How Turkey Day Went Down.

The road to get Thanksgiving prepared was full of ups and downs. Here is a play-by-play as per the menu:
Turkey- turkeys are hard to come by here until Christmas. The ones I did find were the size of chickens. Since we had 19 (10 adults, 9 kids) coming that would mean buying at least 4 and not being able to fit anything else in the oven. Loverly! After searching all over Hillcrest grocery stores and then all the local butchers, I finally found some turkeys I could get away with only buying 2 to feed the masses. And just saying, we cleaned one completely to the bones and most of the second one on the evening.
Stuffing- gave the recipe to a friend who was attending Thanksgiving. She was very concerned about the ratio of cornbread to sausage and called to make sure she was actually doing it right. She was and it was wonderful.
Funeral potatoes- another recipe I gave to a guest to make. They were so nervous they googled more variations and accidentally mixed in too much soup and ended with a soupy potato casserole. It tasted good and was well received given it's un-appealing name.
Smash Potatoes- can't get russet potatoes here. We used the baking potatoes we could find. Can't mess up smash, well WE CAN! They came out a bit sticky. And yes they were cooked completely. We just found that once we began the mixing process it flopped. People kindly chewed through it and did make funny sounds while doing so. Made me feel better.
Salad- boring but needed.
Fresh Cranberry Sauce- I only like fresh cranberry sauce. The canned stuff freaks me out. Alas, can't get fresh cranberries here and our table was decorated with the canned stuff. Not as good, but do-able.
Gravy- non-detail it was bisto since it is all my kids will eat and Wayne about died when I mentioned using the neck and giblets.
Pumpkin Pie- What would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin pie? We almost had to find out. It was nerve racking. Canned pumpkin is laughed about here. My friends had never heard of such a disgusting thing. Butternut is found everywhere which is frequently called pumpkin. They sell some 'american pumpkins' but they are the bluish-white ones, not pie pumpkins and with all the stress leading up to the day I couldn't find the time to use a butternut recipe and adapt it. It wasn't looking good. Luckily, an American friend who lives here had gone to Australia and picked up some canned pumpkin, made two pies and generously offered us one on the day. We were saved and I could show my face again in America when we return!!
Pecan Pie- Gave that recipe to guest and came out with a very different rendition of pecan pie. It was good, but definitely not southern cooking.
All in all the evening went well. The kids went to school that day. It gave me time to cook in peace. Wayne and I did so many last minute things I was afraid nothing would be ready when the guests arrived. Fortunately it was and was enjoyed. No one had ever had a Thanksgiving before and didn't know why it was celebrated. It was fun to talk about a holiday and really explain why we do it. The kids had a blast, the adults had more fun than the kids and the party rocked on until well after 10pm. And for those who know me, I don't do evenings. Next time, I have to remember to pull out the camera. I was such a great evening.
Lots of Love!