Getting together over Thanksgiving is always a joyful time for our family, especially when we gather together in my home state of Alabama. My parents no longer live in the house where I grew up, but they’re happily situated on the Warrior River, content with their retired selves.
One of my signature dishes I carry over the river and through the woods every year is homemade cranberry sauce. The scent while I’m making it brings the holidays home. It’s not Thanksgiving without this dish, just like turkey and dressing.
Homemade cranberry sauce was something I never considered until I became a Holt. My first taste was our first Thanksgiving together as a couple when my (now) husband’s grandmother brought it to the table. I’d never laid eyes on real cranberry sauce before. One try and I was hooked. Beforehand, I thought cranberry sauce must jiggle like jelly and be shaped like the can it came from.
Other staples at our holiday table include tales from years past. Listening to my family reminisce about by-gone days is both exciting and educational. I learn about relatives of whom I never see or who live across the country, ancient paths our forefathers took to provide for their families, and stories about my parents and grandparents which still make me snicker. Those precious dinner conversations will be handed down to my grandchildren where they can know their great grandparents. It’s the only way these traditions and relationships can continue throughout generations to come. When we look at aged black and white photos from the turn of the century, it’s hard to believe these people had lives to live. They were hard working people who knew how to survive during difficult times. During one of these trips home I heard about my great grandmother who ran a homestead and reared my mother at a young age. The story said she once shot a red-tailed hawk from the sky with a long gun to protect her flock of chickens. Now that’s impressive. Pass the cranberry sauce.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Cranberry sauce and tales from the past