Shout out to my peeps....

and all the other traditional holiday food of my childhood. I did not grow up in a religious home so the Easter holiday centered much more around the sugar high that followed the opening of our huge baskets filled with peeps, chocolate bunnies and assorted other candy. He may have risen but I was practically flying by the time a three foot milk chocolate lemur had been devoured. Candy and presents, Happy Easter indeed.
  But like any holiday, Easter always had the big traditional dinner. At our house it was always ham which dropped Easter down with New Year's Day as far as dinners go. I do not like ham, on a boat or with a goat or any other form of transportation or animal. Any meat that needs to be covered in glaze is obviously not that tasty to begin with. Pineapple and brown sugar are very similar to lingerie, it really looks pretty but it doesn't change what is underneath, it's still ham.At least there was always mashed potatoes and vegetables.
  Fast forward to the holidays of Memorial Day and the 4th of July. When it comes to holiday meals it is very hard to beat the grilled combination of hamburgers and hot dogs. Taste is fantastic, preparation is minimal and clean up is almost nothing. You add in some potato salad and chips, what's not to love? The real bonus is you can do this several times in the same day. Try that with a ham, go ahead, I dare you.
  Now we get to the meat of the holiday feast, the Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner. Of course the turkey is great, but the sheer volume of side dishes and desserts is magnificent. Growing up there was always plenty of fresh vegetables, breads and of course, rutabagas. For those who have never heard me espouse the greatness of the most under-rated root vegetable ever, here is a quick reminder. The rutabaga is much like a turnip only yellow in color. They are a pain in the ass to peel but after being boiled and mashed, coated in butter, salt and pepper, they taste delicious. Huge fiber and vitamin content makes it an almost perfect vegetable. The main drawback is the smell when cooking them. People who live next to sulfur plants will open their windows to try and cover the smell of boiling rutabagas. It's still worth it for the taste, sort of. Then you get to the pies, apple, pumpkin and pecan. Don't like pie? How about fruit salad, pistachio cream, ice cream or brownies? Yep, we had them all and I have tried to keep the excess up as an adult.
  Christmas dinner was almost the same as Thanksgiving except there was a greater emphasis on cookies. The size of the turkey for these two feasts has not varied much over the years at all. We always had a turkey that was over 22 pounds, sometimes well over. This tradition still holds true today no matter how many people are attending.My parents still cook a huge bird even if there are only 4 people eating. Two years ago, I roasted a 24 pound turkey complete with all the trimmings. Scarlett ate a small helping of turkey, I ate the rest. It took me almost a week to get through the leftover food. We were the only people home that year but that small fact can't ends years of tradition. Man cannot survive on bread alone, but put some leftover turkey with mayonnaise, salt and pepper and he can rival Methuselah.
  The one dinner I never fully understood was the black-eyed pea tradition on New Years Day. It's said that it brings you good luck. It takes a lot of luck to not inadvertently fart after eating several helpings. This tradition may have been invented by Febreeze or Glade air fresheners. If flatulence equals good luck I should get on a plane to Vegas after the black-eyed peas. And buy a lottery ticket on my way to the airport. So it doesn't matter what your holiday feast is, as long as you enjoy it. Eat, drink and be merry my peeps.
  Do you make the same holiday meals your parents did? Just curious.

Till next.....