Growing up in Berkeley, in the 60s and 70s, my favorite holidays were Thanksgiving and Christmas.  On those days, our dysfunctional family came together and had a good meal.  Then the next day back to the constant bickering, and fighting as we just did not get along. My parents were an odd couple, a love-hate relationship.  My two siblings (older and younger) bonded together and hated me and my younger sister because they were convinced we were both losers and did not have what it took to succeed in life. When I became successful in life they never forgave me for that crime.  The last time we had a holiday meal was in the late 80s. Since then, why bother? They never send Christmas cards or presents, and I reciprocate and never do the same.

But on Thanksgiving and Christmas, we put all of that aside and enjoyed the day and best meal of the year. My mother was from Arkansas and did a traditional southern style Holiday treat- the same meal for both days.

She cooked, but the kids helped out, and my father carved the bird. I made the stuffing, my older brother made the sweat potatoes with marshmallows, my younger brother made mashed potatoes and my sister made the salad.

It all started with a big bird, a Turkey, of course, stuffed with stuffing.  We never did Goose, Cornish game hens, or God forbid Tofu Turkey -although being in Berkeley that was a common alternative.  But not in “the World According to Mary Aller,” for my southern traditionalist mother, it had to be Turkey, and that was it.

The stuffing consisted of a commercial stuffing mixture, bread, and herbs. I added to the mix apples, bacon bits, carrots, ham, and a little orange juice. One year I added bamboo shoots, chestnuts, mushrooms, and walnuts, and Mother, horrified, looked at me as if I were out of mind, but afterward said, “That was good” and we added that to our family stuffing recipes.

The sides were great

Two kinds of cranberry sauces – smooth and chunky, both bought at the Berkeley Co-Op where my father was president.  It went bankrupt after my father died in 1985.

Green beans with bacon bits, garlic, and onions,

Greens southern style -either collard or spinach. turnip, kale, or all four, boiled with bacon, brown sugar, ham bits, and molasses, with bourbon for flavoring

Grits with ham, and cheese, cooked in bacon grease (none of my Berkeley friends knew what grits were)

Garlic mashed potatoes.

Salad

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows.

Wild rice and white rice cooked and served separately.

And pecan pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert

Wine, and bourbon, for the adults, starting when I was 18 allowed me to partake.

Leftover sandwiches for days,

Bacon, eggs, grits, and potato pancakes for the next breakfast.