It’s Not a Thanksgiving Feast Without These Family Favorites
Fun food traditions that bond my family in the holidays
Turkey or ham. Pumpkin or pecan pie. Whole or jellied cranberry sauce. All are Thanksgiving Day staples for the dinner table along with green bean casserole and sweet potatoes with or without marshmallows.
But when growing up, my family feast was not complete without certain relish dishes. In fact, you could count on a family kerfuffle if these tasty treats were missing or a new recipe was tried.
Deviled eggs
Who doesn’t love a good deviled egg? But do not get fancy. One year, I used Dijon instead of the American yellow mustard. A culinary faux pas in my family.
Another ingredient you don’t mess with — Miracle Whip (a sugary substitute for mayonnaise). It’s used instead of mayonnaise to mix the yolks and mustard. Too sweet for my palate as a kid and adult, but I guarantee Miracle Whip deviled eggs are on all my sisters’ Thanksgiving tables this year.
Lastly, those white and yellow ‘flavor bombs’ must be topped with a sprinkle of paprika and a slice of Spanish olive. A basic, unchanged family recipe — one of few certainties in this chaotic world.
And no matter how many dozens are made, there will be no leftovers.
Belly buttons
Credit my beloved Aunt Jerry for creating the belly button name and the recipe. As kids, these salty and creamy treasures were our favorite to sneak while waiting for the main event, turkey and stuffing.
The name comes from its appearance — pink ham slices spread with cream cheese, wrapped around a green onion, sliced, set on its side and voilà — the swirly shape of a belly button.
Belly buttons are easy to make, fun to serve and fair warning, they’re addictive. Again, don’t count on having leftovers.
Olives
Standard, canned black olives are a staple at all my family’s celebrations and a must for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
Fancy is accepted in this instant. So you can add Kalamata and Spanish olives to the serving tray. There are also several side bowls of olives strategically placed throughout the dining area. All will be empty by the end of the day especially if my sisters are there.
Tourtière
This French Canadian meat pie is not on the Thanksgiving menu for my Irish family. But it is a delicacy at my husband’s family holiday gatherings.
Yet for most French Canadians, tourtière is traditionally baked only for Christmas réveillon, the dinner served on Christmas Eve, and at the New Year’s Eve meal in Quebec.
A tourtière commonly is made with a variety of meat. My husband’s family recipe calls for equal parts of ground pork and beef. Some other recipes add ground veal, still others use chopped meat.
The simmered meat is thickened with mashed potatoes. Or as with my husband’s recipe, crushed saltine crackers are used.
That was always the fun part of preparation for me —handing my granddaughters a rolling pin, a plastic bag of crackers and letting them smash away.
But the true signature of any family tourtière recipe, spices. The savory meat is seasoned with sweet spices — cinnamon, allspice and clove. Add in a little poultry seasoning, salt and pepper and you have my husband’s family recipe.
After more than 40 years of making tourtières, my most savored food memory is teaching my granddaughters how to make their Pip’s favorite holiday dish. And they in turn have made tourtières for their dad and their Pip (a French Canadian nickname for grandpa).
