Family and Food at Thanksgiving Time

By Christina Jinsky, senior English major at Silver Lake College

When we hear the word “Thanksgiving” a lot things come to mind. For some, I bet they think of Black Friday and the amazing deals they are going to get. For others, they may think of the time they will get off of work and the time they will get to spend with their family. But the one thing that comes to mind for me is the Thanksgiving food.

A Thanksgiving Poem:

May your stuffing be tasty.

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy have a nary lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize.

And May your Thanksgiving Dinner

Stay off your thighs!

(Author Unknown)

Food is a big part of Thanksgiving. We all look forward to the turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy. We can’t forget about the cranberry sauce and deviled eggs and of course the dinner rolls with butter. In my family, what we most look forward to is the dessert. The second crucial part of Thanksgiving is family and what we give thanks for. I’m lucky enough in my family that both of the parts fit so well together.

My dad is the ultimate baker – well at least that’s how he's known to those who have ever had the chance to indulge in some of his delicious treats. Each year he tries to think of something new or different to bake and bring to the family dinner. Even if no one explicitly says “Dad (Larry), can you bring a dessert to pass?” he knows that he is in charge of a dessert or two to bring… I think it’s just a given in our family.

This year for Thanksgiving my dad is deciding between three desserts that he would like to make: Cranberry Cheesecake Tartlets, Cranberry Nut Pie, and Cranberry Apple Crisp Pie. My dad tries to find a new, different dessert to make every year unless someone makes a ‘request’ for a certain one they really like. He came about deciding upon these three this year with my help.

I live in the dorms at Silver Lake College and I usually have a nightly conversation with my dad on the phone, as he and I are two peas in a pod. A couple weeks ago one particular conversation lasted a little over an hour because he had me looking up recipes online and trying to decide which ones might sound good to make for Thanksgiving. First I started on Pinterest thinking that they might have some really good ideas for desserts – that didn’t go very far because nothing I read to my dad sounded that appealing. Then my dad said “why don’t you try the Ocean Spray website, I hear they have a lot of good recipes on there." Well, that was our hot ticket – that website holds a lot of recipes – desserts, main dishes, basically a recipe for an entire 5 course meal. I read probably about 10 different recipes to my dad offof  that website before he finally narrowed it down to the three he wanted me to bring home.

(My dad is not the most tech savvy person and so therefore we don’t have internet at home. Only during the summer months when I’m home.)

My dad always teases that he is going to throw out all of his recipes and hang up his baking hat. Good thing he is only teasing, because my dad’s desserts aren’t just good to eat but they seem to make people happy when they eat them. Maybe that’s why they are the best ending to every family holiday.  A perfect cherry on top of everyone's food comas.

So I hope your family has as wonderful of a time as my family does this Thanksgiving. I hope you fill your bellies until there is no room left to fill and then enjoy a good dessert.



Christina is a senior at Silver Lake College.  She is a dual major in Psychology and English with a Writing emphasis.  She enjoys spending time with her loved ones.