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VPR Cafe: Traditional Dishes Of The Holiday Season

Glen Russell
/
Burlington Free Press
Anne Howrigan and Bridget Howrigan Rivet make a turkey for their family Thanksgiving dinner. About two dozen family members will gather for the meal, down from the days when 70 or so Howrigans ate Thanksgiving together.

Families come together during the holidays to share company, gifts and food. Melissa Pasanen, a contributor the Savovore Sections of the Burlington Free Press, visited several Vermont families to learn food traditions for the holidays including the Howrigans, a seventh generation dairy-farming family with Irish heritage. 

"There are so many family recipes, [the Howrigans] have their own family cookbook!" Pasenen said. "But they said they have an interesting mix of longtime family traditions and new ones."

One of their long-time traditions is mince-meat pie made with family hunted venison and special stuffing made with oyster. The most important food tradition is called Irish bread, which is a yeasted sweet bread with currants. 

Find out more about the Howrigans in Pasanen's piece Talking Turkey with the Howrigans.

The VPR Café is made possible by Otter Creek Kitchenware in downtown Middlebury, offering over 70 lines of kitchenware.   

Ric was a producer for Vermont Edition and host of the VPR Cafe.
Liam is Vermont Public’s public safety reporter, focusing on law enforcement, courts and the prison system.
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