Not every Thanksgiving dinner is a Norman Rockwell scene with family gathered around a table laden with an enormous turkey. Nor does it always involve watching football games or finishing the meal with pumpkin pie.

For some, Thanksgiving is a blend of old and new — tradition, personal preference and, sometimes, simply where you happen to be.

For Castle Rock teacher Kelly Hass, turkey isn’t on the menu. The vegan of four years opts for side dishes she prepares herself with vegan butter.

At Littleton Adventist Hospital, doctors, nurses and staff care for and watch over the sick while loved ones have dinner back home. For them, their hospital family and a turkey dinner from the cafeteria create a meaningful gathering just the same.

At the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, those on duty share in a potluck dinner.

And at Parker’s French bakery, La Baguette de Normandy, chef Michael DuPont kneads and rolls and bakes pastries, breads and desserts for dinner tables around the area. Originally from France, he has made a tradition of celebrating the American holiday with other local French chefs.

Personal twists

Since she was a little girl, Hass, 29, has spent Thanksgiving at her family’s cabin in Flagstaff, Arizona. She grew up eating turkey, but now prefers for a holiday meal sans bird.

She is vegan, which means she does not consume animal products of any kind. This includes eggs, dairy and other substances derived from animals.

“I’m kind of a non-traditional vegan. I try not to press my veganism on other people,” Hass said. “So, when I went vegan four years ago, I didn’t try to change my parents’ tradition at all. But I did start manipulating the sides so that there was at least a little bit of mashed potatoes made with vegan butter instead of real butter and cream.”

For vegans, the only real substitute for a turkey is the tofu-sculpted Tofurky, Hass said, but she is happy to pass on that.

“I don’t do anything in place of the turkey. Your option is something like that, and that kind of processed stuff I don’t really like anyway.”

While she may be the family vegan — even her husband occasionally eats meat — Hass hasn’t found herself at the end of too many good-natured jokes.

“If they do,” Hass said, “it’s playfully.”

When turkey isn’t the first choice

Chef Mick (Michaelangelo) Rosacci owns and operates Tony’s Market and Tony Rosacci Catering. Tony’s has locations in Castle Rock, Littleton, Centennial and Denver.

Because the traditional feast is so popular, Tony’s alters its display cases for Thanksgiving like no other holiday.

“We need to make room for the 1,000 gallons of our house turkey gravy,” Rosacci said. “Sales soared a couple years ago when we started making it without gluten ingredients.”

According to Rosacci, who has been in the business since 1978, many people don’t like turkey. Common replacements he has seen include prime rib, tenderloin roast, salmon, lobster, shrimp, crab, leg or rack of lamb and pork roasts.

Even in his family, turkey isn’t the first choice for Thanksgiving.

“Mom was not a turkey lover. She grew up on a turkey ranch, but she would always make us turkey for Thanksgiving — but only on Thanksgiving,” Rosacci said. “Other holidays were usually all about lasagna. It has always been our family’s most special dish — and it’s a lot of trouble, so we’d only have it once or twice a year.”

A French-style feast

Michael DuPont first experienced Thanksgiving when he came to America from France in 2006.

At his bakery, Parker’s La Baguette de Normandy, the first year was a trial by fire as he attempted to please American palates.

“I decided I needed to embrace the American culture. So now, we do Thanksgiving pies and things like that, but I do it the French way,” DuPont said. “I bring in a little bit of flavor from where I’m from. I’m from Normandy — we use butter and cream and all of that stuff. I make it beautiful. People come in and get something that is their tradition, but fancier.”

In the lead-up to holidays he is so busy that he joked he “sleeps in a cot in the back.”

People come to the bakery for desserts and breads, which he said he needs at least three days’ notice to prepare in time for a holiday.

He also appreciates that businesses close on Thanksgiving, a tradition that is not common for holidays in France.

“In France, I would stay open on Christmas Day because people wanted fresh bread,” DuPont said. “Here, they say, ‘Oh, it’s OK, we’ll come the night before and then heat it up in the oven.’ ”

In America, DuPont spends the holidays at home with his family— he has two sons — and friends.

“It’s a group of French people — most of us are chefs,” DuPont said. “Usually, we keep the turkey but we use it other ways. The French way — like filling it with raisins and cognac. Everyone brings stuff that is typical from where they are from.”

Holiday on the job

For many first responders and hospital workers, Thanksgiving is spent on the clock.

At Littleton Adventist Hospital, a traditional dinner is prepared for doctors, nurses, staff and patients in the cafeteria.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office hosts a potluck dinner.

“It is not the same — usually, it is grab a plate and take it back to their work location,” Sgt. Lori Bronner said. “Very seldom do they get to eat together.”

Officers on patrol, spread as they are throughout the county in their cars, are unable to eat with their teams, she said.

A Peruvian dessert

Melissa Casaretto, owner of Sweet Alfas in Parker, finishes her Thanksgiving meal with sweet cookies instead of pie.

“We have always baked our alfajores and other Peruvian desserts like pionono for our Thanksgiving desserts,” Casaretto said. “Another tradition we do is make my mother-in-law’s hot chocolate recipe that has cloves and cinnamon sticks and serve it with Panettone.”

‪Most of her customers order the cookies because they want something different on their dessert table or to bring something new to a Thanksgiving event. ‬

“Of course, cookies are nothing new in the dessert world, but when most people think of Thanksgiving desserts, pies are usually what comes to mind,” she said.

Also, she said, “the fact that my cookies are a South American treat — they have different ingredients like dulce de leche and they are rolled in different toppings like coconut flakes or powdered sugar — automatically makes them a non-traditional Thanksgiving item.‬”