THANKSGIVING

I’m really enjoying this blog and I would like to thank all the people who follow it because you have all really inspired me to keep going and I would like to thank my family for always being hungry. All of you have made me more conscious of my goals in setting up this blog, and in a way I hope to entertain you. I have lots of (I hope) funny stories, anecdotes, etc. to come.

When I said I passed on the traditions of my family on to my new family what I meant is I try my best at instilling the values that are important to me, and of course those which are important to my husband. What a blessing having a family is!!! 
I also like to think that in teaching good morals, sound judgment with an incentive to use common sense and what children believe is true to their hearts; parenting is always a challenge. I truly believe that food and the dinner table are a blessing. We are blessed by God (or whatever you believe in) when you can sit across a loved one and share food. From the beginning of time eating together has always been a peaceful event and one to give thanks for. I don’t like many holidays and quite often I forget birthdays, but I will always treasure and celebrate Thanksgiving with the most joy.

Thanksgiving is an American holiday and besides Canada I do not think it is celebrated anywhere else. The holiday is in memory of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans sitting together at a table eating and giving thanks. (Many other political arguments can be drawn from the festivities but I would like to focus on the positives of it.)

For me Thanksgiving is a day when we celebrate the gift of having each other.  We give thanks to the Lord for even the small things we have; but most importantly it’s a day I like to give thanks for having a family, for being healthy and for being surrounded by people I love. It is also a day that I like to remember all our loved ones that are not here with us and thank them for watching over us.

My childhood and teenage years where spent mostly in the United States, Miami to be precise. So my Thanksgiving dinners had Cuban Latino influences. This is one of the things that made me realize how important family is. When I was growing up in the States being a small family of 3 (my mom, dad and I), it was hard to fill a house for an event like Thanksgiving. Our relatives respectively all lived in different countries; however my mom and my second grade teacher, Aidita, became very good friends and I remember all Thanksgiving's and many other festivities spent with Aidita's family. They had the warmth and love that big families have and they embraced us into theirs. I loved Thanksgiving at Aidita's and to this day consider her family my family. Through the years we have gone through loss, divorce and the birth of many new member of our families. We always gathered at Thanksgiving and gave thanks that we had each other and thanks for the love and commitment each person had to the other.  That is what family is about and all the same values remain, even when things go pear-shaped.

Aidita is of a Cuban family that exiled to Miami in the 1950’s, they have gone through it all. They know what it is like to flee a country in only what you have on, leave all your belongings and the ones you love behind and come to a country where you have to start over. When you surround yourself with people that have lost everything, but have had the faith and hope in themselves and their families and the love to keep them together, you are in the company of some really amazing people. I had the privilege of being a part of that family.

Hey, everyone knows no one parties like a Cuban…so when the praying and eating are done…we hit the dance floor with salsa and merengue music...laughter and joy of all fills the air and that is what Thanksgiving is to me…

 PRAY LOVE  EAT & PARTY

This Thanksgiving was my first in Australia and as I have been asked by the kids, "can we please, please have this every year"..I happily said "yes we will"…

It was with great joy that I cooked for our closest friends some new some old. A total of 60 guest!!!

I think everyone enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and the genuine ceremony of giving thanks. For many of my guests it was their first Thanksgiving.

So the Thanksgiving menu that I will slowly post is a collection of traditional Thanksgiving recipes along with other recipes that have there own and personalized twist. I would like to thank Martha Stewart for her amazing blog that has helped me fill some of the gaps and has added tremendous value to my dinner party.

I celebrated Thanksgiving a week early so that I could post before the big day and hopefully give you all time to cook these recipes for the actual day.

I had 60 people over at my house (between adults and children.)

I cooked a total of 3 Turkeys (2, 5 kilo ones, and one 7 kilo.)

I also served 14 other dishes that I made from scratch at home. Including the ultimate Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie. 

The biggest challenge of Thanksgiving is the turkey...a good turkey is moist and therefore must be cooked slowly.  Allow up to 6-7 hours for a 5-7 Kilo turkey to cook at low heat.

I have made many Turkeys but this year for the 1^st time I cooked mine on a BBQ (closed grill). I think from now on I will always cook my turkeys this way. However any oven big enough to fit a Turkey will still give you an amazing Turkey. So here are my Thanksgiving recipes..xx