Family traditions are based on ethnic backgrounds, location and finances. Growing up we always had a jar of red cabbage on Thanksgiving, never any other time of the year. My father’s like, none of the rest of ours. Finances tough but canned asparagus made the table- again, only then. Those were the sixties. Jello salad of course. Decades later one year old son wouldn’t touch the Jello offered the morning after a surgery- went straight to other foods. It was not part of our eating habits, unlike the sixties.
Fast forward to my adulthood. Married an Indian and so have done two entrees- one vegetarian dal and one fowl (neither of us fond of turkey so never that) plus various sides. Sort of two meals in one- it’s a feast so the more the better. I like stuffing (Stove Top to be exact) and rice needed for the dal so skip the mashed potatoes. I dislike sweet potatoes but H likes them so the brown sugary ones. Fresh green beans my favorite- no need to disguise canned ones with soup and onion topping.
We typically over decades would host friends and strays (many I met that day- H invited them with my approval) including Indians so providing both cultures’ comfort foods became more than just for H. Last year I decided that next year we would go to a restaurant instead of my doing all those dishes even for the two of us. Perhaps a buffet. Guess what. I’m cooking for the two of us. Carryout meals from places are typical fare- most of which (especially the turkey) are not what we want. H small and eats less as he ages. I’m debating the fowl for me- not Cornish game hens as too much work getting the meat off the bones I’ve decided. H says the sides alone are good enough. However, this year I plan on decreasing the variety- too many leftovers that will last too many days. We’ll see.
Retired and well off we can have anything to eat anytime. Therefore no reason to have everything all at once.
Pumpkin pie a must. A few years ago had an older neighbor for the dinner who does not like pumpkin pie- she was a child in postwar Germany and food was meager, including a lot of pumpkin. She brought an excellent cranberry salad- that’s another must for our table. But two cans (jellied and whole) mean sooo much. Hopefully the local grocery store will have their cranberry salad we both like. Wisconsin is the # 1 producer of cranberries in recent years (not MA) but we never used fresh like I’m sure so many did/do.