When cooking school founder Loretta Paganini’s three daughters grew up, married and started families, they negotiated holiday sharing. Thanksgiving would be with their husband’s families and Christmas with their parents. That left the uber-social chef and native Italian facing a lonely November holiday.

So, she and her husband Emil took Thanksgiving to her hometown of Bologna, Italy, to share with friends and family there. “In Italy, we do not traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving since it is an American holiday,” she says. “And we only serve turkey whole at Christmas. That meant, in November we couldn’t find a turkey for sale in Italy.”