There's Nothing Like Nanny's Stuffing

Thanksgiving travel is not uncommon among Americans as we celebrate the pilgrims being welcomed by the American Indians.

For my family, however, travel was almost expected for each holiday, especially Thanksgiving.

I grew up in Southern Connecticut and I come from a large Italian family. In my family, we call marinara sauce gravy, and it wasn't until I was older that I realized other people used gravy on their turkey.

While we spent many, long hours in the car as a family traveling to Brooklyn, NY to visit the Lucarelli family, one of my the best rewards for the traffic, the fights and the cramps from sitting in the car for so many hours, was my Nanny's stuffing.

Clara Lucarelli, my maternal grandmother who died just after Christmas this past year, would always have a huge turkey stuffed with Italian stuffing: egg, bread, Parmesan cheese, bits of salami and ham. The stuffing was more like a thick omelette than a stuffing and was so good the next day chilled (we usually had it for breakfast).

Along with the stuffing, each holiday (and Thanksgiving was no exception) included a pasta course before the turkey came to the table. And when I say pasta, I mean ravioli, not a light pasta dish. So by the time the turkey came to the table, everyone was so stuffed, they could barely eat.

This Thanksgiving we are forgoing the long trip to New York, we are forgoing the pasta dish, but I would never eliminate the best stuffing in the world. My kids actually prefer that stuffing to anything else on the table.

What are your holiday traditions? We'd love to hear what you have included from your childhood. Or are you starting a new tradition?

One of my friends always has a Thanksgiving two-hand, touch football game between dinner and dessert. I'm adding that to our holiday tradition, as long as it doesn't snow.

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