Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with friends and family while filling our plates (and bellies) with lots of
food. However, Thanksgiving meals don’t always look the same for every family and culture.

Vitas Zeglaitis (9) shared a Lithuanian dish his family serves at Thanksgiving called cepelinai. Zeglaitis described cepelinai as a mixture of shredded potatoes and onions with meat inside, which then gets fried into something similar to a dumpling.

Zeglaitis also shared how food is connected to the history of Lithuania as a country.When Lithuania was a part of the Soviet Union, potatoes were the cheapest food available, leading to many potato-based dishes being created.

“Lithuanians came up with all sorts of stuff [using potatoes], like cepelinai,” Zeglaitis said.

Thanksgiving is a meaningful holiday to Zeglaitis because of the memories he makes and the connection he has with his family.

“Thanksgiving is such a good way to bring everybody together and give thanks,” Jan Sancho, a family and consumer sciences teacher, said. “Give thanks to the food you are about to eat, give thanks about every- body’s presence [at] the table, and just spread that joy for everybody.”

Sancho said her family typically has a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. But for dessert, they bring in their Filipino culture, with foods such as Filipino-style oreo cheesecake, traditional Filipino flan and lots of ube desserts.

Along with her love for food, Sancho encourages students in her food classes to explore and try new foods from different cultures. She even encourages them to bring in the foods to class for other students to try.

“Sometimes the person sitting next to you might only know their traditional meal… And a lot of them might not be fortunate enough to explore and experiment [with] different dishes [from other cultures], so I always say sharing is caring,” Sancho said.

Emma Norton (11) also mentioned the importance of sharing meals with students at VHHS, especially when it comes to the unique cultural foods that many students enjoy.

“I think it is important to learn from each other, and I, personally, have already [introduced] multiple of my friends to Armenian food,” Norton said. Norton’s family is Armenian, and they occasionally incorporate Armenian food in their Thanksgiving feast, along with other holiday meals. One dish they serve is called borek, which is a pastry typically made out of cheese, parsley and phyllo dough.

“[Borek] takes a lot to make, which is why usually it’s made around the holidays, [but] it’s really good and it’s a really comforting dish that I have a lot of positive memories with,” Norton said.

Having a tradition such as making borek and being with her family is something that Norton finds important about holidays such as Thanksgiving.

“I thrive on connection, and being able to see everyone, it just makes me happy and gives me a reason to smile,” Norton said.

Although Thanksgiving has passed, the opportunity to try new foods is still there, or to create new recipes yourself. In her foods classes, Sancho teaches her students how to understand which flavors work together and which don’t, but even with that teaching, it is important to experiment first.

“I always tell people, ‘You gotta’ try it out before you serve it,’” Sancho said.

Below, you can find more information about some dishes mentioned in this article,along with a summary of the recipes, if you would like to try them yourselves!

Cepelinai: Cepelinai are potato dumplings that are made from shredded potatoes and sometimes onions, and are typically stuffed with ground meat, dry curd cheese, or mushrooms. This dish originates from Lithuania and is the national dish of Lithuania.

Zeglaitis’ Recipe:
Ingredients:
– 1 whole onion
– 16 large potatoes
– A pinch of salt
– Around 2-3 lbs of any meat of choice (the
amount of meat depends on how many people
are being served)
– Optional: smoked bacon or sour cream on the side

Steps:
1. Grate the onion and potatoes into a container using a vegetable grater (Zeglaitis recommends the Verute Electric Root Vegetable Grater)
2. Add as much salt as you prefer
3. After adding the potatoes and the onion,strain the mixture of all the juices inside, until only potato and onion is left
4. Take your meat of choice and roll it into balls

5. Wrap the potato mixture around the balls until it forms a circular shape with the meat packed away inside
6. Take a pot filled with water and heat it until it is boiling at 375 degrees fahrenheit (7-8 on heat dial)
7. Boil the cepelinai for 60 minutes
8. When they are ready, you can take them out and serve (let cool for a few minutes before eating) These can be served with a thick cut of smoked bacon or with sour cream.

Borek: Borek is a pastry made out of phyllo dough and often has different types of cheese, such as muenster cheese or cheddar cheese, along with other add-ins like parsley or spinach. Borek is a popular dish in multiple countries, with each country having their own variations of it. This recipe follows the Armenian version of borek.

Norton’s Recipe:
Ingredients
– 16 ounces Brick Cheese
– 16 ounces Munster
– 8 ounces Cheddar
– 1⁄2 cup Parsley
– 1 kilogram or about 18 sheets phyllo dough
– 1-1 1⁄2 stick(s) Melted Butter
– 1 cup Milk
– 1 Egg

Steps:
1. Grate cheese
2. Mix cheese in with parsley and set mixture in the refrigerator until needed
3. Next, use 14×18 phyllo sheets (about 18 sheets needed) at almost room temperature
4. Melt butter and spread melted butter on bottom of sheet pan with a brush, for a nice coat

5. Take 9 sheets of phyllo and butter between each sheet
6. Then, take cheese and parsley mixture and spread evenly on top of filo
7. Next, lay the remaining 9 phyllo sheet on top of mixture, buttering between each sheet
8. Now, cut dough into squares from the sides of the pan with a sharp knife
9. Mix egg and milk together and then pour evenly over the top of dough
10. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 45 minutes or until golden brown- Remember to consistently check while it’s in the oven
11. Take out after 45 min and check the bottom to make sure it has become crispy – If not crispy, put aluminum foil over the top and bake a few more minutes until golden brown on the bottom as well
12. Serve and enjoy!

Siopao Asado: This is a steamed bun with meat inside. It has a sweet and savory flavor. The sweetness is from the bun and the savory flavor is from the filling inside. Sancho and her family use pork meat that they cook and marinate overnight in oyster sauce, soy sauce, and other spices. It is a very popular snack and sometimes a meal, for Filipinos. Siopao Asado is popular in the Philippines, but is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine.

Ingredients:
– Bun
– 400 grams all-purpose flour
– 4 grams baking powder
– 4 grams yeast
– 60 grams granulated sugar
– 215 grams warm water
– Filling
– 500 grams (~ 1 pound) pork shoulder, diced small

– 6 cloves garlic
– 1⁄2 medium onion, diced small
– 2 tablespoon soy sauce
– 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
– 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
– 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
– 1 tbsp cornstarch
– 350 grams water
– 2 boiled eggs, quartered optional