Typical Thanksgiving

Here's the thing about Thanksgiving at my house. It's not your typical, all-American, brown-gravy-and-mashed-potatoes kind of Thanksgiving. It's Thanksgiving...with a twist. A very Italian twist. 

We usually start off with the antipasto, meaning, of course, that it's before the pasta.  And believe me, it does come before the pasta...but we'll get to that in a second.  The antipasto includes roasted peppers, eggplants, cold cuts, cheeses, mini meatballs, artichoke, olives.

You eat all of this with bread; bread is a very important part of any Italian holiday meal. It goes with every course.  Italians really do love their carbs!

Cold cuts, olives, and cheese...and I don't even like olives.

 The second course is always my favorite...the pasta. This year, we forewent the manicotti or the lasagna for a simple baked ziti.  Well, maybe not so simple.  There were mini meatballs, and ricotta, and layers of mozzarella cheese.

And let's not forget the meatballs. Because what Italian pasta dish would be complete without Grandma's meatballs?  If you remember, I attempted to make these a few weeks ago. After eating Grandma's meatballs again, though, I realize how much more work I have to do in perfecting them.  The texture, the taste, the subtle combinations of ingredients...it's a recipe I need to continue to cultivate. 

Then, finally, we get to the "Thanksgiving" part of the meal.  We make a turkey, but we don't have a brown gravy. We have potatoes, but they are sweet potatoes, cut into slices, smothered in maple syrup (it sounds weird, but it's delicious).  We have stuffed mushrooms, filled with breadcrumbs.  In the last three years, we've added something "American" as a concession to the friends who have joined us at the holiday: a green bean casserole. Except I think I'm the only one in my family who will actually eat it.

The stuffing deserves its own paragraph. I'm not even sure what "real" stuffing is supposed to be...some concoction with croutons? But our stuffing is a meal unto itself. Ground beef, spinach, salami, sausage, cheese...I don't even know what else is in there.  But. It. Is. So. Good.

Tres leches and cheesecake

Somewhere in there, there's a fruit course. Pineapples, grapes...I get excited when there is pomegranates.  

We always end on dessert.  My favorite part (even though it kills me a little bit every time I eat it) is this tres leches cake that one of my mother's clients gives to her every year. Three milks.  Not great for lactose intolerance.  But so delicious.

Is there any wonder why Thanksgiving is my favorite (food) holiday?