Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thanksgiving

A few days late, but oh so worth the wait , Thanksgiving 2009 was great (I just had to do it)!  But seriously, my first Thanksgiving in the good old UK was a day of non stop cooking and cleaning and a night of food, drinks, friends, and Pictionary.



 Mike and I spent all of Thursday shopping, picking up the ingredients for our feast on Friday.  Flour, cornmeal, macaroni, cheese, turkey, ham, veggies, fresh herbs...and more plates, utensils, chairs, towels, glasses and a borrowed table and chairs from our neighbors were collected that day in order to make Friday's feasts a hit.  Friday saw a 6:45 am start for Mike.  Prep was a few hours and cooking began once the clock struck 10am.


I channeled my mother and made the infamous mac and cheese and cornbread.  Mike focused on the turkey and ham, mashed potatoes from scratch, napa cabbage salad, and broccoli.  We both sorted out the deviled eggs and tray of cheese, meats, and crackers for appetizer and Mike found he had bakers thumb when he whipped out a homemade sweet potato pie  (including making the crust), toffee bars, and no-bake cookies.  By the time the guests arrived at 7pm we were tired and unable to eat.
 

But, oh the rewards of it all when the 4 couples who came dug in and had themselves a big American Thanksgiving dinner.  6 Brits, 1 Frenchmen, and 1 woman from Prague left us a bit worried that our American foods would be ill received.  Yet, most came back for seconds and the wine was always topped up.  (Below are our Breacon Becon hiking, Utah red-neck loving British friends Alex and Vic).


Our friend Pierre (who is the Frenchmen if you hadn't guest) was my favorite of the evening.  As he navigated through the sea of food his senses seemed overwhelmed with "What tis this?" rolling off the tip of his tongue every 2 minutes.  It's interesting as staples in my kitchen growing up like mac and cheese and cornbread are really an exotic dish to many others.  A sweet tasting bread that is not desert, rather a side to go with veggies (like collard greens) seemed odd to some.  But, everyone tried the dishes with praises sung all around.




We couldn't ask for much more.  After dinner Pictionary was played, with four different accents and nationalities around the table making the game a long slow process (oh and the wine and cognac didn't help either).  By 11:20pm people were tired, stuffed, and drunk.  The night ended with guests leaving with doggy bags in hand and a small taste of an American holiday that leaves me thankful for making new friends in a country that I am coming to love as the weeks pass.  So to all I say Happy Thanksgiving. 

3 comments:

Celester said...

*scream!* I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!! Please get a fucking show or something lol. Your blog entries are just magic.

That is a VERY dirty picture of that poor turkey you know... (you know me. I represent perverts international)

That's wonderful that the party worked out without a hitch. Very happy to see your place full of love and friends and food. Absolutely wonderful you guys are blessed. Yay!

Sam said...

Looks delicious, warm, and wonderful. I kept waiting for the line, "Not a creature was stirring/not even a mouse." Happy Thanksgiving, friend.

Angela said...

Cute pic of you and Mike! And your apartment looks super cute- nice job!