Although Thanksgiving is not considered a Dominican tradition (and definitely not a national holiday), over the years many families across the Dominican Republic adopted this tradition and celebrate it in many different ways.

My family and I never really celebrated Thanksgiving; we anxiously looked forward to celebrating the end-of-year holidays. I have to admit, nothing says Christmas like a Dominican Christmas dinner! Our traditional day-to-day dishes are known for delicious and tasty seasoning, but something you eat regularly throughout the year will taste 10 times better on Christmas due to the amount of time and love that goes into crafting these dishes.

One of the things I love about living in the United States is seeing all the different cultures come together with old and new family traditions this time of year. Being in an interracial relationship, it has definitely been interesting to alternate the holidays between the two families and learn the meaning this holiday has for both cultures and the different ways in which we celebrate it. This year I am hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner for my family, and I am excited to create amazing memories in my home. But what I am most excited about is the amazing feast that will grace my dining table on Thursday night!

Whenever we hear the words “Thanksgiving dinner,” we automatically think about turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkins and other specific foods. Well, today I am highlighting my three top all-time favorite Dominican holiday dishes for you.

Roast pork shoulder pernil is the centerpiece of this feast. It takes a total time of at least nine hours to master a great pernil; however, some people (like my grandmother) choose to season the meat at least 12 hours before for extra flavor and crispier skin. It is usually seasoned with garlic, onions, bell peppers, lots of lime juice and a mix of spices that includes ground coriander seeds. My mouth is watering writing this … is it Thursday yet?

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My second favorite are pasteles en hoja; they look a lot like tamales but with different dough. This recipe is originally from Puerto Rico, but Dominicans made it part of the signature island holiday feasts. The pasteles are made by grating green plantains or yuca (cassava) as the main base of the dough; once made, the dough is shaped into a small rectangle and it is then stuffed with your choice of meat—we usually make green plantain pasteles stuffed with shredded chicken. Here’s the fun part: Once they are stuffed and molded, the pasteles are then carefully wrapped in a banana leaf with some twine and boiled for about 15 minutes. Once cooked, you remove it from the leaf and serve it. I usually like to top mine with a drizzle of mayonnaise and hot sauce.

Last, but not by any means my least favorite, is our take on Russian salad. I usually don’t wait for the year-end holidays to enjoy potato salad; I make variations of it all year ’round but eat this specific salad only during the holidays. My grandmother makes this delicious salad by mixing some carrots, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, vinegar, onions, beets and — here’s the plot twist — CRANBERRIES! They balance out the onions and vinegar perfectly.

Are you hungry yet? I sure am! What are some of your favorite holiday dishes?

Happy Thanksgiving, and safe journeys to those of you traveling this holiday season!

— Yasser Ogando, sales planner