This Thanksgiving, families and friends will gather around the table to give thanks to all of life’s blessings.

They’ll gather to appreciate each other’s company and reconnect with their relatives and acquaintances. They’ll gather and tell stories or toss a football around the yard.

But most importantly, they’ll gather around a warm plate of food that’s only possible through the hard work of everyone in the supply chain.

It takes a village to make sure every family and group of friends has the opportunity to celebrate with a warm meal this Thursday, so we wanted to give thanks to you.

And because all foods have roots from somewhere, we thought it’d be fun to show how the classic Thanksgiving meal only happened because of our connected world.

FROM EUROPE

Thanksgiving Turkey

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Ingredients

• 1 (18 pound) whole turkey
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 quarts turkey stock
• 8 cups prepared stuffing

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Place rack in the lowest position of the oven.

Remove the turkey neck and giblets, rinse the turkey, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Loosely fill the body cavity with stuffing. Rub the skin with the softened butter, and season with salt and pepper. Position an aluminum foil tent over the turkey. Place turkey in the oven, and pour 2 cups turkey stock into the bottom of the roasting pan. Baste all over every 30 minutes with the juices on the bottom of the pan. Whenever the drippings evaporate, add stock to moisten them, about 1 to 2 cups at a time. Remove aluminum foil after 2 1/2 hours. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the meaty part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), about 4 hours. Transfer the turkey to a large serving platter, and let it stand for at least 20 to 30 minutes before carving.

FROM ASIA

Sweet Potato Casserole

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Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Spread sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour. Cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

FROM SOUTH AMERICA

Green Bean Casserole

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Ingredients

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can French style green beans, drained
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine 2 cups of fresh green beans and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and a dash of soy sauce in a small casserole dish. Bake in a 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the French Onions. Bake for another 10 minutes and serve.

FROM NORTH AMERICA

Cranberry Sauce

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Ingredients

• 12 ounces cranberries
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup orange juice

Instructions

Empty a 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries into a saucepan and transfer 1/2 cup to a small bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, 1 strip orange or lemon zest and 2 tablespoons water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste and cool to room temperature before serving.

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