Thanksgiving in the 80's-----Homemade

 My father would start the day out by going downstairs to the kitchen and take the turkey out of the refrigerator.  Then he would look for all the ingredients and equipment to coo the Thanksgiving Turkey.   The lights were on in the kitchen and the stove was on and so was the oven.   My mother would interrupt my father and make bread rolls with brown sugar on top.   She would make corn casserole and green bake beans in mushroom soup with onion crisp on top and mashed potatoes.   She would make extra potatoes because I liked taking the potatoes and putting them into a ricer and make rice potatoes.  She would boil three potatoes for me, so I could peel them and then place them into the ricer pot and press it down on top of the potatoes to have them come out of the ricer into the shape of rice potatoes.   I was the only one who ate this dish.  I don't remember who taught me this but every Thanksgiving on Valley Road I would do this using a metal/plastic ricer.  Basically it looked like a cup and a potato cut in half is placed inside.  Then a handle with a flat metal thing comes down onto the cooked potatoes.  The cup has tiny holes where the potatoes come out in the shape of rice.  I use a reason able size bowl.  I really loved mixing the gravy with the potatoes rice.   Everybody in my family liked mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream.     You have to understand in the summer time there something near where the circus comes to town a place called Summer Fest and they have a huge tent where they only make potatoes and you have choice of sour cream and butter or just butter and salt.  My family would be there once a summer to have this.  Sometimes they sold a donut with whipped cream. The donut looked like a bread but it tasted sweet.  A cream Puff.

Thanksgiving. Was everyone working in some team and by enjoying a Macys parade then eventually the football game in the afternoon.

The Thanksgiving atmosphere was laughter and good talk.  Dessert was always the same every year.

A pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

There was also chocolate cookies.

Homemade.