Thursday, November 25, 2010

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving was a special time I spent with my mother.  I would get up when I heard her stirring and my love of food, family, and tradition began.  When I think back to those early mornings, I can't believe we put together all this wonderful food with a single oven, no food processor or KitchenAid, and in a 12' x 12' Kitchen!

For me, Thanksgiving is not just about the food, it's remembering why we made a certain dish.  Each year, Kelly, Erin and I watch the movie, "Pieces of April" with Katie Holmes.  The movie centers around Katie's character wanting to do Thanksgiving for her estranged family and her mother who is dying with breast cancer.  I don't want to give away the plot, but anything and everything goes wrong, but April holds on to trying to recreate the tradition she grew up with and bring her back to her family.

 Well, some things do change.  I'm a vegetarian and my turkey has been replaced with a Quorn "turkey breast," but the way I put the meal together is just like doing it with my Mom.  I still feel that excitement making yeast rolls as I did when I was 7 when Mom let me do them all by myself.  And, I still make the dressing from the very first recipe I created.  Fritoes were very popular in the 50s and I convinced my mother that I could create a stuffing using them that everyone will love.  They did and the rest is history.  I've made my dressing the same way except I use "Gimme Lean," vegetarian sausage; both my girls make the same dressing too.  Passing down traditions gives us roots.

I hope your holiday was memorable and I'd love to hear what special dishes you prepared or how you celebrated it.  Warm wishes to all, love, Susan

4 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds wonderful Susan! Your frito stuffing recipe sounds interesting ;)

    We play bingo every year on Thanksgiving and i bring the cheesecake :)

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  2. I even paid an arm and a leg for Fritos when I was in the UK back in 1991 to create Thanksgiving stuffing for friends! And I remember too having to buy a pumpkin pie since canned pumpkin wasn't available to buy then.

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  3. such beautiful plates and table setting, the brussels sprouts look amazing! thank you for sharing your beautiful memories of your family and of the traditions that stay with you today right down to the movie you and the girls have always enjoyed. xoxo

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  4. Nicole~Only Erin, Kelly, and I love Brussels sprouts and even though they weren't here, I still wanted to have them. Thinking about Thanksgiving past made the day a little easier to get through. I steamed them just for 5-7 minutes and then tossed them with a little olive oil and roasted them at 375F-degrees for 15-20 minutes. Lastly, I saute some shallots in a little butter and spooned over them before serving. They were yummy! How was your day?
    Love you, xoxo

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