Thankful for Chocolate Turkeys

Thanksgiving has always been our family’s favorite holiday. My mother has hosted between 15-25 people, including family and any stray friends, every year for as long as I can remember. As such, we have the routines and rituals down to a science.  On Wednesday morning, my mom pulls out her folder of handwritten recipes, which had been passed down orally until my grandmother finally wrote them down in the early eighties. Each family member knows their assigned tasks and we spend two days together preparing for the big meal, periodically taking breaks to watch the parade on TV.  As much as we like eating the meal, this prep is by far the most fun part of the weekend. The menu consists of turkey with gravy, Wonder bread stuffing (everyone’s favorite), sweet potato pie, string beans with almonds, roasted carrots, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Most importantly, everyone gets a chocolate turkey.  This tradition began with my Aunt Jean, my mother’s namesake, who couldn’t really cook, but always brought turkeys for all of the children. We continue it today in her honor.

This year, my mother started planning in September so we could safely host everyone outside. Unfortunately, as the Covid numbers rose it became clear that it was not going to be possible.  My brother couldn’t even join us because he and his girlfriend were unable to quarantine before. Nevertheless, the six of us (my parents, my sister, her fiancee, myself and Avram) were grateful that we could be together and continue the tradition. We prepped just as we have always done and then ate leftovers for days!  Each of us, unbeknownst to the others, also brought chocolate turkeys.  They have been increasingly hard to find and so we all ordered them early to continue the tradition.  I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the piles of turkeys. As silly as it sounds, my heart felt full. No matter how much has changed – certain things will always remain the same. We cannot wait to introduce our child, the next generation, to these most valued traditions (beginning with chocolate turkeys)!

We hope that you had a safe and happy holiday as well. 

With so much love,

Jackie & Avram