Thanksgiving

Two weeks ago, my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving with each other. Every year my family all heads over to my aunt’s house in Brooklyn to enjoy our Thanksgiving meal. Each year my family plays football at the local high school across the street from where my aunt lives. This year, my team won (just as we have done the previous two years), but I was not the most valuable player and instead my cousin received that accolade. After the game, my family all went back to my aunts house to get cleaned up. Later, while the men where downstairs, my aunt and mother would were in the kitchen preparing the Thanksgiving feast that my whole family was about to enjoy. When dinner was ready, my whole family gathered in the living room upstairs and we were all told where we would sit. Even though I am 18 years old, I still had to sit at the folding table otherwise known as the dreaded “kiddie table”. That night my aunt and mother prepared all types of food including turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and corn bread. This year I decided to join my cousin and grab a turkey leg that was almost the size of my head. I did not show any table manners that night and I ate that turkey leg with my hands the way people during the Medieval Period would have. After eating, I went downstairs with the rest of the men in my family and we watched football together. We were all slouched on the couch and we were so tired after eating all of that delicious food. My family later went upstairs for dessert, which included a birthday cake for my cousin, as well as a strawberry cheesecake. The only part of that night that I did not enjoy was that I had to go to work later that night and I didn’t even get out of work until 3 o’clock in the morning. I am definitely looking forward to next years Thanksgiving feast with my family and hopefully I am not working that night as I did this year.

 

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This was my dish on Thanksgiving

My Italian Culture Present on Holidays

A tradition in my family that makes an appearance every holiday is antipasto. The tradition started when my great grandmother came to America from Italy. She would carefully design a large tray of assorted meats, cheeses, olives peppers and other cold appetizers to pick on before the hot meal was served. Fortunately, the tradition was passed down through the generations. Antipasto is honestly my favorite part about holidays, more than any of the other food that is made! My grandma still purchases all of the ingredients needed to make the antipasto including: salami, provolone cheese, roasted peppers (sometimes we make them fresh ourselves), eggs (to hard boil), marinated mushroom and artichokes, and olives.

I woke up Thanksgiving morning very excited to help my mom prepare the antipasto, since I haven’t had it since the last holiday we celebrated, which was Easter. The antipasto is designed in multiple layers, which my mom takes very seriously. It starts with rolling pieces of salami and placing them along the outer edges of an oval shaped plate. After all the salami is rolled, provolone cheese, cut into small pieces, is placed in between two salami rolls. Next, roasted peppers are cut into slivers and placed in the space the cheese created. Whatever pieces are too small or do not meet mom’s approval are thrown in the middle of the plate to be eaten later. Peeled and cut hard boiled eggs are placed on top of the peppers. Then, in rings, the mushrooms and artichokes are placed, moving in towards the center of the plate. Finally, olives are stacked up in the middle. I used to get in trouble when I was younger for “helping out” because I would start to eat the salami and olives before they even reached the plate! To complete the dish, the juices from the marinated mushrooms and artichokes are poured over the whole antipasto. The plate is then covered and placed in the fridge to marinate before we eat.

Both my mom and I prefer the leftovers to the real dish. When we finish eating the antipasto course, there is always so much left over! My mom carefully spoons the remaining items, along with the marinade, into a container. That container then goes in the fridge to get picked on for the next week or so. As unappetizing as this may sound, I would get up in the morning and that would be the first thing I would look to eat! Delicious!

I am happy that my family incorporates our Italian culture into all of the holidays that we celebrate. I believe that it enhances every holiday we celebrate, in addition to being with family, of course. It is a tradition I look forward to preparing and eating each holiday!

Russian Hanukkah Dinner

Every year we start off Hanukkah with a big family dinner that includes an abundance of Russian infused Jewish foods. I love celebrating all of the Jewish Holidays because at every dinner we incorporate Russian dishes into the meal. This past Hanukkah we had a number of Russian dishes at the table. First, we had a soup called Borscht, which is a beet soup that is served with sour cream on top. In addition, we had Gifelte fish, which is a stuffed fish, filled with a mixture of chopped fish, eggs, onions, matzo meal or crumbs, and spices. Nowadays, it usually refers to poached fish cakes or a fish loaf, sometimes made with matzo meal. We had Knish, a kind of turnover, filled with one or more of the following: mashed potato, ground meat, sauerkraut, onions, kasha (buckwheat groats) or cheese, and baked or deep fried. Latkes were also prepared which are fried potato pancakes, usually eaten at Hanukkah with sour cream or apple sauce. Last but not least before the dessert entered the table we had Vorschmack which is also known as gehakte herring or chopped herring. It is strong tasting creamy herring spread, served on crackers or bread, very commonly used as a spread. For dessert, we had Blintz which are thin egg pancake wrapped around a sweet mixture of farmer’s cheese, potato, or fruit pie filling, similar to a crepe, but with the ends tucked in and fried again in butter; often served with sour cream. In addition, we had Hamantashen which is a triangular pastry filled with poppy seed or prune paste, or fruit jams, eaten during Purim. Last but not least we had Kichel which is a cookie commonly made with egg and sugar rolled out flat and cut into large diamond shapes; they are typically eaten with a savoury dip or topping. I am very thankful of my Russian background and the different types of dishes it brings to my dinners.

My Final Visit to Port Richmond HS

Last Monday was my last visit to my mentee at Port Richmond High School. For our last meeting, we decided to talk about Thanksgiving and how our families celebrate. My mentee shared that every Thanksgiving he assists his grandmother with cooking the turkey and preparing the rest of the side dishes that are served. Together we discussed the different foods that one would traditionally eat for Thanksgiving including stuffing, string beans, mushrooms, regular potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. and the variations in preparing them. Through his explanations, I noticed that we have similarities in how we prepare the food that both of our families enjoy on Thanksgiving.

After discussing Thanksgiving, I asked him the questions found on the “Mentee” Student Survey. I wish that we had received this survey earlier in our meetings with our mentee so it could have served as an ice breaker to allow us to get to know our mentees better. I also believe that it would have provided great discussion topics to utilize during our meetings.

Overall, I am happy that I had the opportunity to be a mentor for a student at Port Richmond High School. This was a new and exciting experience for me. I gained new social skills and learned how to be a proper role model for those younger than me. Although I was apprehensive about being a mentor, I really came to enjoy spending my Monday mornings at Port Richmond High School visiting my mentee. I hope that I successfully did my job as mentor and gave my mentee options to consider as he plans for his future.

Thanksgiving

One holiday my whole family likes is Thanksgiving. Every year we go to my grandmas house where my mom, two aunts, and my grandma cook everything starting from the preparation from the night before. My grandma’s favorite thing to make on Thanksgiving is the turkey; she loves turkey so every year she buys and cooks the biggest turkey she can find. This year she cooked a 30-pound turkey and by the end of the day more than half of it was gone. My favorite dish that she makes is lasagna; her lasagna is the best! Most of my family members can not wait to eat her lasagna on holidays she even makes an extra tray for everyone to take home. When she makes her lasagna she uses the tomato sauce we made over the summer and her homemade mozzarella.

IMG_1263My family does not only just make lasagna and turkey on Thanksgiving it is much more than that. There are four courses that my family prepares for just about every holiday. The first course my grandma calls the antipasto that is peppers, hard boiled eggs, different kinds of cheeses, different types of dry sausage and my favorite little pieces of pizza that she made and cut up tiny. The second course is the lasagna, but everyone has to be careful with this dish because if they eat too much they will not be able to eat anything else. The third course is the turkey, but along with the turkey is sweet and regular potatoes, broccoli rabe, corn, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. Finally last but not least dessert, which is everyone’s favorite part of the day. My grandma makes butter cookies, some filled with jelly and some covered n walnuts and what I love the most that she made this year was her homemade seven layer cookies. This year one of my aunts made brownies, my other aunt made cream puffs, and my mom made a homemade vanilla cake from scratch that is to die for!

Thanksgiving Dinner

In last week’s history and RFT class, we discussed Thanksgiving and how differently foods are prepared. I never spent the time to think about Thanksgiving and how my family prepares for this Holiday. Every year my family alternates on who is going to cook for Thanksgiving. Last year, Thanksgiving was at my house so this year my aunt decided to celebrate it at her house. We are a big family and every year we there is always a new addition. Our immediate family is over thirty people not including all our close family members in Greece.

Each family member cooks and brings something homemade. My mom made pecan pie and her famous tiramisu, my grandmother made the stuffing, etc. We always make the typical Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, corn, and gravy, but we always add a Greek twist to it. We always make our signature spinach and cheese pies that everyone loves. My family, especially the guys, can eat lamb every day. So on Thanksgiving in addition to the turkey we also make lamb. I am not a big fan of turkey, so I get incredibly happy that we incorporate some Greek foods.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is a day I sit back, look around, and take a moment to be thankful for everything I have and how fortunate my siblings and I are. We never know what we are going to wake up to so we should appreciate and be thankful every day.

My Thanksgiving Meal

Growing up in an Italian/American household my mother cooks each holidays traditional food with the addition of Italian dishes. My family’s tradition is to wake up at 9am to marinate and stuff the turkey and put it in the oven as we watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After the turkey is in the oven my mother with the help from me and my sister start making the side dishes to go with the turkey.

We make mash and sweet potatoes, homemade gravy, stuffing, cream spinach, corn, Brussels sprouts which is  traditional Thanksgiving food. But of course we can not forget about our italian traditions. My mother puts out an antipasto spread before everyone comes over so when they get to my house they have something to pick on. Then the homemade lasagna and mushroom risotto is served for everyone to eat at the table.

After we take a break from eating for a bit the main course is served which is the turkey with all the traditional sides plus my families additives. My uncle that is Puerto Rican brings over his home made rice and beans with pastilles. Then my mother makes stuffed artichokes, broccoli rabe, pasta salad, and a cauliflower salad. All of these dishes that are placed at the table make up a part of my family and heritage that ties my family together.

Thanksgiving: My Food Voice

In my food voice paper I wrote about my mom’s lasagna. While home for Thanksgiving she made it like always. When she was making it Thursday morning, I was able to get a picture of her laying down the layers. She gave me a disapproving look as I got in her way, but she let me take the picture. Snapchat-8497507258627261225

Like always my paternal side of the family loved it. They commented again about how the German makes the best lasagna at an Italian Thanksgiving. In fact, they almost ate the whole tray of it, and my dad’s side of the family is pretty small.

As for me, my mom made gluten free baked ziti which was amazing. As I talked about in my last pots, I really missed good home cooked meals. So when I got my plate of ziti I downed it in a matter of minutes. My grandma looked so proud.

 

Thanksgiving Generosity

The holiday season is typically a time focused on family and being thankful for the best things in your life. This is the most true around Thanksgiving. Now that the day is over and we’re well into black Friday, I thought I’d make mention of the generosity that I happened to see over the break. My mother belongs to a women’s club in my hometown. They do charity work in the area and for Thanksgiving they collect food for those who may not be able to afford a Thanksgiving dinner. This year they broke records thanks to one anonymous donor who sent a truck full of food to the donation drop off location.

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Just from personal experience, many of us know what it is like to feel the joy of giving a gift to another. In a New York Times article written by Tara Parker-Pope, gift giving is seen as one of the best things that can provide a psychological benefit this holiday season. In fact, she states that “Indeed, psychologists say it is often the giver, rather than the recipient, who reaps the biggest psychological gains from a gift.”  When it comes to the gift of food, I believe it may have even further beneficial results. Food is a great gift to an entire family, especially if they would have had trouble putting it on their tables otherwise. It provides everyone with a gift that they can enjoy and give them a great opportunity to get together and celebrate the holidays. I hope that this giving extends from Thanksgiving into other occasions this season. I encourage others to take the joy of giving material items such as toys and include the gift of food for those who need it. The smiles of those who receive food are brilliant and the community output which was shown in my own town was fantastic. This picture to the right was just half of the space that was given to collect donations. If you’re interested in reading the article on the psychology of gift giving, you can find it here. I enjoyed my holiday break and I hope you all did as well! 

Shannon


Cliche Thanksgiving Dinner

Yesterday was the best day of the year for me because it was the day where there is no shame in eating until you can’t eat anymore. Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what you have and just good times around family. It is different from Christmas because the holiday is not centered around gifts. Its just about family and coming together to give thanks for the life you are living. This is why I feel as though Thanksgiving is more about food than Christmas because people during Christmas just eat to get to the presents but most families on Thanksgiving just eat. With the focus on eating and not presents people pay more attention to their meals.

There is an array of food from the moment you walk into the Thanksgiving dinner. From a selection of appetizers, that is custom to your family. Then you have the main course which for most people is the same around the country, Turkey! Most people have the same side dishes as well to go along with the turkey. These side dishes include stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. The side dishes may vary for each family and what they like best but most families do have similar side dishes no matter what culture background they come from.

My family being an Italian-American family has all the same side dishes that I listed but different appetizers to start out. At every holiday we always start with the cliché mozzarella, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. We also have a variety of other things such as the cliché vegetables with the dip in the middle. We also have the assortment of cheese and crackers with pepperoni next to the cheeses. As you can see we have some Italian appetizers and some American appetizers and that’s what makes our appetizers different from most people. IMG_0471