard. As we see all the marching bands go by, they have the ponchos. The color guard, they do not. I'm looking at a lot of them going by. They don't have a lot of clothing on. They're in the rain and they are smiling the whole time.

JIMENEZ: Hey, they are better than me, because I'm barely smiling and I got on all this stuff right now. But I'm thankful to be out here.

HILL: It's great. Omar, I love it. Thank you. I'm glad you grabbed your -- absolutely. Good to hear from the Mountaineers and from the dad of the toughest three-year-old ever. We can tell those girls are having a great time.

So many people enjoying this parade, many of you enjoying it from the dry comfort of your own homes, and we applaud you for that decision.

Just ahead, or actually, I should say earlier this morning, Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay was with us. He showed us how to make a tasty side dish for your Thanksgiving spread, those spicy crusted carrots or that delicious yogurt harissa dip. Well, now Bobby is back to show us the chef's art of plating your Thanksgiving masterpiece.

BOBBY FLAY, CHEF, FOOD NETWORK: All right. Guys, welcome back to the Food Network Kitchen. We're continuing our Thanksgiving Day.

Let's start plating. So, we have the carrots, which I'm going to finish plating right now. So, I take that harissa yogurt and just slather a little bit on the bottom of the plate. And then we take some of our spice crusted carrots. And, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know, perfectly placed, but, you know, a little bit of order will help. Different colors, purple, yellow, orange, really beautiful.

And we'll take some of the pomegranate dressing right on top, and then some of our dressed beets or roasted golden beets. So, you have -- I mean, to me, this is like -- if you have a vegetarian that is not going to have turkey, just give them a plate of these carrots and beets. It's really beautiful and definitely filling for sure.

Okay, then we're going to take a little bit of -- these are -- you know, I need crispy on everything I eat, you know, crispy or crunchy, very, very important. These are very thinly sliced and fried parsnip chips, so kind of in that carrot family, of course.

[11:15:04]

And then, I don't know, I just like a little bit of mint with this. Some fresh mint goes incredibly well with the pomegranates, and there we go. There's are beautiful carrots with harissa yogurt and some pomegranates and roasted beets.

All right, now we have our -- let's finish our Thanksgiving plate. So, you have some beautiful roasted turkey here with lots of fresh herbs and butter. We have my parker house rolls and I made a cranberry sauce. It has fresh figs in it as well and some port wine, so some good acidity and nice sweetness and goes really nicely with the tartness of the cranberries.

And then this is one of my favorite side dishes that I make every single year. This is a 12-layer potato gratin with some caramelized shallots. It's got cream. It's got garlic, got some fresh thyme. And I say 12, but it's somewhere between 10 and 25 layers, you know, but who's counting? And then we're going to take a little bit of our carrots and finish off this plate.

You know, you got to fill up that Thanksgiving plate, for sure. Some beets and maybe a little -- I don't know. To me, you have to have some sage, some fresh sage with Thanksgiving. I'm going to put that over the turkey and then we're going to finish it with a little bit of gravy. Don't forget your gravy, everybody, right over that turkey. And there we go.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody, 2024. Let's get it.

HILL: Happy Thanksgiving to you, Bobby Flay. Thank you for that. It looks beautiful. Again, mow I'm hungry for more.

Be sure to check out Bobby's new book, Bobby Flay Chapter One, and tune in for beat Bobby Flay Holiday Throwdown on Food Network Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.

We are, of course, celebrating Thanksgiving in America all morning long here on CNN. That mother goose float coming to us from Detroit has been a part of the parade since 1924 in every parade in Detroit. A few upgrades, of course, and understandably over the years. Thanksgiving, the Detroit parade is actually tied with New York for the second longest running parade, both in their 98th year this year. That float was originally pulled back in the day by horses. You see the American flag being pulled there as well.

Much more ahead as we celebrate Thanksgiving in America. The parade's also in full swing in Chicago. You got to look at the celebration there. More flutes, more balloons, more festivities just ahead. And some more from our colleagues here at CNN. Here's Abby Phillip with what she is thankful for this holiday season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, what a year it has been. This year, I am so thankful for this device right here, technology that's made it so much easier for us to stay in touch and keep in touch. When you move away from your family, like I did this year, you learn very quickly that FaceTime is a miracle. So, I'm grateful for all the ways that we can stay close even when we are far away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[11:20:00]

HILL: Oh, hi, Kermit. Look at Kermit, Kermit in his Santa hat, ready to go. In Detroit, there is one of the largest collections of papier- mache heads. We're going to get you some of that, I think, coming up in just a minute, but here's a live look at Kermit there at the parade in Detroit, one of the many balloons.

Here in New York City, my good friend, Harry Enten, out on the streets of New York, braving the elements for the parade here.

Some of the parade wrapping up, Harry's duties, however, are not done. We are getting ready. We are moving on from Thanksgiving straight into Hanukkah.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: That's exactly right. Look, there ain't nobody here. The parade here by this side of the street is over. I have my dessert here, some pumpkin pie. It's not half bad after the turkey. It's pretty gosh darn good.

But, you know, every single year, I see Santa go by, and I love Santa, but sometimes it feel a little bit left out. So, I decided to put on my dreidel dreidel sweater here. Hanukkah is starting on the night of the 25th of December. So, for those out there who are celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas to you. To those who are celebrating Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah to everybody who's out there.

And although the weather has been kind of bad, I have a way to sort of mark the activity, oi, oi. That's all I can say about this weather. But it's been a lovely time with you, Erica, our dear friend, John Berman, who went adios amigos, a lovely time with him. I've had great fun. There's nothing better than a parade, and all I want for Hanukkah is the love of my girlfriend, because that's all I need, and I know I have it, Erica.

[11:25:01]

And I know you love my girlfriend nearly as much as I do.

HILL: I do. I do. I adore her. I absolutely do, and I know she's got your love as well.

Well, Harry, it has been a pleasure, as it always is. I've also enjoyed the costume changes. Still not sure about a turkey eating a turkey, but we'll just leave that one alone for now. My friend, enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving. I'll probably see you tomorrow at the office.

So, in Chicago, a lot happening there, as we've been showing you throughout the morning, I believe the Wu Zhi Lin Performing Arts Association. We see it right here. They have a float, which features performers wearing traditional Chinese attire, also performing folk dances. It's just another reminder of the diversity of the parade in Chicago, and so much of that is meant to celebrate the diversity of the city of Chicago as well. So, really a great time there on the streets of the Windy City.

I mentioned the big papier-mache heads in Detroit. In Detroit it is the largest collection of papier-mache heads. They're actually known as big heads and this is -- it is the 17th appearance here for them in the parade. Very cool as you go to look at that. Live from our friends there at WDIV in Detroit.

We also have some special guests who know a thing or two about being a big, happy family. The hosts of Inside the NBA on TNT, you know them too, Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson Jr., they're joining us now with a special Thanksgiving message and a little bit about what they're thankful for this year.

ERNIE JOHNSON JR., HOST, INSIDE THE NBA: Hey, it's the Inside the NBA crew. So, let's go right down the line. Shaq, Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

SHAQUILLE O'NEIL, HOST, INSIDE THE NBA: Well, I'm thankful for you guys, thankful for family, thankful for children, thankful to just still be working and just still be relevant somehow and just happy. If it was up to me, I would like to see homeless people have a great day today.

You know, it really hurts my heart to see people not have somewhere to go on a nightly basis. So, if I was in control, I would make sure everybody at least can have a meal on that day.

JOHNSON: Very nice. Chet?

KENNY SMITH, HOST, INSIDE THE NBA: Well, the greatest gifts, always the things you can buy family, friends and health and relationships. Those are the greatest gifts that you have. I'm always thankful for those. And so for me, that's what Thanksgiving is about.

CHARLES BARKLEY, HOST, INSIDE THE NBA: Everybody knows Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

SMITH: Yes, because you love to eat.

BARKLEY: Yes, I do love to eat. But it's really the only time you get all the family together, invite a few friends and you all just sit around and just be together, have a nice meal and just spend quality time together with no other distraction.

You don't do that. We don't do that as much as we should. But for some reason, everybody gets together on Thanksgiving. And that's what I'm thankful for.

And I hope -- and then to piggyback on Shaq's point. Man, there's so many great people around the country, these homeless shelters and people who have events where people who can't afford Thanksgiving dinner get to go. It's always special to see that on television.

JOHNSON: Yes, thankful for all those folks who make that happen.

BARKLEY: Yes.

JOHNSON: I'm thankful for a wife of 42 years, my lovely Cheryl. I'm thankful for six kids, five grandkids, and thankful for deep fried turkey, because that is the absolute --

BARKLEY: Shout out to Baby Kate (ph) who cooks my deep fried turkeys.

JOHNSON: I cook my own deep fried turkeys. And you've never seen me on the internet doing that.

BARKLEY: Here you go --

JOHNSON: because I don't want to see that. Nobody want to see that.

SMITH: You're drooling, Chuck. Here you go.

BARKLEY: All this talk of deep fried turkey.

JOHNSON: Lots to be thankful for.

BARKLEY: Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

O'NEIL: You stop talking about turkey.

SMITH: Turkey stop from drooling.

HILL: So great. Thank you again to the team from Inside the NBA. And, of course, you can catch their show on our sister network, TNT.

Just ahead here on Thanksgiving in America, we're going to continue to check in with our friends and colleagues around the country, a live look for you there at the city of Detroit.

Stay with us much more ahead, right here. You're watching Thanksgiving in America on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there. Happy Thanksgiving from my podcast studio.

I am grateful for so many things. I'm grateful for my family. I have three teenage daughters. I'm grateful for my beautiful wife and all my friends and all the people that I love. I'm also grateful for Erica and John, who are doing a lot of the heavy lifting on Thanksgiving Day. We really, really appreciate it. I'm thankful for this job where I get to have conversations with people all over the world to talk about the most fascinating things. That's part of what I'll be doing today as well.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everybody.

[11:30:00]

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