Thanksgiving

Due to various financial and academic concerns, we were unable to make the trip home for Thanksgiving, however we were able to have some of our friends from DC over as they were remaining in DC as well for the same academic concerns.

Though we missed seeing our families, we had a great time hosting our first Thanksgiving. The menu was:

• Sushi rolls to start (beautifully made courtesy of our Japanese friend!)
  
• Turkey (of course)
• Pear and Ginger Cranberry sauce
• Yorkshire puddings
• Onion gravy
  
• Green Bean Casserole (I had never heard of this before, apparently a very common dish for Thanksgiving in the South)
• Roast vegetables (Onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, yam
  
• Mashed Potatoes
• Mushroom Roast
• Vegan salad (a delicious spiced bean and corn based side-dish)
• Apple Pie
• Pumpkin Pie
  

I have to say everything turned out very well, particularly considering the size of the menu versus the size of the kitchen in our 1-bedroom apartment. The turkey had been worrying me a bit in the build up to Thanksgiving as the Thermometer never seems to give me an accuratae reading. The only way to accurately gauge is the tried and tested method of actually cutting into it, but that of course releases the juices. In the end the breasts were probably a bit more cooked than I would have liked--next time I'll keep it breast-side down for longer, but it still was delicious. I also tried carving the turkey with a different method than regular by cutting off the entire breast and then making smaller, perpendicular slices. This ended up being a much better method and I whole-heartedly recommend it.

Needless to say, we were stuffed to the brim after this enormous feast. Even the smaller ones of us.