I love Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey and gravy, the stuffing and vegetable side dishes. We go very traditional for the meal, or so I thought. Growing up we had a very Italian Thanksgiving meal with antipasto, pasta, escarole soup, and a small turkey with candied yams. Raising my kids, we went full-blown traditional American.

Besides a very large turkey, we'd have stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, steamed broccoli. For dessert, we'd have apple, pumpkin, and mint chocolate cream pies. There are so many cultural differences throughout the U.S. and it's reflected in what we like at our Thanksgiving table. A regional survey done a few years ago said the Northeast Region, which we are a part of, prefers squash as a side dish. Squash makes sense since it's a fall crop here in our part of the country.

The point is to get together with the special people in your life and give thanks for whatever blessings you have.

A more focused survey done by the website Thrillist indicates that New Jersey's favorite side dish is... STUFFED MUSHROOMS? Don't get me wrong, I love stuffed mushrooms. Stuff them with crabmeat, sausage, or just breadcrumbs and cheese, and I'll eat 'em, but I've never seen them as a Thanksgiving side dish.

That's the beauty of Thanksgiving. It's a very personal, family traditional holiday.

If you want to order Chinese take-out and have your friends and family over to share it with, that's awesome. The point is to get together with the special people in your life and give thanks for whatever blessings you have.

The one thing in common that all states in our country have, is the thanks we should all give to be lucky enough to be in this great country.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.

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