I love reading posts like this, I'm metaphorically consuming the food as I read.

I had an American boyfriend back in the seventies, he was studying here and knew lots of other Americans and Canadians. We were invited to a post Christmas gathering, maybe the first Sunday of the new year, and I was entranced with the hospitality and the food. As you say, everyone had their dishes they made and each one was brought round to where groups of us were sitting to help ourselves.

Growing up in England in the seventies, food was a bit drab and austere. Green peppers may have made an appearance by then amid the root vegetables and cabbages but they were definitely considered exotic. So to eat this food which was so piquant and flavourful with sauces and toppings, not to mention plentiful, was like being in paradise! 😂

Fabulous to have these traditions.