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Dominica Gourmet

Dominica Gourmet

A blog about foods from Dominica

A Festive Thanksgiving Dinner

November 26, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving, to you and your loved ones! Thank you for the support you’ve given me.

Thanksgiving day has lots of interpretations depending on who’s perspective is leading the discourse. Although this holiday is riddled with controversy, people still embrace the meaning of thankfulness, togetherness, and sharing. The First Thanksgiving was a celebration by the Pilgrims after their first Harvest. This tradition continued for many years, and to this day, it is one of the most popular holidays celebrated in the US and Canada. I view this holiday as a day of pause. A day to take stock of the things I’m most grateful for and help my children unpack how blessed they are to have some of the basic things that other people aren’t fortunate to have — like clean water, food, and a roof over their heads, or a childhood. But, of course, there’s no question that I’m most grateful for family.

This year has been challenging for us as we continue to navigate uncharted territories. We’ve been blessed to have and support each other. Yet, as our three children (ages 16- B, 14 – G, and 9-B) continue to get older, the mirrored reflection is that we’re also getting older and not immortal. There’ll be rugged roads we need to cross and challenging decisions we need to make.

I’m genuinely grateful that I’m surrounded by love, and I get to learn a lot from my children. They continue to inspire me to be the best version of myself. I take pride in sharing some of my mother and grandmother’s values and allowing them the space to explore their interpretation of life.

The sharing of family traditions transcends life lessons and is very central in our cooking. So it was heartwarming to have my daughter help out with the cooking yesterday. She made delicious macaroni and cheese and also made apple pie dessert. This initiative signals that she is now stepping up to host Thanksgiving dinner with me.

I started preparing dinner early yesterday but needed to take a break to attend a potluck brunch hosted by my son’s football team. So, if you’re wondering what I bought, I took a platter of smoked salmon and mini bagels. After the brunch, I returned home and started cooking full steam ahead.

We opted out of having turkey. It was the first time we’d had Thanksgiving dinner with no turkey. We instead decided to have cornish game hen. I baked 6 (one for each family member).

In order to enjoy this delicious spread, I set the table like I’ve done since the kids were born.

Here’s all that we prepared yesterday:

Jerked cornish – Seasoned with jerk sauce, I added a cup of chicken stock in the pan and used foil to tent over the pan and bake. First, I removed the foil, and then I brushed some of the residues of the chicken onto the top of the birds; I then set the oven on broil to get a darker color at the top.

Mediterranean salmon


Oxtail


Fried plantains
Sweet potato casserole
Macaroni and cheese


Stuffing
carrots


Brussel sprouts

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Meet Mayma

Sakafete! Growing up in Dominica, food was central to socializing and in abundance. Cooking with my family was one of the highlights of my youth. We grew our produce and raised livestock, which often made it to our kitchen table. With my mother and grandmother's guidance, I discovered my passion for cooking at age 9. We used lots of verbal recipes then. Today, I share those culinary experiences with my children, using the fundamentals of Dominican cooking and making it our own. I'm not a trained cook/chef, however, as I embark on my food journey, I invite you to experience foods from the Caribbean island of Dominica. Let's cook!
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