Every year I jokingly say that my family has THE most unique Thanksgiving dinner on the planet. With my mom being Russian, my dad being Cuban, and us taking on American traditions ever since we came here in the early '90s, it might actually be pretty true. Every year, when we sit down at our dinner table, surrounded by friends and family, I can't help but smile at the varied array of dishes we have collected and added to our big, fat multicultural Thanksgiving.
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It all starts with turkey, of course. I mean, you can't have Thanksgiving without the turkey, right? It's my favorite but I particularly love it because my abuelita's turkey recipe is simply the best. We also typically serve mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie. That's where the American tradition tends to stop, though.
My mom's Russian roots bring a couple salads to the table: one called Olivier (made with potatoes, carrots, egg, ham, peas and pickles) and typically a carrot or beet salad as well. Meanwhile, my dad's Cuban roots bring moros y cristianos, yuca and sometimes even pork if we have a bigger gathering than usual.
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It's always a crazy mix of food and people but, to be honest, I wouldn't really want to have it any other way. No matter how crazy the day gets (and, hey, I admit on occasion my family's gotten into heated debates over the dinner table), what unites us is sharing the laughs and good feelings all day long. Gathering around the Thanksgiving table, no matter what food you're serving, is about being grateful for the people in your life–even when those people are my crazy, loud, argumentative multicultural family.
Images via Irina Gonzalez
