Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a good one for me this year, I hope for all of you too! Thursday I was in school all day and didn't even get to eat any turkey, but I did go to a meeting about my trip to the country of Turkey!  That counts as my share of Turkey for the day I guess.  That night I skyped with the whole clan-everyone who was at Great Grandma's house for lunch (7 hour time difference) and that was really cool.  When I got off the phone with them, it had started to snow!  It was perfect:  Thanksgiving day over, onward towards winter! 

Friday I had school, but I managed to enjoy black Friday a teeeny bit by going shopping in the afternoon with some friends.  It counts as black Friday, since it was morning in the US, right?  :)  Speaking of school friends, everyone was fascinated and greatly amused by the tradition of the US president pardonning a turkey. 

Saturday was a long day.  I got up early to go ice skating with friends, but the rink ended up being closed.  We walked around in the snowyness for a while and got hot chocolate instead.  That afternoon, from after lunch until around 6 or 7 at night, I cooked and cooked..  Some of the time was spent on the phone coordinating the arrival of the stuffing for the turkey though, which was stressful.. Long story!  Anyways, in the course of the afternoon I made eggplant casserole, homemade (actual pumpkin, not from a can!) pumpkin pie and homemade rolls.  That evening I went with my hostfamily to an exposition (exhibit hall with vendors) on.. food!  Specialty food, like fancy wines, cheeses, desserts, spices, etc.  When we came home, I stuffed the turkey which was much less complicated in the end than anyone expected.  The big surprise was when I took the turkey out of the fridge, not having seen it yet, and.. a turkey head was staring back at me!  Definitely didn't see that one coming.  Imagine, if you will.. a turkey, ready to go in the pan.. with it's head.  According to my host mom (who cut the poor turkey's head off before cooking it), the head is a mark of freshness of the turkey we bought. Hmm.

The next morning, spent lots of time in the kitchen again-doubled the recipe of the eggplant since it's generally loved by all here (here that, those who believe eggplant causes deadly diseases??)  and made mashed potatoes, which took a very long time to peel and then mash.  Let's just say we might have overestimated the necessary amount of potates purée that the French would want when confronted with all the other Thanksgiving stuff!  Set the table, cleaned up, and the moment arrived!

My American friend and her host mom were the first to arrive, and my host mom had to help her with her vegetables that didn't cook right.  She brought sweet potatoes with marshmallows and brown sugar stuff, and brussel sprouts in addition to making the stuffing.  Then came the other family who ate with us: parents and 2 kids.  We had an apéro, which is a sort of snack before the meal that's basically the first course, but around a different table and much less formal, while being more formal than the carrots we munch on before big meals in the US.  After a long apéro, we ate!  It was good; the hard work paid off! 

Thanksgiving was a good one, and I'm glad I got to share it with my host family and friends.  There's a good bit of leftovers, which is part of the tradition.  The whole weekend was definitely very educational for everyone involved, me included!