I had two primary sources of inspiration for writing this article. The first was a discussion I had in my Rituals of Dinner FYE (First Year Experience) with Professor Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, about differing food rituals in general, but particularly this past week about intercultural celebrations of Thanksgiving, with viewings of the movie What’s Cooking? and select episodes of Padma Lakshmi’s Taste the Nation. The second was my experience of eating something slightly different- seafood instead of turkey, for the last six years for Thanksgiving.
Stuffed Rainbow Trout from the Markwell Thanksgiving 2023 (Logan Markwell)
These two events made me curious how my fellow students at Wheaton might also celebrate holidays differently with food. Therefore, I have written a few profiles of the ways Wheaton students and their families have changed the food they eat on holidays.
Cole Richardson-Beatty (Class of 2028)
For Thanksgiving, Cole’s family doesn’t do the turkey, on account of the entire family being pescatarian, opting instead for a baked salmon. However, the baked salmon isn’t made every single year, and “the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving tends to be a giant baked tray of mac and cheese.” This tradition with mac and cheese started before Cole was born, and originated in his mom’s family, who are from the midwest. As he’s grown older, Cole has become more in charge of the mac and cheese, and it is now his primary contribution to holiday meals with his family.
For Christmas, Cole’s family makes paella. Ten years ago after they returned from Spain, having spent a year renting the house of a Spanish family (who rented the Beatty’s house for that time), they found that the renters had purchased a paella pan. The Beattys had enjoyed making paella while in Spain, but it is “not really convenient for a random day.” It was made to be a special dish made on Christmas when everyone had time to help, pitching in for the seafood. Making the paella brings the whole family together, Cole noted, being the only time when the whole family cooks together.
Seafood Paella from the Richardson-Beatty Thanksgiving) Cole Richardson-Beatty)
Cass Elyna Fallon (Class of 2028)
When Cass was younger, for Christmas Eve hosted at her house, she and her mom would make their signature spin on the Italian ‘Seven Fishes’. Their Seven Fishes consisted of lobster, clam chowder, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, seafood casserole (consisting of haddock, scallops, and shrimp), linguine in clam sauce, clam stuffed mushrooms, and on occasion stuffed calamari and fried calamari. As Cass has grown older, she and her mom have stopped making Seven Fishes due to the time and labor intensity required of it, but she still holds fond memories of past Seven Fishes.
Now, in place of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, Cass and her mom have an appetizer night, coming up with a menu each year, popular repeat dishes being shrimp cocktail and chicken wings. While the savory elements of this holiday may have changed, Cass and her family still eat the same desserts.
Cass’ Nana, her great-grandmother, would make all the sweets when Cass was younger, and was “definitely the Italian grandma stereotype.” Some of her most popular desserts were the classic individually wrapped cookies, as well as Grasshopper Pie. For those who don’t know, Grasshopper Pie is a pie filled with marshmallows, chocolate crumb cookies, mint flavoring, and whipped cream.
Now and then, Cass and her mom make a dessert called “stained glass windows”, made with hard chocolate fudge, and marshmallows, and then cut to look like the stained glass windows of a church. There used to be colored marshmallows that achieved this look better, however, these are now sadly difficult, if not impossible, to find.
George Lane (Class of 2026)
For George, most holidays are done a little differently when it comes to food. A family of six, including their parents and three siblings. With two vegetarians, someone who is gluten-free, and other fluctuating dietary restrictions, it is necessary to make some changes to satisfy everyone’s needs. This is especially important because the Lane family tries to do only one meal so they aren’t cooking multiple meals all day. Deliberations over what to make are relatively short, because “even though there are dietary restrictions and preferences in my [George’s] family, we’re not very picky.”
Some examples of dishes they have done in the past include stuffed butternut squash, soups, tofu bakes, and curry one year. George and her sister Lane have also substituted typical dishes at Thanksgiving with goat cheese or vegetarian stuffing. George said, “We’re not afraid of doing things that are not associated at all with the holiday.” They said that holidays are less about any specific dish or dishes, but rather about “making sure we are all eating something that is fulfilling and brings us all together.”
Working on holiday meals like this as a family began as soon as George and her siblings were old enough to discuss what they wanted. On occasion, they were also traveling as a family during holiday times and had to consider what may or may not be good for their stomachs while traveling. Christmas and Easter are done at home, and the Lane family goes to Grandma Lane’s for Thanksgiving. When George was younger the meal was more traditional, however as everyone has gotten older, the meal has molded into a sort of potluck ritual, to take the ease of preparing a giant meal off of Grandma Lane. A notable contribution to the morning snacks is a charcuterie board.
The connection aspect of holidays for the Lane family was reinforced when George said, “All of my siblings and I like to cook and bake, and we like to help with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. It isn’t just my mom in the kitchen or my dad in the kitchen, it’s all of us.”
I hope these profiles have offered an insight into how we as a Wheaton community celebrate different holidays with food and inspired reflection into how you may have or will do holiday foods differently, as the inspiration process for writing this did so for me.