Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s woven together with memories of special people, fun celebrations and, of course, great food. I asked two outstanding Texas cooks, Elizabeth (Liz) Ripple of Fayetteville and Linda Harris of Conroe, to each share a favorite Thanksgiving recipe and the story behind it.
Big Gatherings, Even Bigger Memories
Liz Michalsky Ripple remembers many delicious turkey and dressing dinners at Thanksgiving from her youth. However, another dish, which is a meal in itself, is especially near and dear to the hearts of all the Michalsky family.
To this day, when Liz’s mom, Margaret Matura Michalsky, asks, “What do you want for our holiday lunch?” her family always says, “Chili, please, with all the trimmings!”
Chili? You heard right!
“My mom makes the best!” Liz says.
Because the Michalsky family owned and operated a meat processing plant in Fayetteville for 34 years, Margaret still has access to commercial meat grinders.
“Mom puts the ‘chili plate’ in her grinder,” Liz says.
“The meat comes out coarser than the texture of regular commercial ground hamburger meat. Sometimes I hear a little grumbling about the big pieces of meat, but that’s genuine Czech chili!”
Liz understands why her mom uses 10 pounds of meat to make a single batch of chili.
“Because it calls for so many ingredients, it takes a whole day to make Mom’s recipe. After investing that much time, it’s great to have containers you can take from the freezer whenever you are short on time and want a quick, delicious meal.
“Mom freezes her leftovers in empty Cool Whip containers to give away. So many people have been blessed with her chili and they all love it.”
Liz and her family like their mother’s chili anytime of the year, but especially on cold days and during the holidays.
“It is good with corn chips, onions and cheese, crackers or served over enchiladas or tamales,” Liz adds.
Good for you, too!
“Some of the ingredients my mom puts into her chili are not typical or traditional, but they add so much flavor. Veggies like celery are blended, so you can’t even guess what’s in it.”
Margaret’s has refined her chili recipe after preparing it for over 50 years.
Here’s the typed version of Margaret’s handwritten recipe.
GIGI’S CHILI
(Finally) written out in 2018 by Margaret Michalsky*
8 to 10 lbs. chili meat, some pork too
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Salt to taste
A good ½ C fresh ground coarse black pepper
2 Tbsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. paprika (optional)
1 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)
6 onions
1 stalk celery (the whole thing)
10 cloves garlic
3 green peppers
1 bunch parsley
4 qts. tomatoes
5 pints Picante sauce
2 large cans tomato paste
3 tall cans tomato sauce
½ cup chili powder
Cook meat in oil till no longer pink. Add salt, black pepper, cumin and oregano. Cook about 30 minutes. Put onions, celery, garlic, green peppers and parsley in a blender or food processor with a little water and blend together. Add vegetable mix to the meat and cook about 30 minutes on medium heat. Put tomatoes and Picante in food processor and blend; add this to the meat with tomato paste and tomato sauce and the water (about 2 quarts or less) used to wash out the cans. Lastly, add chili powder and stir well. More water or beef broth (for extra flavor) may be added if you want it thinner.
Simmer for at least 1 hour.
* I can my own tomatoes and Picante sauce.
Liz looks back
“Growing up, my siblings and I had it good, but didn’t realize how lucky we were,” Liz says.
“Although we wanted to, our family hardly ever went out to eat when we were growing up. Now I know we didn’t miss a thing.
“We had Mom, the best cook in the county!”
The majority of the Michalsky’s breakfasts were hot pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, grits, Cream of Wheat, French toast, eggs, bacon or ham. The only cereal that came in a box from the grocery store was corn flakes.
Come to think of it
“There was hardly a day when there wasn’t a wonderful treat waiting for us when we got home from school,” Liz says with a sigh.
Some days Liz would not mind being a kid again!
Putting the Past in Perspective
Linda Medeiros Harris was born in Hawaii and lived there for the first nine years of her life. She was a member of a large extended family whose ancestors came from the Madeira Islands off Portugal’s coast.
Holidays like Thanksgiving were special occasions. Linda’s mother and aunts got together each year to prepare delicacies like Portuguese Sweet Bread, a delicious but very time-consuming tradition.
“We always had a traditional turkey dinner at Thanksgiving with all the trimmings in Hawaii, just like stateside,” Linda recalls.
A family split
Linda’s close familial connections were severed when her widowed mother married again. Linda’s new stepfather, who was serving in the U.S. Navy, moved the family to California.
A few years later, Linda was a senior in high school when she was sent to live with her stepfather’s kin in San Antonio. Eventually, Linda’s mother, stepfather, sister and two half-sisters moved to Japan. She never again lived with her family.
“It was a pretty awful time,” recalls Linda.
The family splits again
As Thanksgiving 1963 approached, Linda began frantically racking her brain for something familiar that would bring a measure of comfort.
“When I talked to my mom on the phone one day, I told her I wanted my great-grandmother’s turkey stuffing recipe. She found it and called me back, warning me I’d have to add and taste when it came to the amounts of allspice, pepper and salt. Then she read the recipe to me and I hurriedly wrote it down.
“I’ve pulled out that piece of paper every Thanksgiving for almost 60 years.”
LINDA’S TURKEY STUFFING
- Boil the turkey neck, liver and gizzards in a pot of water.
- Save the water and take 1/2 loaf of bread (preferably several days old, not fresh), break it up and place in water.
- Put oil in deep pot and chop up one clove of garlic. Grind or finely chop the boiled meat, one onion, 4 stalks of celery, 1/2 bunch of parsley (can be canned) and fry it all. Then add the bread and fry it, too. Add water or chicken broth if it appears too dry.
- Add allspice, pepper and salt a little at a time to taste. After you’re finished, let the mixture cool and refrigerate it.
- The next day, put salt, pepper and butter (two blocks in the neck and two blocks in the breast cavity) and stuff the turkey. Rub butter on the outside of the turkey. (If you don’t want to stuff the turkey, just put the dressing in a casserole.)
- Cover the turkey in tinfoil while it’s cooking and baste it; after it’s cooked, remove the tinfoil and let it brown.
Embodying the Thanksgiving spirit
Linda and her husband, Harold, delight in hosting bountiful Thanksgiving dinners. The more tables they need to set up to accommodate their guests, the happier they are.
“The size of the turkey may vary by the number of guests we are hosting, but this is the stuffing I make the night before Thanksgiving. Some years I’ll stuff the turkey and other years, I’ll bake it in a casserole.
“It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving in our house without it,” Linda adds.
Another constant in the Harris household is a blessing that’s said before the meal:
Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen.
* * *
While this year’s celebrations may be different because of COVID concerns, the significance of the holiday won’t change. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Enjoyed reading your stories about these ladies’ Thanksgiving meal traditions. Makes my mouth water and my tummy growl. My husband and I love our chile, the more veggies the better. I prefer the coarser meat, too. Our chile is on the menu for our family Christmas on my husband’s side that we’re hosting for the 3rd time this year.
Thanksgiving is deeply rooted in tradition. I think in 60 years I’ve only missed two at my Mother’s on Thanksgiving Day, once when I was on bedrest expecting twins and once when we took a road trip to Cascade Caverns/Inn of the Mountain Gods for their 21st birthday. They were born the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1988.
Mom bakes the turkeys tonight and tomorrow, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, is always make the dressing day. One thing that’s changed is she now gets boneless turkeys. Saves a lot of time. Is it bone or debone? Google says both are correct. Happy Thanksgiving to all. 🦃🍁
Stay safe at your family gatherings. 😷🙏
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving preparations, Rhonda. It sounds like there are lots of good times and good food served at your family’s table. We have much to be grateful for, don’t we?
That was refreshing – a bright spot for this holiday, thank you for bringing these stories to us and sharing very interesting recipes.
So glad you enjoyed Liz and Linda’s recipes and the stories behind those foods. I bet you have some family favorites too, Jeanie!
Thank you for the stories and even though Thanksgiving might be different this year we will always have our memories
Hi Sandy! Yes, we will have our treasured memories, and won’t they be sweet?
Oh, how hungry I am after reading this wonderful piece…Can a column be described as “tasty?” On Liz and Margaret’s (GiGi’s) chili–one of my favorite ‘dishes’ Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall– i would never have the ability or patience to go through with this recipe but it sounds sensational. Sorry, GiGi, I cook less and less all the time. BUT, I think I have a can of Wolf Brand in the pantry and I am heading for that tonight. It is rainy and dreary today in the Ouachita Mountains and the perfect night for it..
Linda, my heart broke as I read the story of your childhood, Hon. BUT stuffing is my favorite thing about Thanksgiving Dinner! Although, I admit I have NEVER stuffed a turkey–only serve it ‘on the side.’ See reference above to my culinary talents…I guess I am doomed to stay with “Stove Top!”
I pray that ALL of you enjoy a VERY blessed Thanksgiving.
Brenda Miles
Brenda, well, I think Wolf Brand Chili sounds pretty darn good! Now, you will notice that Margaret didn’t put beans in hers. Does your can of comfort have beans or not?? BTW, Linda says the original Stove Top Stuffing is pretty darn good. For those who want a quick fix, she recommends it!
Elaine, I so enjoyed reading the stories of these two delightful ladies.
I follow my dad’s dressing recipe, which he adapted from his Mother’s.
Our family enjoyed Thanksgiving at his deer camp. You should have seen the stoves he used. Happy Thanksgiving.
Another heritage dressing recipe? Oh my, Donna! That’s great. I bet you are gathering your ingredients as we speak. I would love to hear more about the stove in the deer camp. I’m guessing it was a sight to behold! Thanks for writing.
Always, I enjoy the stories, many thanks. I’m all-in for homemade chili of any various or any kind. Thanks for the various recipes’ turkey, bread dressing, chili – always appreciated.
But so far in life, I’m breaking from apparent Texas tradition of all beef; no beans, I prefer chili w/ ground beef w/ lots of pinto beans, flavored w/ wild South-Texas grown Chili Pequin peppers, not too many, as those bad boys are hot, 7 on the 10 scale, as I recall. And for truth, I think those tiny green, orange and red Pequins are hotter than 7.
And a memory of my teen youth, eating one-of-a-kind street-side-vendor Mexican chili in Matamoros on several occasions served in crude ceramic-clay bowls which were disintegrating at the scraping of the metal spoon. You don’t want to grit your teeth when you eat that Mexican chili, but give those cooks credit, it was very good and worth consuming the several grains of ceramic sand scraped out of the apparent home created and fired clay bowl.
My parents raised turkeys for about 11 years so we had turkey fairly often, and the traditional Sunday dinner fried chicken via lard, of course. And because my parents raised turkeys, they sponsored the extended family Thanksgiving at Christmas holiday meals most of the time for my father’s 8 siblings, numerous children and grandparents. We always had a huge turkey like 38 to 44 pounds and a ham. The crowd brought most of the rest like lots of deviled eggs and an unending supply of potato salad.
My mother, the Oklahoma farm girl she was, who at age 9 moved to Rio Hondo, South Texas in 1919, could cook basic ingredients into the most wonderful high-calorie meals. We had fresh cooked, hot bread, biscuits and cornbread three meals a day 7 days a week for many years. Plus there was always homemade pie and cake pastry.
Sidenote here about pie: I was living nearby to Pensacola, FL, Escambia County, in the early 1970s when a woman won the blue ribbon for pies 3 years in a row. So a Pensacola TV station had her on she could take credit for her best pies in the contest. The reporter asked what she attributed to her winning three years running. Her answer was short and sweet.
She responded, “I make my homemade pie crust with lard.” That’s just what my mother did!
Fred, what wonderful memories you have shared with us from different time periods in your life. I sure wish I could try your Mom’s pies. I bet it’s hard to find one now that tastes as good as those she served you and your family years ago. I have some memories of being around Mom’s turkeys when I was a kid. I’ll save that for a future blog! Thanks for writing and Happy Thanksgiving.
Really enjoyed reading the stories. This Thanksgiving will be different, but we still have so many things for which to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Yes, Glenn, we do have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving and perhaps next year we will feel even more gratitude if our celebrations resume like those in past years. Take good care of yourselves, Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for reading/commenting!
Elaine,
What GREAT articles on Thanksgiving memories! So thrilled that you were able to obtain copies of Gigi’s Chili and Linda’s Turkey Stuffing! What keepsakes! THANK YOU for all of us ladies who might like to attempt to make these awesome dishes! Also enjoyed seeing all the awesome photos of the truly talented cooks, and their family members!
Lestell, your comments are much appreciated. Thank you! The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we share our stories, don’t you think?