Each year, while I was growing up, Thanksgiving meant a late night drive through central Pennsylvania. Arriving at my [Great] Grandma's house around 11pm the night before the holiday, greeting my Grandparents and getting a late night snack before snuggling into a warm bed with a feather pillow and lots of blankets tucked in around me was the usual tradition. Good night kisses all around.
The following morning, regardless of what time I awoke, my Grandparent's had already been up for hours. My Grandfather's duties were whatever my Grandmother told him to do. Usually that meant peeling onions and potatoes into a piece of newspaper, so that clean up was easy and my Grandma's kitchen remained tidy; taking the trash out, and keeping us kids out of her way. My Grandmother's duties were preparing a huge farm house kind of feast, to be ready promptly at noon, and to keep an eye on her pies in the pantry. No touching or sampling the various pies so neatly arranged on the Hoosier cabinet!
Family members would arrive through out the morning with a predictable pattern. After all the greetings were bestowed upon the relatives, the men headed for the living room, grumbling about the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade being on, and the kids camped in front of the tv. Talk would center around two things. The aroma of Grandma's cooking and football. The women relatives, meanwhile, never left the kitchen. They entrenched themselves into every chair and nook available in the kitchen to watch my Grandma cook. She never used a recipe, so the most anyone could do was watch for some hint, a secret, and special ingredient, that would perhaps shed light on her cooking ability. No such secrets ever exposed themselves to these women, however, because my Grandma just knew how to cook.
The meal would be ready at 12 noon sharp and always consist of family favorites: buttered baby lima beans, dried corn, stuffed pig stomach, candied yams, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, pickle/olive/relish tray. Sometimes noodles, fried oysters, baked corn, and stuffing would be added to the menu. No turkey on this table. My family is from a farming background. Not Pennsylvania Dutch as in Amish or Mennonite, definitely not, more like Pennsylvania German. Anyway, if you grew up in such a family, you know: Waste not, want not.
Sitting and talking around the table till close to 3pm, laughing and enjoying the time spent with family members. Listening to stories from the past year that we may have missed. Reminiscing with my Great Grandparents about how things used to be down on the farm, or when they had to walk to school, or their dating and early married years. Wonderful stories that I cherish to this day.
Then it was time for dessert. Don't look for any cake here! You won't find it. Your choices are mincemeat pie and pumpkin custard pie. Then if you were really lucky, and after all, this was Grandma's house, so chances are you are going to be lucky....chocolate pudding pie, cherry pie, apple pie, and/or lemon chess pie. Our family's favorite saying was "Just give me a sliver!" Which never worked, because you were going to get a minimum of 2 pieces of pie on your plate. Then much debate about the actual size of a sliver. LOL. Grandma never could understand why anyone would want a piece so small that it wouldn't stand up on a plate. Her version of slivers looked suspiciously to me like normal slices. And don't forget rich black coffee all around. Because that's what pie goes with, end of story.
My Great Grandparents are gone 6 years now. And so are family holidays, as we all spread out across the country and develop families and lives of our own. But this one holiday, still means more to me than any other holiday.
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!!
For a taste of our traditions, check with your local butcher....here's the recipe!
STUFFED PIG STOMACH (HOG MAW)
Stuffing a pig stomach with a sausage-potato-onion mix is a blend of the innovation and conviction against wastefulness that characterizes the Amish. This dish is also served in Eastern European countries, and in US Cajun cooking where it is known as Shodin.
The texture of the browned skin against the moist richness of sausage and cubed potatoes has made this combination survive the demise of family. Today, you may be able to find a pig stomach in the freezer of a pork butcher or ask them to special order it for you.
1 lg. well-cleaned pig stomach ("cleaned" means well washed with the inner membrane lining removed and discarded. A proper pork butcher should be able to do this for you.)
1 1/2 lbs. bulk sausage meat
6 med. potatoes, peeled and diced
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped fine
1/4 c. fresh chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. Louisiana Hot Sauce
Saute the potatoes, onions, and celery until the potatoes are tender. Separate the sausage meat into small pieces and add to the vegetables. Cook only until the sausage loses its reddish color. Drain off the excess liquid. Add and mix the parsley and hot sauce.
Stuff the mixture loosely into the stomach and close all openings with small skewers or poultry needle laced with string. Place in a roast pan with 1/2 cup water. Cover this roast pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. After the first hour, prick the stomach with a sharp fork one time to relieve the pressures. Because the stomach shrinks considerable, you must not overstuff the stomach, to prevent it bursting. Makes 4-6 servings.
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