Perhaps the most treasured of all Thanksgiving traditions is sharing with friends and family those things you’re grateful about. This year we asked elected officials in St. Pete to share their Thanksgiving plans, traditions and various favorites.
Mayor Rick Kriseman:
“I cook the turkey on thanksgiving. I live to cook the turkey. It has an herb crust with an apricot glaze. I also make the gravy from the drippings and onions and shallots that are blended.
“Definitely one of my favorite holidays. Good food, family, and football.”
City Councilwoman Darden Rice:
“Julie and I always host Thanksgiving at our home. I love the reflection and thoughtfulness of the holiday, as well as the chance to spend time with family. We are having family over from Philadelphia, Austin, and Sun City. Our nephew, a freshman at Eckerd College, is bringing his Vermont roommate. I know this sounds scandalous, but we traded turkey for prime rib at the urging of our red-meat relatives.
“We also do an incredible grilled curry vegetarian dish with root vegetables for the vegetarians in our crowd. Otherwise, we stay traditional with the sides and homemade apple pie, using family recipes from our respective grandmothers and moms.”
City Councilman Bill Dudley:
“My wife and I have rented a house in the mountains just outside of Waynesville, N.C., for Thanksgiving. Our 2 children (adults) and families will celebrate together. Since we all live in St. Pete it becomes a nice getaway. We are spending the week and plan to do a lot of things together. We have 4 grandchildren ages 10, 7, and twin 3-year-olds. The 10 of us plus 2 dogs will have a great Thanksgiving dinner.”
City Councilman Karl Nurse:
“I like Thanksgiving for simple reasons: It is a rare 4-day weekend that I actually take, it is a family oriented and low pressure holiday, which always includes some long-distance relatives and finally, I spend Friday with my bride as she shops and we go out for lunch.
“As someone who works at least a 6 day week, this quite a change. The Macy’s parade starts the holiday.”
