Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks, chow down on delicious food and spend time with the ones you love. For this Thanksgiving, students shared their favorite Thanksgiving foods and traditions. People contributed a variety of favorite foods, from the basic turkey to some unique items usually not found at your average Thanksgiving meal.
“My favorite foods on Thanksgiving would have to be the cheesy corn, mashed potatoes and turkey,” Kosh Khan, senior in finance, said.
Khan said he thinks about these foods all year, because he only gets them for holiday meals. He loves how the mashed potatoes are made from real potatoes, the gravy is homemade and the turkey is cooked for about six hours.
“About 40 family members come to my house, every year, and everyone makes a different dish,” Khan said. “It’s kinda like a potluck. If it’s nice out, one tradition we always have is playing a game of football with everyone.”
Jessica Conwell, senior in public relations, said she has a variety of favorite Thanksgiving dishes, as well. On Thanksgiving morning, Conwell and her mom go deliver food to those less fortunate during the holiday season. After delivering food, they come home and get ready to eat their Thanksgiving meal.
“Any type of casseroles like green bean, I love,” Conwell said. “And corn dishes, stuffing, deviled eggs and ham. I get a little ham instead of turkey since I don’t really like turkey.”
Maria Blando, junior in family studies, said her Thanksgiving is pretty traditional, and she looks forward to this holiday to be with her family. A tradition her family picked up a couple years ago is playing monopoly and card games. Blando said her dad has become strict on the rules. She said her family takes the games a lot more seriously than they used to.
“I personally look forward to the stuffing because it’s comfort food, and my mom and brother make it,” Blando said. “The stuffing has bread crumbs, juices from the turkey, celery and other ingredients that make it melt in your mouth. I also love the dark meat, gravy and cranberries. My mom also makes twice baked sweet potatoes with honey roasted walnuts on top. So it’s hard on top and soft in the middle.”
Often, an obscure type of food tends to wind up on everyone’s table during the holiday season. Over the Thanksgiving meal, people may have a different types of meat, desserts, or even drink when celebrating.
Conwell said all of her family doesn’t like pumpkin pie.
“My grandma makes a special cheesecake recipe that she makes for Thanksgiving instead,” Conwell said. “It’s been passed down for four generations.”
Conwell said her grandma cooks all of the food and will not give away any of her recipes until someone else takes over cooking the meal. Conwell said her little sister traditionally makes turkey quizzes and fun facts about Thanksgiving for everyone at their table setting.
One unusual drink Blando and her family enjoys is chocolate atole.
“Chocolate atole is a Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon,” Blando said. “My mom makes it for the holidays and during the winter.”
A nontraditional dessert that Khan and Blando both shared was chocolate.
Khan said his family always has a chocolate pie for dessert. Blando said her family always has the traditional pumpkin pie but also has brownies for her dad.
One common tradition that Khan, Conwell and Blando all share is watching football with family and eating leftovers throughout the rest of the day.
This article was written for an MC200 class through the A. Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
