A Kitchen in Queens

It’s 2012, and what better way to start off a new year than with some super old blog posts that I should have done over a month ago!  I have no real excuse.  The bottom line is that I’ve been super busy (and/or super lazy) and just haven’t gotten around to it.  A lot of changes have happened in the last few months in my life.  Work changes, home changes, pretty much everything has shifted, even if just a little bit.  Now that it’s a new year, it’s a fresh start.  I don’t believe in resolutions, I just believe in doing my best at being the best me I can be. And the 2012 me will be here more often. 

Now let’s switch to another holiday that we all love.  Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving is my big family holiday.  A lot of people go home for Christmas, but my family comes together every year for Thanksgiving.  (That also probably has something to do with the fact that I’m Jewish.)  Ever since I can remember, we’ve been heading to Cleveland to my Aunt Lynne’s for a gourmet, beautifully cooked, Thanksgiving dinner.  We would have around 25 to 30 people, a massive turkey and my mother always ended up at the kids table, even though she is the oldest of her siblings.

Truth be told, I never really liked Thanksgiving dinner when I was young.  I wasn’t a big fan of turkey, I can’t stand cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes are the last way I would choose to eat a potato.  Everyone else gained wait, and I lost weight.  That was until I discovered that some families have Mac & Cheese for Thanksgiving dinner.  As a matter of fact, most of my african american friends said they couldn’t see Thanksgiving dinner without it!  I was now on a mission to incorporate Mac & Cheese into the Jaskulek (mother’s maiden name) Thanksgiving dinner tradition wether my family liked it or not.  I can be very persuasive.  (Basically I said if they don’t let us have it, they’re racist.)  And VOILA!  Mac & Cheese next to our turkey.  Of course, not just any Mac & Cheese…

We make Martha Stewart’s Mac & Cheese

A creamy concoction of White Cheddar, Gruyere and Pecorino Romano, this recipe has a nice bite to it that other Mac & Cheese recipes don’t have. You can also add a little kick to that bite with some cayenne pepper. 

Maybe you don’t want kicking and biting with your Thanksgiving dinner, but in our family, you need it in order to prepare for the kicking and biting that comes later in the evening once we pull out Scattergories.

We love each other very much, but when most of you live in different cities, and you only get together once a year, you take the opportunity to yell at each other over things that don’t matter.  As a matter of fact, this year both my cousins brought new girlfriends who have been training for months just for the occasion.  They ended up on my team, and of course, we won.  Looks like they picked a couple good ones!