Un reingraciamente tipico d'America

Our Italian friends, at least 18 of them, came to our traditional Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday afternoon. Since the Italians do not celebrate our Thanksgiving, there is no translation for all that we feel, think and do relating to that time of year. The word reingraciamente is one they have pretty much coined to describe the day. It means something to the effect of "big thanks" and many Sicilians seem to think it's a substitute for Christmas for us.

Our friends arrived with gifts in hand. Not just the traditional plate of Sicilian sweets but really nice gifts: a bud vase, a beautiful large ceramic platter and a really cute stuffed Christmas dog that sings a Christmas song. Our friend was so proud that she found one that sang a song in English. If she spoke English she probably wouldn't have picked one that sang about how lonely he was going to be this Christmas. We were quite amused. Mimma and Valentina (Roberto's wife) brought us a beautiful ceramic planter with plants in it. I hope it lasts long enough for them to see it another time when they come over. I'm terrible with plants.

Speaking of plants.....I am constantly amazed to see the plants that we consider house plants growing here the way they should naturally. Geraniums that fill the fenceline at the edge of our road, not dying over winter but flourishing and flowering year after year. The plant (we call it a weeping fig) that I gave to Jessica before we came over here was about three feet tall. We had bought it before Ken was born and I had tried my best to nurture it (but, in actuality had only allowed it to survive, barely, suffering all those years). In Giuseppe's yard is a tree that stands about thirty to fifty feet tall......yep, you guessed it. The weeping fig. But I'm off on a tangent. I came here to talk about Thanksgiving with the Italians.

For appetizers we served spinach and artichoke dip, stuffed mushrooms, several kinds of olives and pistachios (which we had plenty of, having mistakenly thought the guy at the market said they were three euro a kilo). We made up the recipe for the stuffed mushrooms because we don't have our recipe book from the B&B but they went over well and our 32 huge mushrooms all got eaten. The spinach/artichoke dip also went well. We made about four cups total and it was completely gone.

Dinner consisted of the traditional offerings of turkey, dressing, gravy (they don't have gravy here at all) mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, two kinds of cranberry sauce---no translation for cranberries in a place with almost no inland water---corn on the cob and hot rolls with butter. This photo is Giusseppe showing the turkey carcass to his grandson Fabio. Fabio thought it looked pretty gross.

Alfio helped Bob carve the turkey in the kitchen then when Bob put the platter into the oven to keep the meat warm, Alfio cut the wings, leg bones, and thigh bones off the carcass and took them to the table for people to start on. Did he think we weren't going to serve the carved meat? I don't know. However, they seemed happy with the bones. I think Sicilians do not wait patiently for anything. When they eat, the food is brought in a bit at a time from the time they sit to the table to the time they leave, which can be two or three hours.

Our food was eaten in less time than that but all were full and enjoyed the meal. Their general comments about the food was that American food is sweeter than Sicilian. The turkey, dressing, Waldorf salad, sweet potatoes, etc. Although we don't think much about it, they all do have a sweetness that is different from the food of other countries.

For dessert we had, of course, pumpkin pie, Grandma Madyline's three-day coconut cake, chocolate mousse cake and magic cookie bars. However, after that big meal no one was able to eat much dessert. We were left with one of the two pumpkin pies, half a cake and a few pieces of the chocolate cake. No one even touched the magic cookie bars (quite allright, though, I took them to school the next day and they were the hit of the day).

All in all, it was a great day and the Cool Whip was the most popular item on the table.