The Tradition of Our Thanksgiving Chile
Thanksgiving in my parent's home has always been a big event. Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember watching my mom as she prepared for the holidays weeks ahead of time. First, my parents cleaned the house until it sparkled. Then my mom started baking the pies. She always made several of each kind...apple, lemon meringue, pecan, pumpkin, and my personal favorite, cherry cheesecake. I'd stand on my little stool in our big yellow and blue kitchen and watch her roll out the gooey dough. She always let me roll my own too, and after she was finished she'd help me make cinnamon rolls.
On Thanksgiving morning she'd get up bright and early to stuff the turkey and put it in the oven. Then she made hot apple cider, buttermilk biscuits, pumpkin bread, banana bread, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, spinach quiche, salad and a cranberry Jell-o mold. She'd bustle around in our busy kitchen as relatives arrived from out of town to help her. It was always fun for my sister and I to set the table with mom's most beautiful china, silver and crystal.
Is it any wonder then, when we got married, we wanted our first Thanksgiving to be special? Your daddy and I were attending college in Northern California at the time, but we couldn't afford to drive home for Thanksgiving. At first we were a little disappointed, and then we decided to make the best of our situation. It didn't matter if we couldn't go home for the holiday; we'd create our own special Thanksgiving together. True, we wouldn't be celebrating around a table with relatives, but we could still have a feeling of family.
We decided to go all out and make everything that our mom's always did. We even invited two of daddy's college buddies over for dinner. They couldn't afford to drive home for Thanksgiving, either. Steve was like a big, lovable teddy-bear that was very gentle and well mannered. Shannon was very quiet and shy until he got to know you, and then he opened up.
Your daddy and I shopped for all of the ingredients together, and I made pumpkin pie and cherry cheesecake for dessert. The day before Thanksgiving, Steve (who liked to pop in an out of our apartment randomly throughout the day) asked me if he could help out with anything, and I jumped at the offer.
"Will you make the cranberry mold?" I asked him, hoping he could cook.
"Sure," he said, eager to help.
Great! I thought. This will be one less thing for me to do tomorrow.
I carefully wrote down the instructions on a recipe card, and gave him a paper sack with all the ingredients he would need.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked, and he assured me that he could handle it. I was grateful to him for offering to help.
Thanksgiving day moved along smoothly. Your daddy and I had fun cooking in the kitchen together, and we couldn't believe it when we were finally finished. We had enough food to last us two weeks! James carved the turkey and I set the table as Steve and Shannon arrived, carrying a paper bag.
I could almost taste the fresh cranberry. Steve pulled out a pretty corning ware dish, and proudly pulled open the plastic lid. Inside were two cans of Dennison's chile, with four slices of cheddar cheese arranged nicely on the top.
"Thanks, you guys!" your daddy and I chimed unanimously, a little bit surprised. I didn't want to seem rude by asking Steve what happened to the cranberry mold, so we just heated up the chile in the microwave and arranged it in soup bowls for the four of us to enjoy. There wasn't enough to go around, so we diced some onion and grated more cheese until the bowls looked almost halfway full.
We sat down to dinner, said a blessing and ate our first course of Thanksgiving chile. And you know what? It tasted delicious! Even with the smells of freshly baked turkey, stuffing and gravy wafting from the oven, the chile was a perfect way to whet our appetites for the more traditional flavors to come.
Family traditions begin in many ways. Our first Thanksgiving together got off to a somewhat unexpected start, but in the years to follow we've never dreamed of missing our traditional bowl of Thanksgiving chile. Oh, sometimes I make it the day before (over potatoes, with cheese and all the fixings) but we always have it to remind us of our very first Thanksgiving day together.
"Will you make the cranberry mold?" I asked him, hoping he could cook.
"Sure," he said, eager to help.
Great! I thought. This will be one less thing for me to do tomorrow.
I carefully wrote down the instructions on a recipe card, and gave him a paper sack with all the ingredients he would need.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked, and he assured me that he could handle it. I was grateful to him for offering to help.
Thanksgiving day moved along smoothly. Your daddy and I had fun cooking in the kitchen together, and we couldn't believe it when we were finally finished. We had enough food to last us two weeks! James carved the turkey and I set the table as Steve and Shannon arrived, carrying a paper bag.
I could almost taste the fresh cranberry. Steve pulled out a pretty corning ware dish, and proudly pulled open the plastic lid. Inside were two cans of Dennison's chile, with four slices of cheddar cheese arranged nicely on the top.
"Thanks, you guys!" your daddy and I chimed unanimously, a little bit surprised. I didn't want to seem rude by asking Steve what happened to the cranberry mold, so we just heated up the chile in the microwave and arranged it in soup bowls for the four of us to enjoy. There wasn't enough to go around, so we diced some onion and grated more cheese until the bowls looked almost halfway full.
We sat down to dinner, said a blessing and ate our first course of Thanksgiving chile. And you know what? It tasted delicious! Even with the smells of freshly baked turkey, stuffing and gravy wafting from the oven, the chile was a perfect way to whet our appetites for the more traditional flavors to come.
Family traditions begin in many ways. Our first Thanksgiving together got off to a somewhat unexpected start, but in the years to follow we've never dreamed of missing our traditional bowl of Thanksgiving chile. Oh, sometimes I make it the day before (over potatoes, with cheese and all the fixings) but we always have it to remind us of our very first Thanksgiving day together.
All our love to you, always & forever,
Mommy & Daddy
xxxooo
