Thanksgiving's One and Two

For Thanksgiving number one we all met at Jeannine's house. Most of our schedules are Monday through Thursday, so a lot of us were able to have our Thanksgiving on the real Thanksgiving day. Someone found a turkey and had to special order it. I will say that for our first time making Thanksgiving without experienced Thanksgiving makers, we did a terrific job! We all brought our favorite Thanksgiving dish. I took mashed potatoes and made the gravy. I've seen my mom do this innumerable times, but replicating it was different than I thought. Everyone loved the gravy, except for me. It didn't taste like momma's. I think I put too much flour in and not enough turkey drippings.

As we are living in a different country, everyone has foreign friends. There were people from all over Europe who came to see a true American tradition. Italians, French, Spanish, I think a couple Germans were there and a couple British. It was a mixing pot of people and it turned out pretty well. The Italian boys made bruschetta and all kinds of delicious items that included bread topped with something. The would make the appetizers in batches and they wouldn't even make it out of the kitchen. Everyone was hovering around waiting for them. The French girls made a chocolate cake, an American girl brought a pumpkin pie, and those that didn't know what to bring bought a bottle (or 3) of wine.
This Thanksgiving felt like home. There were lots of people hanging out, eating for hours and having fun. Although I miss not going to Thanksgiving with my family, this was a very nice alternative.

Thanksgiving took place at Erin's house on the Friday after Thanksgiving. This was for those who had to work on Friday. Erin and her friends also special ordered a turkey. I brought mased potatoes again and was determined to make the gravy right this time. The food at Second Thanksgiving was more traditional than at First Thanksgiving. Someone made greenbean casserole, there was stuffing, and the gravy tasted amazing this time. There was none left over. This was a different variety of people and was very fun just like the one before. We all had a really great time! It's nice to create your own family to celebrate traditions.

During this week I gave a presentation at my schools about Thanksgiving. It was complete with a lot of pictures. You need to see the food to understand it. The kids just did not get the concept of a whole turkey. It was so funny. They made a weird disgusted look when I told them, traditionally, we eat turkey on Thanksgiving. "Oh, like sliced turkey?" (this is lunchmeat) "No." I would say. "It's a whole turkey that's baked in the oven all day." And then they would make their faces at me and call me weird. But I was the one chuckling on the inside, because they have NO idea what they're missing. I can't wait for next Thanksgiving when I can be with my real family and celebrate the way we always do.