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Posted on 11/17/2022 3:02:44 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Italian-American tradition is alive and well in many households, including Stanley Tucci’s.
For people unaccustomed to it, the idea of lasagna at Thanksgiving might seem extreme. When the holiday table is already buckling under the weight of stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and a giant turkey, the choice to add a tray of bubbling, saucy lasagna may not seem obvious – but that’s what makes it so special. Growing up, Searching for Italy host and actor Stanley Tucci would go to his aunt’s house for Thanksgiving, which tended to kick off with a course of Italian wedding soup, with escarole and chicken meatballs.
“And then there would inevitably be some kind of lasagna, or baked pasta of some sort,” he told Food & Wine. “And then of course, you had all the American stuff. There usually was always pasta. We find it very difficult not to have pasta on the table at some point.”
A big tray of lasagna is an Italian-American Thanksgiving tradition that has long signaled “special occasion.” Italian immigrants to America began incorporating pasta into their Thanksgiving feasts as early as the turn of the 20th century. The New England Historical Society notes that in weaving Italian influences into their feasts, including large antipasto spreads to kick things off, “Italian cooks successfully resisted do-gooders trying to Americanize their food habits.”
For that first generation of Italian immigrants, the holiday was quite foreign, so they drew from their own food traditions. As writer Frank Carrano recounted in the New Haven Register, “Thanksgiving, that quintessential American holiday, was not easily understood by the original group of Italian settlers who came from a place that had no comparable celebration … [T]he holiday was not really accepted until the children began to tell stories they had learned in school, of Pilgrims giving thanks for the land’s bounty.”
Those original feasts were typically all Italian food, but then second- and third-generations tended to adhere closer to traditional American Thanksgiving, with separate courses for lasagna and antipasto. At Food & Wine, we strongly believe lasagna can stand alone as the main event. “Lasagna has the stature and swagger to own the center of the Thanksgiving table,” we argued in 2020. “It's also far, far less intimidating to make a lasagna than a hulking turkey.”
Of course, you have more Thanksgiving pasta options beyond just lasagna. (And there is always, always room for mac and cheese, a holiday staple.) Richie Arvidson, a friend of mine from an Italian-American New Jersey family, told me sometimes they’ll do ravioli. But usually it’s lasagna. “As long as I can remember there’s been a pasta course at Thanksgiving,” he said. “We’ll do it around 1:00 p.m., followed by the typical Thanksgiving meal with the traditional sides around 4:30 p.m.” I asked him if it ever feels like too much food. “It absolutely always feels like too much,” he said. There’s also always a full spread of antipasto, “which is key,” he added. “My mom makes it before every dinner occasion, even when we’re just coming over for no reason.”
While I am Italian-American, the tradition didn't take root in my family, which I think is a great tragedy. When my grandfather came to America, his wife - my grandmother - didn't feel so confident in the kitchen, so "enough was enough" when it came to Thanksgiving cooking, my mom recalls. Our cousins, of course, started the feast with lasagna, followed by traditional American turkey with all the trimmings. "They always shook their heads in sorrow for my poor deprived father," she says.
Tucci, who just dropped his first meal kit with S.Pellegrino for a simple gnochetti with sausage and broccolini, makes a convincing case for pasta at any holiday, really. “It’s really rustic, but it’s celebratory,” he said of the gnochetti, which is his favorite pasta and one he makes throughout the holidays. Another Italian-American holiday tradition from Tucci’s childhood that he holds near and dear to his heart? The Feast of the Seven Fishes, on Christmas Eve.
“Growing up, we would do seven fishes, in different forms,” he said. “And then when I had my own family, I did the same thing, but I didn’t do it in as many courses. I would do shrimp or something to start as an appetizer, and then I would make a fish stew, so you always had seven. I think it’s a really lovely tradition, and what I like about it too is you eat this sort of lighter meal at night, the night before, and then on Christmas, you have this enormous meal that incorporates every sort of foodstuff.”
If you want to get a head start on Feast of the Seven Fishes planning, check out our gallery of Italian fish and seafood recipes that are perfect for the celebration.
my sister rose is bringing the baked ziti...
mmmm
I don’t see any ricotta in that picture. It needs ricotta.
Mmmmm . . . lasagna.
I’m bringing a mushroom risotto.
Lasagna is a lot of work.
Baked ziti is easier.
Although my wife makes a good “poor man’s lasagna”: cook some ravioli, fill baking dish with it, top with sauce and cheese, stick in oven until cheese is bubbling.
I use 6 or 7 cheeses.
Hey don’t cha fogitt bout Arrenginna ( terrible speller throughout 12 years of Dominican penguin.... I mean Nuns, and then 4 more of Jesuit Correctional guards). Rice Balls in today’s English. My mother and mother in law were always competing with these fabulous sides.
We have our pasta on Christmas. We’re old enough that we go elsewhere for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Privilege of being over 70 and having a small home.
Both of my parents grew up in Brooklyn, so, yeah.
“Italian cooks successfully resisted do-gooders trying to Americanize their food habits.”
“Do-gooders”?? Italians love turkey and trimmings. We also love spaghetti and lasagna. We can multi-task, just like the Chinese and Irish who mix their own favorite courses with the turkey and dressing. It’s not that big of a deal.
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I am not Italian myself but my great aunt was immigrated from Sicily when she was 18 and she used to make traditional Sicilian food. I was too young to appreciate it at the time being around 8 or so at the time. I didn’t appreciate her cooking the time because American kids only like very bland food but I wish I could go back in time and enjoy her cooking now.
I think thats great. Nearly anything is better than the disgusting glop that passes for sides in the modern standard American Thanksgiving. Have you ever been a victim of “cheezy potatoes” or “cream corn”(not creamED corn)? How did green bean casserole become a thing? If I were so poor I or hated you so deeply that I intended to force corn bread on you then I wouldnt have invited you over in the first place. Would you like another serving of can, I mean, yam with an inch of burned marshmallow?
If someone cared enough to invite me over then I would appreciate something they intentionally put effort into much more, even if they made it “wrong” and it didnt turn out, than if they tried to make me eat what is becoming the default menu.
Our default “tradition” has become little more than the thoughtless acceptance of marketing efforts and bad recipes from womens magazines. When I invite someone over its a show of love or respect to put a little more effort and thought into what Im serving.
Ricotta is so difficult to find in Texas, good ricotta that is. In RI my kids would sit watching me make lasagna and steal spoonfuls of ricotta out of the container. The stuff they have in Texas tastes like plastic, same for the mozzarella. Last year I couldn’t find Frego brand which isn’t too bad.
To go with the tacchino, si?
That’s un-American!
Oh, yeah. The green bean casserole. The ultimate slime dish. I gag.
And I never heard of cornbread dressing until I was about 65 years old.
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