Mofongo is a dish that requires a

lot of love and a lot of plantains. My

abuela made this dish every year

for as far back as I can remember. It

is not Thanksgiving in my family

without it.

”“

ThanksgivingFamily RecipesFor the holiday season, we asked DoSomething staffers with immigrant heritage to tell us about their favorite family recipes and traditions. Diversity makes our country stronger, and our food tastier! Learn about why these traditions are important to our team!

Ingredients

Kayla Monteiro

Recipe

Steps

MofongoPuerto Rico

Special Projects& Events Manager

6 plantains

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound sweet italian sausage

sofrito seasoning to taste

3 packets sazon con achiote

1 can tomato sauce

3 tablespoons Alcaparrado Olives

1 box stuffing mix

Season meat with sofrito, sazon,

tomato sauce, & olives.

Peel plantains and cook without salt

until soft.

Mash plantains.

Soak stuffing mix with excess

seasoning from meat and mix

together with the plantains.

Mix meat, stuffing, and plantains.

Cook on low heat.

If the mixture is too dry, boil some water,

and add sofrito, 1 packet of of sazon and

other seasonings to taste.

Tip

Puff-puffs are basically Cameroonian

donut holes. I'm obsessed with spicy food

now, but as a little girl I couldn't handle the

spice of a lot of Cameroonian dishes so

every time my Auntie Ethel made sweet

puff-puff I was all in! Puff-puff makes a

great Thanksgiving dessert!

”“Lizzy Divine

Puff-PuffCameroon

IngredientsRecipe8 cups of flour

1 cup white sugar

5 teaspoons dry yeast

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

3 cups water

8 cups of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Director of CampaignStrategy

StepsMix dry yeast with water until yeast

dissolves.

Add in sugar, vanilla, salt, and

cinnamon.

In a separate bowl pour in flour,

make a hole in the middle and pour

in the liquid mixture.

Mix dough hands until smooth.

Cover dough with dish towel and let

rise for about 2 hours.

Heat vegetable oil until hot but not

smoking.

Form dough into small round balls

and place into the oil and fry until

the puff-puff is golden brown.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Ingredients

Deb Jung

Recipe

Steps

KimchiFried Rice+ KFC Bucket

South Korea

Finance/HR Associate

High quality extra fermented kimchi

2 cups cooked short grain rice

onions

Spam

20-piece bucket(extra crispy) of KFC

Finely chop kimchi, onions, and

Spam.

Sauté onions and Spam in a pan for

3 minutes.

Add kimchi to onions and Spam.

Sauté for 5 minutes.

Add in rice.

Mix well and serve with a 20-piece

bucket (extra crispy) from KFC.

BEST. COMBO. EVER.

Turns out our family was mispronouncing

the name of the dish. We were calling it

‘kupla,’ and it turned out to be ‘huplu,",

which is an ethnic food of Chuvash people!

When I was a kid, my mother told me that

her father is probably of the Chuvash

ethnic group, but she wasn't sure until we

discovered the roots of our family dish!

”“Sergii Tkachenko

HupluUkraine

IngredientsRecipePie crust

4 medium size potatoes

2-3 small onions

1/2 pound lean meat(chicken, pork, or beef)

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter

Senior Software Engineer

StepsPreheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Prepare pie crust into a 9-inch pie

plate.

Chop meat, onions, and potatoes

into small cubes.

Add chopped ingredients to salt,

pepper, butter, and stir.

Fill pie crust with the meat mixture,

then top with the other pie crust.

Make holes in top crust for

ventilation.

Bake at 350* degrees fahrenheit for

1.5 hours, checking the softness of

the potato through a hole in the pie.

Remove the pie from the oven and

sprinkle with water and butter, cover

with a towel, and allow it to cool for

15 minutes.

Enjoy!

My parents were incredibly proud of their

Korean heritage and they also loved being in

America. My father may not be a citizen, but

his love for KFC's coleslaw makes him a hell

of a lot more American than I'll ever be.

”“

Ingredients

Recipe

Steps

1 pound of 80% ground chuck

1 pound of 93% ground turkey

1 pound of ground veal

3 cups of seasoned bread crumbs

3 eggs

10 cloves of garlic dicedinto small pieces

1 tablespoon parmesanor romano cheese

3 tablespoons of parsley

This recipe makes approximately50–60 1-inch meatballs.

Mix ingredients together.

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.

Roll mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

Place meatballs into oven and bake

for 15-20 minutes or until brown.

Cook meatballs in sauce for at least

30 minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Meatballs can be frozen.

Growing up, every Sunday was meatball

day. My parents would work together on

putting the ingredients together and roll

them into little balls. By the time we got

home, the house would smell like incredible

fresh basil, sweet tomatoes, and garlic

meatballs. This dish represents family time

and home to me.

”“Marissa Ranalli

World's BestMeatballs!

Marketing Manager

Italy

Thanks for cooking!