title:Thanksgiving.

Conversation text:

Host: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Dinner Table, the show about food.

My name is Anthony Russo. And today we're going to be talking about Thanksgiving.

As you know, North America is a huge melting pot.

Do you think everyone celebrates Thanksgiving in the same way? Do you think they eat the same
foods?

Let's ask some people and find out.

Host: How would you explain Thanksgiving to someone outside of North America?

Bernie: Well, you know, Thanksgiving's a unique holiday.

It's kind of a time to sit back, relax, and ... a little reflection on how you should be thankful for
what you have.

Host: Hi, What's your name?

Joe: Uh, my name's Joe.

Host: What do you folks serve for Thanksgiving day? Traditional Thanksgiving day meal?

Joe: Oh, yeah. We have the big turkey - we usually have two of them because there are so many of
us.
Cranberry sauce... uh, mashed potatoes, gravy. Yeah, it's great.

Host: A lot of food. A lot of food.

Joe: A lot of food. A lot of food.

Host: Now, Joe, you have a lot of food, a lot of dessert, there must be a lot of dishes and clean up.
Do you pitch in?

Joe: Cleaning is definitely a part of it. You wash dishes, you clean the table, you bring it back into
the kitchen.

Host: So there's got to be a lot of leftovers.

Joe: Nothing, nothing beats leftovers after Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes, turkey.

Host: That'll last you through the weekend!

Joe: Oh, for the whole week. It's so much food.

Host: Do you have a favorite part of Thanksgiving?

Alisa: My favorite part of Thanksgiving is coming home, and seeing everybody, and seeing my
grandmother, who I love very dearly.

Host: That's always nice. Any family traditions that have carried on throughout the years?

Alisa: The main family tradition is probably football. Because the Detroit Lions always play on
Thanksgiving, so my uncle always has to watch the Detroit Lions play.

Host: And what food is served on Thanksgiving?

Alisa: Well, we'll have a turkey. We'll also have stuffing, and macaroni and cheese, and mashed
potatoes, and sweet potatoes - but I don't really like sweet potatoes.

Host: You've got a lot of food there, there must be some leftovers.

Alisa: There are not a whole lot of leftovers by the time Thanksgiving is done.

Host: And Grandma gets all of them, if there are any.

Alisa: Grandma gets all of them. Grandma gets whatever she wants.

Host: That's great.

Host: Any specific dishes that are a family tradition?

Susan: Well, we definitely have the traditional.

Thanksgiving food: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes.

But, I'm Korean, so we also usually have some sort of rice with Kimchi - Kimchi is a definite must,
because we're Korean - as well as various other Korean food.

We usually have our relatives, like, pot luck, and bring something with them, so whatever they
decide to bring.

Host: What do you do after the meal?

Susan: We are usually pretty comatose because of all the food that we've eaten, so we sit around
and we usually talk.

Sometimes the grown¬ups will play old Korean card games, um, and the kids usually just sit around
and talk, or we go out to a movie. That's usually what we do.

Host: Well, have a happy Thanksgiving.

Susan: Thank you.

Host: How do you spend Thanksgiving, Juan Carlos?

Juan Carlos: I spend Thanksgiving with friends.

Host: Sounds nice. With all those friends, there must be some great food. What food is on the
menu for Thanksgiving?

Juan Carlos: My friends always cook the traditional

Thanksgiving dinner. However, I bring, also, a dish from my home country, Venezuela.

Host: And what dish is that?

Juan Carlos: Maracuchitos, which is plantain with cheese, fried, and very, very delicious. It's
always a hit.

Host: Sounds good. Sounds good. And how about for dessert?

Juan Carlos: I usually also make a sweet from pineapple and papaya. We serve that with
ice cream; it is another hit.

Host: Wow, sounds like a fantastic meal.

Juan Carlos: It is a big celebration.

Host: All this talk of food is making me hungry.

I'm Anthony Russo, from Dinner Table, wishing you and yours a happy
Thanksgiving.