Kathie Lee Gifford Says Thanksgiving Is Her Favorite: ‘Because It’s About Gratitude’
By Movieguide® Staff
Actress, author and former TV host Kathie Lee Gifford recently shared her favorite family Thanksgiving traditions.
The former Movieguide Award® winner said that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday of the year.
“I enjoy them all. But this one has always been my favorite. I think that’s because it’s about gratitude,” she told Fox News Digital.
“I do all the cooking, and it’s the only day of the year that I actually cook,” she said. “I have never been a great cook. But you know who was a great cook? My mom. My mom was an unbelievable cook. She couldn’t boil water when she was 19 and got married, but she learned to be an amazing cook. So she taught me and my sister and my brother all of her amazing recipes.”
Gifford said that she follows her mother’s recipes, despite not usually being “a rule keeper.”
“I got kicked out of Sunday school, I got kicked out of the [Girl Scouts] Brownies and I got kicked out of the America’s Junior Miss Pageant. So, you know, I don’t like rules, but I would be a fool not to make what my mother made every Thanksgiving flawlessly,” she said.
Gifford said that she prepares her mother’s amazing turkey with sage and sausage stuffing, but substitutes the sausage with chicken or turkey sausage.
She also makes an “incredible yam souffle” and mashed potatoes and gravy.
“They’re not really mashed potatoes. They’re whipped. You know what I’m saying? Who doesn’t love a good whipped potatoes? And her gravy? Old-fashioned way,” Gifford said. “Just add in the flour as you go along. None of this extra thrown stuff, it’s all made from the juices of the turkey.
“I love to overcook everything,” she added. “Not overcooked by temperature, but overcook what we need because I love to live on it for the next week and I love to sample it as I’m cooking.”
Despite her fame, Gifford said she enjoys the intimacy of Thanksgiving.
“What I love the most about Thanksgiving is that it’s small and intimate,” she said. “I don’t ever have big bash Thanksgivings. I never invite people that I don’t absolutely love, and I never try to miss an opportunity to invite somebody who doesn’t have a place to go.”
Gifford honors her mother through food, but also picked up a family tradition from her late father, Aaron Epstein.
“He worked for The Washington Post in Maryland, and he had very, very early rounds. And it was not uncommon at all for my father to discover very early in the morning, somebody on the side of the road who’d broken down or somebody that missed their bus or a little old lady,” she shared. “There were always stories, always stories. And we used to tease, ‘I wonder who Daddy is going to bring home today?’ But I grew up with parents who taught me how important that is, that while you are counting your blessings, always be aware of the ones that have no blessings to count. And then be that blessing to them. So I like to do that too.”
“I test the temperature with some of my friends and go, ‘Have you been invited anywhere right now?’ I have a friend whose marriage is breaking up. And I just asked her the other day, and she said, ‘I don’t have a place to go yet,’” she continued.
The outspoken Christian also said that faith, naturally, plays a big part in her family’s Thanksgiving celebrations.
“And then we always go around the table and ask, ‘What are you most grateful for this year and what are you looking forward to in the next year?’”
“I’ve found in my life…if you start every day with prayer and end it with prayer and say prayers all day long, the Bible says pray without ceasing. And how do we do that? You make your life a prayer,” the author of “The God of the Way” said. “And then the Bible also says, what is it that the Lord wants of you? And I think we should all think about this every single day. He wants us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
