Many of you have asked whether or not I would be doing anything for Thanksgiving since I'm in a country that didn't slaughter Native Americans for their land. Well, the answer is YES! Sam, a co-worker of mine, graciously offered his flat so Ellen (an American co-worker) and I could take the day off and cook an amazing feast for friends...and we did just that. It ended up being an amazing day and probably the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. I have to warn you that the following pictures contain a lot of food in all forms. A lot.
Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bbergey/Thanksgiving#
Preparations actually started weeks ago when Ellen and I visited a small shop we found that sold a lot of American food staples. We picked up things like canned pumpkin, creamed corn, ritz crackers, cornbread mix, stove top (as a back up) and a few things for us like Kraft mac and cheese. Then last weekend Hayley drove us to a large supermarket where we bought everything else we needed...including way too many lbs of potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, stuffing fixins (including some wonderful British sausage), green beans, gravy flour, butter, extra serving platters/bowls/utensils, and tons more. Finally, on Wednesday after work we picked up our 9kg (20lb) fresh turkey from Whole Foods. It was an amazing, free-range bird that had never been frozen. It even had some real skin left on it's legs and some random feathers sticking out here and there. On Thursday morning we were ready to start cooking!
First went the pies...three pumpkins pies to be exact. Then the turkey covered in seasoned butter and stuffed with veggies to flavour the gravy. While the turkey cooked we prepared everything else and had everything prepared to be warmed up in the oven once the turkey was done. People started arriving around 6pm, bringing appetizers and drinks, football (soccer) came on the tele and everyone was having a great time. We eventually ate, and kept eating, and then ate some more. There was plenty of food for everyone and by the end of the night we still had half of the mashed potatoes, half of the stuffing, half of the rolls and almost half of a turkey left!! It was amazing.
Due to a few visitors from the States, the crowd was about half American and half English. We even went around and made everyone say what they were thankful for. I'm not sure what made it such a great day. It could be because it was just me and Ellen that planned and prepared everything which is quite an accomplishment for about 15 people. But it also had to do with the people that were there and the great time had by all. It will definitely be one to remember.
Sam deserves the biggest thanks of all for letting us use his flat (and double oven) for the day and hosting a bunch of annoying Americans when he wasn't feeling very well. Thanks also goes to Hayley for being the greatest friend and always doing whatever she can to help out. Thanks guys, it was great!
About Brian
- Brian Bergey
- Singapore, Singapore
- This is the story of me and my experiences abroad.
Snowboarding in France
Dover, England
Amsterdam
Brecon Beacons NP, Wales
London
Bath, England
Sardinia
Paris
10 comments:
The spread was amazing. Brian and Ellen proved that feeding a large hungry family will be no problem for them. Now they will each have to have at least 4 kids!
LOL I like Jenny!
Way to go Brian. I am very impressed and proud! I did well in raising a fine young man. Your cooking next year when you come home!
I'd like to think it's because I'm just a super awesome person, not because of my mom! I'd also like to clear any confusion that Ellen and I aren't together and we won't be having 4 kids. Well, Ellen might have 4 kids some day, but I won't! Oh, and I'll cook when I come home as long as you have plenty of bottles of wine around... :-)
I must admit, that's a lot of food -and it all looked fabulous. Better than my spread :-)
I love the post however I really want to comment on your face! OMG! I know you had a man beard but now you look like a scary porn star!
missed you at the Turkey Trot. funny story. Got to the race, put on number, looked at watch and thought I had plenty of time. Noticed lots of people walking under the start gate so I wander over and start walking with people on the sidewalk. Get to that first turn, finally ask "what's going on?" Guy next to me says "I'm just following the crowd." Me "Isn't the starting line back there?" Guy "We already started." Me "expletive" and off running. But I missed the chip mat at that start and at the finish the crowd was 5 deep and not moving so I skip it and go straight to the schwag. I have no official time for this year's turkey trot. But your spread looks great!
Wow, looks like a great feast! Glad that you were able to celebrate in London...what on earth possessed you to buy SO many potatoes?! That's like enough for a year!! We could have used some at my Thanksgiving - we had some sort of fancy-schmancy mashed potato that wasn't very tasty!
you fatty
We celebrated Thanksgiving with an outside seafood dinner in St. Augustine, on our way to Miami. Which pie recipe did you end up using?
Your Thanksgiving sounds great and your pictures are even better!! Does that mean you ate seafood? I saw the veggie pattie and I want one! We used the pie recipe from the can and it turned out great! We cheated and used pre-made crust, but everyone was too full (and maybe a little drunk) to notice so it was fine. :-)
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