Thanksgiving Traditional Foods

[pomtzu]

Wow Grace - did you ever bring back the memories.

Yup - growing up in RI - Thanksgiving was quite an adventure. It started out with the Warwick/Cranston H.S. football game (yup - Grace and I went to the same game and h.s.), then it was an afternoon of eating yourself silly. Sometimes Dad cooked, other times we went to my aunt's place. Being Italian, the dinner at Aunt Milly's was huge. Started with soup and antipasto salad, Italian bread, then the meatballs and spaghetti, then on to the turkey and all that traditionally goes with it. I always skipped most of the Italian because I wanted to have room for all that turkey! If you were still able to move after all of that, then on to the pies and spumoni and coffee. Of course the adults had wine with dinner, and even the kids were allowed if they wanted it. When we stayed home, Dad didn't cook all of that - none of the Italian food first - just the traditional turkey dinner.

Now that those days are long gone, I do the cooking. Usually have a cheese and cracker tray to have something to munch on while everything is cooking. Turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes (no marshmallows!), corn, peas, cranberry sauce, sparkling cider, pies - pumpkin and apple and sometimes mincemeat (I'm the only one that likes MM), pumpkin bread.

My 20 lb bird is defrosting in the fridge - can't wait to get it in the oven and have that wonderful smell of the roasting bird, fill the house.