Thanksgiving

While it is sad that I missed Thanksgiving with my family, it was great to share it with all the other "orphans" living in the area.  My new tent was delivered yesterday, I am very excited to try it, in the out-of-doors this time! 

New tent, ready to camp in Australia!

I must say, I really enjoy a whole day, (plus the days beforehand) preparing a meal for people.  Especially when there are great people to hang out with throughout the process.  We soaked the turkey in a brine of salt, water and beer for a few days, then basted it in butter, herbs and beer.  Decadent.  The advantage to having a non-family Thanksgiving is that it is ok to try out some slight variations on the classics, there are no family traditions to uphold.  I made the stuffing with pumpernickel bread, which may not have been the best I've ever had, but it was cool looking at least! It is interesting to think what you consider to be the most important dishes for Thanksgiving.  I woke up last night in a bit of a panic because I realized that I had not thought of apple sauce and nobody was going to bring some.  We also had to make a run to the store at about eleven this morning to buy potatoes to mash.  Our Kiwi housemate asked if we could roast them, but there are just some things that have to stay at least mostly the same.  Mashed potatoes might not be the best in everyone's book, but they hold gravy really nicely.  I admit the pie count was a little lacking, mostly because I got about a quarter of the way through making my pumpkin pie.  Luckily we had plenty of sweet things to follow up our meal for those that could shove in another morsel, and two really beautiful homemade pies to contribute to the Thanksgiving feel. And what is better than fresh pie with left over Thanksgiving dinner? 

Turkey prep took a couple days letting it brine, well worth it.  

While we had to explain a lot of the Thanksgiving traditions to our Kiwi housemates, they did a great job of contributing.  A lot of interesting observations were made, such as "is that why the ovens are so big in America? To fit a turkey?"  The turkey and the centerpiece would not have been nearly as beautiful, or as beautifully documented were it not for Alana's artistic touches.     

The final product.