Thanks for your very kind comments, Lisa. I really do love the foods of Thanksgiving too, even if I don't always like the particular preparation I'm tasting. It's the idea of food standing for traditions and bringing people together at the table that is most appealing to me, no matter the ethnic or national origin of the particular dishes. I think shortcuts are just fine; I wish I just wish I knew more of them, especially when planning large holiday gatherings!😅A very Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Lisa!
My Italian mother really embraced Thanksgiving, I'm not sure why. Possibly because she loved to cook (and was marvelous at it). She always bought the turkey from a farm in NJ and stuffed it with a savory stuffing of bread, sausage, and chestnuts. The sides were all Italian ~ braised rapini, cauliflower and cured olives, sweet & sour cabbage ~ at least until my sister started making sweet potatoes and apples (which we loved). I miss my mom's cooking every day. We have begun to experience the holiday "attrition," with parents gone and kids now grown. Bittersweet. Thanks for your lovely post.
I think a lot of immigrants do embrace Thanksgiving and make it their own holiday. It sounds like your mother did. That savory stuffing with sausage and chestnuts and all the sides sound really delicious. (I'm now very interested in chestnuts after reading your excellent post about them this week!) My mother applied her talents to other types of dishes and became quite an accomplished cook, though she wasn't to begin with. Julia Child definitely had a hand in it! Thanks so very much for your comment, Domenica--and a very happy and delicious Thanksgiving to you and yours!
I have really fond memories of Thanksgiving and it remains one of my favorite days of the year. I love the recipes associated with Thanksgiving, even if I take short cuts some years and buy premade. Your writing is beautiful and I love that you brought in Judy’s writing, too. I’ve always loved that Norman Rockwell painting, but the image you shared via BA - yes! That’s how I feel before a big party sometimes. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Shhhhh! She's getting one. It's supposed to be a surprise!☺️ Happy Thanksgiving, Amie--or did I already say that in another post? Ah well, you can never have too many holiday wishes.
I love Thanksgiving. I grew up in a traditional family and Mom "did everything". She made a wonderful spread and it was always great. Alas, it also was always the same with little variation. The very best of life is to take a bit of the past and invent the future. Our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds were with friends also "stranded in California" and far from home. We all made our favorite sides and it seemed almost a little sad as the sharing a bit of everything seemed to suffer. We actually dropped the turkey and it fractured a bit. As years went by all of our holidays within our family have migrated to everyone contributing and sharing. Sometimes more people, sometimes less. The flexibility it brings is nice. Maybe the turkey is a little different than you might favor. Maybe the dressing is not quite what you remember. The wonder of it all is the variation and flexibility rubs off on everyone and that becomes part of the fun. It is a bit like a wedding wish, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Just my opinion. I remember later in life when my Mom had started actually making cranberry sauce rather than the absurd candied jelly. Of course it was better. That is the opportunity we get when we are flexible and change. Your memory of going out for Thanksgiving might just turn out to be a blast. Happy Holidays.
“The very best of life is to take a bit of the past and invent the future.” That does seem to apply especially to holidays. We want traditions to continue, but, like a river that constantly refreshes itself, we want and need to have them changed and renewed.
Thanks for sharing your reflections on your first Thanksgiving as newlyweds “stranded in California.” Dropping the turkey is reminiscent of Julia Child’s “French Chef” episode when a chicken was said to have landed on the floor (some accounts say it was actually a potato pancake and it just flew out of the pan, but the chicken is funnier!). My mother too became a better cook after discovering Julia and her game changer cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don’t think my mom ever made cranberry sauce, but she did tackle coq au vin.
Wishing you a happy, tradition-filled holiday, Mark, with good fellowship and food and a little something new to spice it up!🎉
The very same to you Ruth. I consider Jacques Pépin to be a bit of a reincarnation of Julia Child. I believe we learn and master most everything via attention and repetition. I love when he shares his estimate of how many chickens he has roasted.
Oooh, I never thought of putting cranberry sauce on ice cream, Evelyn! I’m sure that would be really good. It’s definitely great on sandwiches with leftover turkey! Thanks for your comment. Wishing you, John and your family a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!💕
A lot of good memories of past thanksgivings, even if the sizes of the gatherings have grown smaller! Makes you even more grateful for the times you get to spend with those remaining! 🦃❤️
Judy, thank you for inspiring the post and for sharing so candidly and eloquently your thoughts on the subject. It means a lot! I guess homemade pie will have to wait for the next time we have a gathering at the house--maybe at Hanukkah, though that really is more of a cookie holiday! 😊
Thanks so much, Loren! Memories are like guests at the holiday table--usually welcome but sometimes a little uncomfortable. I hope that yours are treasured visitors and that your Thanksgiving is a happy one.
I love the Doris Lee image. I have fond memories of the big Thanksgiving dinners prepared by my grandmother and my mother. I also remember the stress to make everything "perfect". It's hard to get everything on the table while still hot. I can relate to the shrinking numbers around the table as I will be cooking for just four of us. Your cranberry and raspberry sauce sounds delicious. Enjoy dining out and happy Thanksgiving, Ruth!
That "stress to make everything 'perfect'" is so very familiar, Vicki. I remember my mother coping with that at almost every holiday meal, and I do to this day,. With a complicated multi-course menu, timing is probably the hardest thing to accomplish and most stressful. I'm sure your dinner for four will be lovely! I always want to make every dish you describe, so I know your family will eat very well. Thanks for your good wishes for the holidays, and I send you the same.😋🥂
My Thanksgiving memories are similar to Judy's - no special childhood Thanksgivings that I recall, but 30 years of fabulous ones in Los Angeles! Many friends with their parents and children all of whom were more like family and none of them close by any longer. I do miss those wonderful gatherings, but I'm grateful for my good health and the love of my close friends and family here.
Thanks for sharing, Leslie! It's kind of a universal theme of modern American life--and really life in general: gatherings grow smaller, or possibly larger as family units and friendship circles change. I'm sorry we didn't know you were in L.A. for all those years--you'd have been invited! So glad you've got good health and close friends and family nearby. Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!🦃🥰🥂
Thanks, dear Ruth! Since it's what I think of as a food holiday, I would have loved to spend time having all the holiday treats with you and my usual group. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving! 🥰
I found it hard to connect with Thanksgiving as a British teen, new to California. My best friend took me to her large family celebration, nothing fancy. I remember Grandma and her determination that nobody leave hungry, offering post-meal sandwiches to people lying prostrate in front of the football on TV, groaning, while all the women tried to get Grandma to have a sit down, with no luck. It took me a long time to realize that this was a woman who had come from Arkansas during the Depression, and for whom feeding her whole family as much as-or more than-they wanted was a life's dream come true. It was a lovely gathering.
Annette, thanks for sharing this memory. The picture you paint of Grandma is so vivid and would probably resonate with any folks of that era who, no matter their later prosperity, would never forget having been hungry during the Depression. What a meaningful way for an immigrant British teen to be introduced to this holiday! I hope your own family celebration is meaningful and joyous as well.
Thank you for this lovely heartfelt piece. I enjoyed it very much. We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia, so I’m always interested in how and why Americans (and Canadians) get together and eat all that food! I agree that these special events can be fraught and lonely for many people. Happy Thanksgiving Ruth.
Thanks so much for your comment, Marg! So glad you enjoyed the piece. I wonder if there's a comparable holiday in Australia, something tied to founding traditions and native foods.
Sadly, that’s not the case. Many white Australians are still tied to British traditions and have a hot lunch at Christmas as well as pudding. We do have some multicultural celebrations though. Our Muslim community celebrate Eid and the Indian community celebrate Diwali.
Oh sure. I recall routinely eating so much that I had to lie down on my bed on my back, because my stomach was so full. When I got older I had the ability to inhale a complete Shoprite pumpkin pie on my own (my mother wasn't into baking). Very fast metabolism which meant I never gained any weight.
Wow, Crowden, I would like to be you in another life (or this one), at least when it comes to metabolism. I have NEVER been able to inhale pie or any sweet, bread or other carby thing without gaining weight from the very first mouthful! Holidays like Thanksgiving are really dangerous for those of us with limited will power! Thanks for weighing in.
Thanks for your very kind comments, Lisa. I really do love the foods of Thanksgiving too, even if I don't always like the particular preparation I'm tasting. It's the idea of food standing for traditions and bringing people together at the table that is most appealing to me, no matter the ethnic or national origin of the particular dishes. I think shortcuts are just fine; I wish I just wish I knew more of them, especially when planning large holiday gatherings!😅A very Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Lisa!
My Italian mother really embraced Thanksgiving, I'm not sure why. Possibly because she loved to cook (and was marvelous at it). She always bought the turkey from a farm in NJ and stuffed it with a savory stuffing of bread, sausage, and chestnuts. The sides were all Italian ~ braised rapini, cauliflower and cured olives, sweet & sour cabbage ~ at least until my sister started making sweet potatoes and apples (which we loved). I miss my mom's cooking every day. We have begun to experience the holiday "attrition," with parents gone and kids now grown. Bittersweet. Thanks for your lovely post.
I think a lot of immigrants do embrace Thanksgiving and make it their own holiday. It sounds like your mother did. That savory stuffing with sausage and chestnuts and all the sides sound really delicious. (I'm now very interested in chestnuts after reading your excellent post about them this week!) My mother applied her talents to other types of dishes and became quite an accomplished cook, though she wasn't to begin with. Julia Child definitely had a hand in it! Thanks so very much for your comment, Domenica--and a very happy and delicious Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Beautiful and poignant post, Ruth. I miss making stuffing with my Mom. ❤️
Thank you, Jolene! That must be a lovely memory. Wishing you and your family a very happy and tasty Thanksgiving. 🥰
Same to you and yours, Ruth!
Thanks, Jolene!
I have really fond memories of Thanksgiving and it remains one of my favorite days of the year. I love the recipes associated with Thanksgiving, even if I take short cuts some years and buy premade. Your writing is beautiful and I love that you brought in Judy’s writing, too. I’ve always loved that Norman Rockwell painting, but the image you shared via BA - yes! That’s how I feel before a big party sometimes. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Perhaps a new tradition, one of your fruitcakes for Judy’s birthday cake?
Shhhhh! She's getting one. It's supposed to be a surprise!☺️ Happy Thanksgiving, Amie--or did I already say that in another post? Ah well, you can never have too many holiday wishes.
Ahhhh, dammit. Sorry!!!
No apologies necessary, Amie! I think she already knows. She asked if I would save a piece for her sometime ago and of course I said I would.
I love Thanksgiving. I grew up in a traditional family and Mom "did everything". She made a wonderful spread and it was always great. Alas, it also was always the same with little variation. The very best of life is to take a bit of the past and invent the future. Our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds were with friends also "stranded in California" and far from home. We all made our favorite sides and it seemed almost a little sad as the sharing a bit of everything seemed to suffer. We actually dropped the turkey and it fractured a bit. As years went by all of our holidays within our family have migrated to everyone contributing and sharing. Sometimes more people, sometimes less. The flexibility it brings is nice. Maybe the turkey is a little different than you might favor. Maybe the dressing is not quite what you remember. The wonder of it all is the variation and flexibility rubs off on everyone and that becomes part of the fun. It is a bit like a wedding wish, something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Just my opinion. I remember later in life when my Mom had started actually making cranberry sauce rather than the absurd candied jelly. Of course it was better. That is the opportunity we get when we are flexible and change. Your memory of going out for Thanksgiving might just turn out to be a blast. Happy Holidays.
“The very best of life is to take a bit of the past and invent the future.” That does seem to apply especially to holidays. We want traditions to continue, but, like a river that constantly refreshes itself, we want and need to have them changed and renewed.
Thanks for sharing your reflections on your first Thanksgiving as newlyweds “stranded in California.” Dropping the turkey is reminiscent of Julia Child’s “French Chef” episode when a chicken was said to have landed on the floor (some accounts say it was actually a potato pancake and it just flew out of the pan, but the chicken is funnier!). My mother too became a better cook after discovering Julia and her game changer cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I don’t think my mom ever made cranberry sauce, but she did tackle coq au vin.
Wishing you a happy, tradition-filled holiday, Mark, with good fellowship and food and a little something new to spice it up!🎉
The very same to you Ruth. I consider Jacques Pépin to be a bit of a reincarnation of Julia Child. I believe we learn and master most everything via attention and repetition. I love when he shares his estimate of how many chickens he has roasted.
I will have to tune into Jacques soon to find out.🤗
I love homemade cranberry sauce on ice cream. Also love it on those sandwiches made with leftover turkey.
Oooh, I never thought of putting cranberry sauce on ice cream, Evelyn! I’m sure that would be really good. It’s definitely great on sandwiches with leftover turkey! Thanks for your comment. Wishing you, John and your family a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!💕
A lot of good memories of past thanksgivings, even if the sizes of the gatherings have grown smaller! Makes you even more grateful for the times you get to spend with those remaining! 🦃❤️
Thanks for your comment, Joey! I couldn’t agree more. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, whatever size the gathering!
Thanks for including my words into your lovely post. I'm looking forward to our meal out...pies are included.
Judy, thank you for inspiring the post and for sharing so candidly and eloquently your thoughts on the subject. It means a lot! I guess homemade pie will have to wait for the next time we have a gathering at the house--maybe at Hanukkah, though that really is more of a cookie holiday! 😊
Once again, a wonderful column. As always, your (and your MIL's) memories brought back my own.
Thanks so much, Loren! Memories are like guests at the holiday table--usually welcome but sometimes a little uncomfortable. I hope that yours are treasured visitors and that your Thanksgiving is a happy one.
I have loads of memories of all sizes. This post was so packed with love, flavor and memories. Thank you!
Wow, Sally, that is such a kind comment. Thank you so much! Wishing you the happiest of holidays!
I love the Doris Lee image. I have fond memories of the big Thanksgiving dinners prepared by my grandmother and my mother. I also remember the stress to make everything "perfect". It's hard to get everything on the table while still hot. I can relate to the shrinking numbers around the table as I will be cooking for just four of us. Your cranberry and raspberry sauce sounds delicious. Enjoy dining out and happy Thanksgiving, Ruth!
That "stress to make everything 'perfect'" is so very familiar, Vicki. I remember my mother coping with that at almost every holiday meal, and I do to this day,. With a complicated multi-course menu, timing is probably the hardest thing to accomplish and most stressful. I'm sure your dinner for four will be lovely! I always want to make every dish you describe, so I know your family will eat very well. Thanks for your good wishes for the holidays, and I send you the same.😋🥂
Thank you for the vote of confidence, Ruth!!
My Thanksgiving memories are similar to Judy's - no special childhood Thanksgivings that I recall, but 30 years of fabulous ones in Los Angeles! Many friends with their parents and children all of whom were more like family and none of them close by any longer. I do miss those wonderful gatherings, but I'm grateful for my good health and the love of my close friends and family here.
Thanks for sharing, Leslie! It's kind of a universal theme of modern American life--and really life in general: gatherings grow smaller, or possibly larger as family units and friendship circles change. I'm sorry we didn't know you were in L.A. for all those years--you'd have been invited! So glad you've got good health and close friends and family nearby. Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!🦃🥰🥂
Thanks, dear Ruth! Since it's what I think of as a food holiday, I would have loved to spend time having all the holiday treats with you and my usual group. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving! 🥰
Thanks, Leslie! Me too! Hopefully we’ll get another chance to meet again in our city or yours in the not-too-distant future!🤗
I found it hard to connect with Thanksgiving as a British teen, new to California. My best friend took me to her large family celebration, nothing fancy. I remember Grandma and her determination that nobody leave hungry, offering post-meal sandwiches to people lying prostrate in front of the football on TV, groaning, while all the women tried to get Grandma to have a sit down, with no luck. It took me a long time to realize that this was a woman who had come from Arkansas during the Depression, and for whom feeding her whole family as much as-or more than-they wanted was a life's dream come true. It was a lovely gathering.
Annette, thanks for sharing this memory. The picture you paint of Grandma is so vivid and would probably resonate with any folks of that era who, no matter their later prosperity, would never forget having been hungry during the Depression. What a meaningful way for an immigrant British teen to be introduced to this holiday! I hope your own family celebration is meaningful and joyous as well.
Thank you for this lovely heartfelt piece. I enjoyed it very much. We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in Australia, so I’m always interested in how and why Americans (and Canadians) get together and eat all that food! I agree that these special events can be fraught and lonely for many people. Happy Thanksgiving Ruth.
Thanks so much for your comment, Marg! So glad you enjoyed the piece. I wonder if there's a comparable holiday in Australia, something tied to founding traditions and native foods.
Sadly, that’s not the case. Many white Australians are still tied to British traditions and have a hot lunch at Christmas as well as pudding. We do have some multicultural celebrations though. Our Muslim community celebrate Eid and the Indian community celebrate Diwali.
Oh sure. I recall routinely eating so much that I had to lie down on my bed on my back, because my stomach was so full. When I got older I had the ability to inhale a complete Shoprite pumpkin pie on my own (my mother wasn't into baking). Very fast metabolism which meant I never gained any weight.
Wow, Crowden, I would like to be you in another life (or this one), at least when it comes to metabolism. I have NEVER been able to inhale pie or any sweet, bread or other carby thing without gaining weight from the very first mouthful! Holidays like Thanksgiving are really dangerous for those of us with limited will power! Thanks for weighing in.