This year, my friend Sara invited us to celebrate Ringraziamento (Thanksgiving) with her husband and friends. She called me yesterday to coordinate what she wanted me to bring and what time to arrive. I spent all day shopping and cooking a few things for our dinner tonight.
When we arrived at their apartment at 7PM, we saw the huge tacchino (turkey) that Sara had cooked on the table. She and her friend Jen made stuffing, sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli, pumpkin purée, homemade cranberry sauce, and pecan pie. I brought salad, and made biscuits and pumpkin bread. Jen is visiting Sara from the States and brought pecans and cranberries without which the dinner certainly wouldn't have been the same. Another one of Sara's friends, Jennifer, brought a delicious cheesecake for us to enjoy as well.
Most of Sara's friends were Italian so she explained each of the dishes and the American tradition to them. They were surprised that we just put everything on the plate instead of eating things by course, like primo, secondo,... They did try a little bit of everything and seemed to enjoy it all greatly. I was happy when a few of the Italians said they liked the biscuits I made. I didn't think they'd go over all that well since they're made with lots of butter and panna (whipping cream).
Most of the guests left at 11PM, but a few of us stayed until after 1AM. Dave and I walked home with our doggie bags so we could have leftovers the next day. A part of the Ringraziamento tradition that I'm not sure most Italians would appreciate.
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