Hi Housewives!

Well, we have successfully made it to Thanksgiving week and I would like to take this moment to thank all of you who visit my page and for your continued support.  I am really enjoying sharing my experiences with you and for that I am thankful.

I am also thankful for the love of my family and the traditions they have instilled in me which is what sharing my recipes is all about, passing on traditions.  To me, Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday to be thankful for the many blessing we have.  Some complain that it is looked over and rushed because of Christmas.  However, for me, it signifies the start to the Christmas season.  I love it all and think this time of year is magical and truly the most wonderful time of year.  Enjoy it and embrace it all.

I have wonderful memories of waking up on Thanksgiving morning to the delicious aromas of my mother’s cooking.  She was fortunate to be a stay at home mom and took pride in her holiday cooking.  I would wake up to the smell of a huge turkey roasting in the oven, meatballs being fried, the gravy simmering on the stove, and coffee being brewed.  Then, the most important part of all, everyone would come over for a huge family dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Aunts, Uncles, cousins, we always had the best time.  I miss those days and I think it is very important for everyone to keep passing those same traditions on to their children.  We had laughs and wonderful times.  The day was filled with eating and cousins playing and ended with the adults playing cards and us (the kids) falling asleep on the couch or floor somewhere…

If you are Italian than you know that there is a lot more to Thanksgiving than the turkey! LOL  The day started with an antipasto of cheeses, olives, dry sausages and so on.  The 1st course was manicotti and other years Swiss Chard soup with meatballs which my Grandma Alba (my father’s mother) made excellent.  I make that now and think of her when I do.  Then, the 2nd. course consisted of the turkey with  an endless amount of sides – sweet potatoes, creamed spinach, stuffed artichokes, mashed potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, cranberry sauce and of course “The Stuffing”.  The next course would be nuts and fruit followed by various cakes such as apple pie, pumpkin pie, cheesecake etc. and cookies for dessert and coffee.  Oh yes, and the chestnuts!  Somehow, every year, we always forgot they were in the oven! LOL

This week I am going to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

RHC