Thanksgiving with Friends

I had quite the multicultural Thanksgiving this year. I have always wanted to bring a friend home with me for this wonderfully relaxing and delicious holiday, and this year that dream finally came true… times three. I brought my two roommates, Melissa Foerster and Gabriella Bezerra, as well as a sophomore – Chen Cui – who is from China and who assisted me with my research in Beijing last summer. Melissa is half German, Gabi is Brazilian, and Chen is Chinese. Gabi had never celebrated Thanksgiving before, and for Chen it was just her second time. Apparently her first Thanksgiving was not the best – when she described with a disgusted look on her face the dry, flavorless turkey and spinach (??) stuffing she had last year, I felt a sense of responsibility to show her how delicious Thanksgiving could be if done right. So it was with great pride that I welcomed Chen, Gabi, and Melissa into my home to partake in the full culinary experience that is Thanksgiving – not just the eating but the cooking, the preparations, and the conversation as well. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed their company, how interesting it was to share aspects of our four cultures while we celebrated this distinctly American holiday together.

Here is the food that set the backdrop for this wonderful cultural experience:

“Happy Hour” – A word my grandpa always used for the appetizers served before dinner

• Shrimp & cocktail sauce – shrimp from Wegmans, cocktail made by my dad from organic Wegmans ketchup and horseradish
• Cheeses – walnut and cranberry covered cheddar, smoked cheddar
• Odds & ends: olives, nuts crackers, and don’t forget the wine!!

Dinner

• Turkey – we wanted to go local this year but it was $10 per pound!! As we were getting a 15lb turkey, it wasn’t quite reasonable, so we opted for a non-local turkey, though it was still organic
• Stuffing – my mom’s special twist to the stuffing: apples, raisins, apricots, bacon... mmmm
• Sweet potato casserole – more like dessert than dinner with all the brown sugar and butter, but tasty!
• Cranberry sauce – good old-fashioned cranberries cooked in sugar water
• Cole slaw – bought from Wegmans
• Cranberry-orange bread – a traditional favorite for holidays in our house
• Odds & ends: gravy, mashed potato, green beans

Dessert

•  Pies (apple, pumpkin, & maple pecan) – made by friend
•   Haagen-Dazs ice cream
•   Coffee & Kahlua

After hours…

• Baijiu – a Chinese liqueur given to me by Chen’s mom in China as a present to bring back to my dad…. very strong