Thxgiving, Christmas- often turkeyless

[shootingstar]

So this yr.'s Thxgiving dinner, just a few wks. ago, was at a mountain national park town (Jasper) where we had a lovely view.  My dinner was a spicy seafood soup with a mound of Thai rice in middle. (I didn't quite expect any rice at all.)

I only have a turkey dinner of sorts for Thxgiving or Christmas every 4-6 yrs. I'm not missing anything...really. I'm very lucky I am with others wanting to have other stuff.  The last time I had turkey for either of these occasions was probably 5 yrs. ago.  It's pretty mixed up but lovely in terms of cuisines for special yearly events.

 

[petitepedal ★]

Wow that looks awesome....

For me I think Thanksgiving and making a Turkey is the only family holiday tradition that I cling too...which is nuts considering sometimes by luck I have 1 guest...on a few occasions...I have 5 guests and that is pretty much since my mom died..the first couple of years I did a group thing...and I adopted doing the Thanksgiving dinner for some friends of mine when their kids were young...I would show up Wednesday night and basically do the whole thing...until the kids started doing the cooking as teens...I think I cooked their dinner for about 5 years. 

Ham or Turkey are traditional at Christmas...but I do neither...I mean if I do turkey for Thanksgiving...I am still eating leftovers at Christmas   When we were in our teens, and in love with pasta...my mom would make Rigatoni and meatballs...slow cooking the meatballs in the sauce..simmering the sauce for hours. We would have this Christmas Eve, the Turkey or Ham thing Christmas Day....and for New Years...she would make "sarama" cabbage roll..our tradition was with sauerkraut. Those are the holiday food traditions....I have gotten into the Chicken Riggies (a little less acidic than a regular red sauce) but I still occasionally do my moms sauce...and I have done cabbage rolls too.  I just can't seem to give up the Thanksgiving Turkey...which is stupid...

I would still like to do Thanksgiving at a place on the North Shore where a group went up..on Wednesday and shared some meals and did some hiking...but...I need new friends

[Wilbur ★]

We have done other things over the years but the family consensus is, it just isn't Christmas without a turkey dinner.  The tradition continues.   

 

[shootingstar]

1 hour ago, petitepedal said:

Wow that looks awesome....

For me I think Thanksgiving and making a Turkey is the only family holiday tradition that I cling too...which is nuts considering sometimes by luck I have 1 guest...on a few occasions...I have 5 guests and that is pretty much since my mom died..the first couple of years I did a group thing...and I adopted doing the Thanksgiving dinner for some friends of mine when their kids were young...I would show up Wednesday night and basically do the whole thing...until the kids started doing the cooking as teens...I think I cooked their dinner for about 5 years. 

Ham or Turkey are traditional at Christmas...but I do neither...I mean if I do turkey for Thanksgiving...I am still eating leftovers at Christmas   When we were in our teens, and in love with pasta...my mom would make Rigatoni and meatballs...slow cooking the meatballs in the sauce..simmering the sauce for hours. We would have this Christmas Eve, the Turkey or Ham thing Christmas Day....and for New Years...she would make "sarama" cabbage roll..our tradition was with sauerkraut. Those are the holiday food traditions....I have gotten into the Chicken Riggies (a little less acidic than a regular red sauce) but I still occasionally do my moms sauce...and I have done cabbage rolls too.  I just can't seem to give up the Thanksgiving Turkey...which is stupid...

I would still like to do Thanksgiving at a place on the North Shore where a group went up..on Wednesday and shared some meals and did some hiking...but...I need new friends

Pasta if done right, can be wonderful. Sounds like a comfort Christmas teen food.  

I can't name 1 single food tradition as a child/teen.  However mother would often choose chicken. Of course there was rice, etc.  All of it was Chinese food dishes.  Sushi didn't enter into the picture until we grew up, lived elsewhere and picked up other different cuisines along the way in life. 

When I had my home and later with dearie, our thxgiving and Christmas would vary each year on whatever we felt like:  bison, elk, fish/some type of seafood.  In Vancouver, it tends to be seafood.  Seafood could be any of or 2 of: sockeye salmon, large scallops, etc.  He came from....a goose family where they had goose when he was a child.  It was a type of German tradition.  

Some years the accompanying food would include:  spaetzle (the dearie makes from scratch), fresh ravioli from Italian store, rice, celeriac mash or parsnip mash,..  Some of my siblings have done and served roast turkey in certain years.

When it's a family potluck, for sure it's totally mixed up cuisne-wise. You can bet there will be char siu (Chinese BBQ pork), etc.  And with dearie, there is at least bakery kristollen (from a German pastry chef) and a lovely gourmet cake.  There is wine.  For my family 2 bottles suffice for  a group of 20 people, with several children.

 

[BuffJim]

I love Turkey at Thanksgiving and beef at Christmas. 

[Prophet Zacharia]

We’ll be doing fish for Thanksgiving this year.