Peddie News — Thanksgiving Food

For the December issue, I wrote an article investigating the Thanksgiving dishes Peddie students had.

Thanksgiving food 101: From potatoes to pies

Over Thanksgiving break, Falcons were eager to return home, spend some quality time with their family and meet up with their friends in their old homes and schools. Different Falcons had different things they especially looked forward to, which included catching up on sleep, binge-watching a Netflix show, or, for some, studying for the SAT. But everyone had something in common to look forward to: Thanksgiving food.

"I had a lot of Thanksgiving food at home," Allison Li '27 said with a smile. "I'm a domestic boarder, so I went back to Maryland. To be honest, I don't like pumpkin pie, but I love most Thanksgiving dishes. This made me really excited to go back home. At home, I had typical Thanksgiving foods like turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing – my favorite was the mashed potatoes. It was nice seeing my family again after fall term, and I already miss the good food back home."

Thanksgiving indeed is an important holiday filled with laughter, loved ones and luscious food. In fact, right before students went home to enjoy Thanksgiving food, Peddie sent the falcons off with a special Family Style night with a full Thanksgiving dinner course that featured most of the Thanksgiving food Li mentioned.

Starting off with squash salad, PFS offered a large turkey for the main dish that the teachers had to cut themselves with a large knife provided. Not only was this a delicious meal, but also a fun and memorable sight to share warm Thanksgiving energies with fellow students and teachers. The turkey was served alongside gravy, and Falcons were also able to enjoy mashed potatoes and stuffing. An alternative also included sweet potatoes and green beans.

The dessert was also an important highlight of the meal. Although disliked by Li, it was one of the most popular Thanksgiving desserts that people often crave all year long; it was a treat that has been bought, rebought and devoured by Caspersen Dorm members for weeks; it was something common yet not often spotlighted until Thanksgiving season. It was pumpkin pie.

"I am a day student, and I had to drive back home that night, so I was not able to join in the family style dinner, but I still love pumpkin pie," Leanne Yang '26 said.

Talking about Thanksgiving break, she added, "I also had good food over the break. Our family gathers together during Thanksgiving season and shares Chinese food together, so it was really nice getting to see everyone this fall."

Everyone celebrates Thanksgiving differently. For Bryan Zhao '27, who is a domestic boarder, Thanksgiving was an opportunity to fuel his talents in violin with good Thanksgiving dishes. "Over Thanksgiving break, I was able to have a good refresh, spend time with family and friends, and practice violin some more. But I also had good food. I went home over the break and had a big Thanksgiving meal with my family. My favorite was a giant turkey we cut together. It was a really good time, and I'm already looking forward to Thanksgiving next year," Zhao said.