Anonymous wrote:To the poster talking about no mac and cheese during Lent. My mom was the same. She thought mac and cheese was too much of a special treat. Her Friday menu: baked sole with lemon, no tartar sauce, green beans, baked potato with no butter, and a roll with no butter. At least we got fruit for dessert.

Yeah, no butter and cream, even no cheese is pretty old school Lent. Orthodox Christians have an even stricter Lent. No meat at all for the entire season.

Anonymous wrote:FYI, if you want a proper thanksgiving mac and cheese recipe, try Patty laBelle's. She also has a good sweet potato pie.

Another really good option is Edna Lewis's mac and cheese. It is awesome.

To the poster talking about no mac and cheese during Lent. My mom was the same. She thought mac and cheese was too much of a special treat. Her Friday menu: baked sole with lemon, no tartar sauce, green beans, baked potato with no butter, and a roll with no butter. At least we got fruit for dessert.

I always serve mac and cheese at Thanksgiving because my mom (white, mid-west) always served it.

My husband and I have mixed race children. Some of our AA children's biological family attended one of the first Thanksgivings we had with the children. Because we had mac and cheese it helped affirm that the children were in good hands. The biological family members thought I had done some research about the AA heritage and I wish I could claim that I was that forward thinking. I just served what I thought was part of a regular Thanksgiving meal. Thank goodness for happy coincidences! We just added 2 Latina daughters to our family. I hope they like mac and cheese with their turkey!

Anonymous wrote:Not black but a Southerner, mac and cheese is a staple for every holiday.

Same, not Black but live in South Carolina and mac and cheese is served at basically every type of party that involves a meal. Holiday or not, it's a staple.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mac n cheese is for Fridays during Lent if you are Catholic. Not for Thanksgiving.

Haha, this is so true. And typically the main dish, not a side. Unless, of course, your mom also made fish sticks to go with it.

I’d forgotten about that! We always had one mac n cheese made with milk and one made with tomato sauce. I always thought of it as white people food since it was so bland. And who can forget Friday fish sticks?

I’m AA and Catholic. We never had Mac and cheese for Lenten Fridays. It was a “feast food” and not for fasting days. Ditto for anything else with tons of butter and cheese. Too indulgent for Lent. My mom made pancakes on the Tuesday before Ash Wed and then we didn’t see butter again until Easter! Lots of fish sticks though!

Fish fry for soul food Fridays!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Common in AA thanksgiving - such a fantastic addition.

You got that right!! And we also do greens and sweet potato pie (no pumpkin). One year I did a last minute purchase of a pumpkin pie so not to go empty handed. I was not invited to the barbeque that year, LOL!!!!!

Love me some south side of Chicago!

Next time just take aluminum foil.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mac n cheese is for Fridays during Lent if you are Catholic. Not for Thanksgiving.

Haha, this is so true. And typically the main dish, not a side. Unless, of course, your mom also made fish sticks to go with it.

I’d forgotten about that! We always had one mac n cheese made with milk and one made with tomato sauce. I always thought of it as white people food since it was so bland. And who can forget Friday fish sticks?

I’m AA and Catholic. We never had Mac and cheese for Lenten Fridays. It was a “feast food” and not for fasting days. Ditto for anything else with tons of butter and cheese. Too indulgent for Lent. My mom made pancakes on the Tuesday before Ash Wed and then we didn’t see butter again until Easter! Lots of fish sticks though!

It’s for thanksgiving.

-anyone from the south and we cook the best so we know

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mac n cheese is for Fridays during Lent if you are Catholic. Not for Thanksgiving.

Haha, this is so true. And typically the main dish, not a side. Unless, of course, your mom also made fish sticks to go with it.

I’d forgotten about that! We always had one mac n cheese made with milk and one made with tomato sauce. I always thought of it as white people food since it was so bland. And who can forget Friday fish sticks?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a black thing, but it works. Never had it in the upper Midwest for Thanksgiving.

I would change this to "It's a Black thing AND it works."

Not black but a Southerner, mac and cheese is a staple for every holiday.

Eggs in gravy person.....ew, why? Gross!

Anonymous wrote:It's a black thing, but it works. Never had it in the upper Midwest for Thanksgiving.

I would change this to "It's a Black thing AND it works."

It's a black thing, but it works. Never had it in the upper Midwest for Thanksgiving.

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Minnesota. Never heard of macaroni and cheese at Thanksgiving growing up. Also, FIL was from Missouri and Oklahoma and he married a woman from Indiana and they never had mac and cheese at Thanksgiving, although they put hardboiled eggs in the gravy.

I’m sorry - WHAT? Hard boiled eggs in gravy? Why and also why?