Let Me Show You How Cubans Do Thanksgiving

By Natali Andrés on November 23, 2015

I’ve met few people who can sincerely claim to have a greater love of this country than its immigrants. As the daughter of Cuban refugees I am reminded often by my family how lucky we are to live in this country with all the freedoms that are given to us as rights. Although as a child more American than Cuban hailing from the glittering refugee camp of Miami, FL I am less starry eyed and more critical of this nation. Still, this is one of the few times of year where I set aside my cynical gaze for a night and join in the celebration.

Cubans have a lot to be thankful for, and so we take El Dia de Acción de Gracías (more commonly referred to as El Dia de Pavo and “Tan-Gee-Vin”) as seriously as any natural born American. We honor this country’s heritage as a nation made up of immigrants, and so we add our own flair to the traditional meal.

 Appetizers

CROQUETAAAAAAAASSSS! These wonderful little breaded deep fried cylinders of ham, chicken, or cod are absolute heaven. At a Thanksgiving dinner of 40 people they are ordered from the local bakery by the hundreds (usually about 200-300) and there’s rarely any left over.

Pastelitos (pastries) are out to pick at before anyone sits down for dinner. They’re made of flakey pastry dough (kinda like phylo dough) and filled with guava, meat, or cream cheese, and glazed with a sugary syrup. Cubans are weird in that we like to have sweets before and after dinner. Can you really blame us? We are a former sugar plantation after all.

The Main Event

The main dish in most houses is still turkey (El Dia de Pavo does mean “Turkey Day” after all). I’ve never had a traditionally seasoned Thanksgiving turkey, and I don’t really feel like I’m missing out. What we do is better. We soak that bird overnight in mojo, marinade of the gods, either home-made or bought in a gallon jug from the local Publix.

Some Cubans will opt for their own tradition: Lechon. Pork is a sacred dish served at every Cuban gathering. There are those who refuse to give it up even for Thanksgiving

The Supporting Acts

Now here is where the true Cuban flair comes through. Sure we have the pumpkin pie and that thing with the sweet potatoes covered in a goopy layer of roasted marshmallow, but Thanksgiving is all about comfort food. Here is our comfort food.

There’s a pressure cooker in every Cuban household for the making of our most cherished dish: Frijoles Negros (black beans). These ain’t your watery canned beans. This is flavored with years of Cuban tradition and Abuelita’s love. Served with white rice of course.

Platanito Maduro fritos (fried sweet plantains) you have not lived until you’ve had these. There are heated battles at the table over these. My dad once stole the last platanito off my cousin’s fork as she was lifting it to her mouth. All is fair in love and food.

Yucca frita or Yucca con mojo (I think y’all can figure this one out) is at every Cuban gathering. With yucca frita think French fries, but denser and better. Yucca con mojo is not as well loved because, it’s not fried. If you think Americans fry everything you should come to a Cuban house hold.

Dessert

Sitting proudly next to the pumpkin and pecan pies is usually homemade flan. It comes in several varieties: plain, guayaba (guava),coco (coconut), and queso (cream cheese). There’s never any leftovers for that.

 

In the end, it isn’t all that different: we cram too many people at one table, the aunts pester us about why we don’t have boyfriends/girlfriends, our uncles ask us what we plan to do after we graduate, and we talk about everything we’re grateful for. There’s usually some mention of pilgrims and corn, but we all know that’s not the point. The point is getting the family together so that we can eat good food and take home leftovers.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Salud, dinero , y amor!

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