Community Corner

Readers Share Thanksgiving Traditions; Share Yours With Patch

What's your family's signature recipe?

Thanksgiving is a holiday laced with traditions, and in Riverhead and the North Fork, readers shared some of their time-honored recipes and memories.

South Jamesport resident Georgette Keller said she and her family will Thanksgiving at her mother-in-law's.

"She's 86 and my father-in-law is 88. They obviously don't cook dinner anymore; rather, we import it to keep the tradition going. We have all the traditional fare of turkey with stuffing, carrots, turnips, mashed potatoes, green beans, and creamed onions."

In addition, Keller, said, their meal has a unique flare. "We have also added some traditional favorites from other places, including Gouton, a French Canadian meat dressing that I brought with me from my family.

The dish, she said, is an eastern Canadian twist on the Central Quebec classic, cretons,a pork spread containing onions and spices.

Her brother-in-law, Keller said, makes "dirty rice," more properly known as rice dressing, a Creole classic from Louisiana.

"We also have baked butternut squash with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, which was one of my family's classics. I have started two new dessert traditions, too. Pumpkin cheesecake with roasted pecans and a creamy maple glaze and crane-apple pie for a twist on the traditional but oh, so good!"

Keller said 24 members of the clan will gather on Thanksgiving. "It gets tight in that tiny cottage, but we just hope for mild weather so people can mill around outdoors, take a walk down to the beach, catch a glorious sunset and chat with cousins we haven't seen since Labor Day."

For Melissa Messina, the day is about serving up a hot dinner to those who'd otherwise go without.  "Every Thanksgiving we go to our church, Church of the Harvest in Riverhead, and work all day feeding those who have no family or no food," she said.

"We serve hundreds of meals every Thanksgiving."

What's your special holiday tradition or recipe? Please share it with Patch so we can add it to the article. Tell us about it in the comments section below or email to Lisa.Finn@patch.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here