It wasn't as intimidatingly large as I had feared but it was delicious nonetheless. Thanksgiving dinner was a success despite having to make some adjustments for lack of available ingredients. Being in Korea, where the 4th Thursday of November is just another day, things like turkeys, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie aren't exactly being peddled on every street corner. Nevertheless we made do with what we could. We didn't really mourn the absence of turkey as T and I have always opted for other kinds of main dishes (even while living in the States) and this year, mom's meatloaf certainly didn't have us looking back. But admittedly we were sad to miss cranberry sauce... a sadness we channelled into making some kick ass gravy. It started with me making some fresh homemade chicken broth the night before and ended with T then magically turning it into the best mushroom gravy ever. Finally, when our search for canned pumpkin came up empty handed (even after a trip to the "black food market" in Namdaemun) we thought it was the perfect opportunity to try a delicious looking walnut tart we had been eyeing at Paris Baguette bakery. Here's the line up of our spread...
Hearing about all the Black Friday violence today, it suddenly struck me that Thanksgiving is now my new favorite holiday. I mean I still love Christmas, but every year they find a way to commercialize it even more and now I feel like it brings out the uglier side of humanity rather than it's better, more redeeming half. When you're being bombarded by xmas sale flyers even before Halloween and people are being shot at for flat screen TVs, it's hard not to feel a dampening of one's festive spirit, no? I feel like Thanksgiving has been far more successful at preserving it's core values: food, family, and reflection... all things I could definitely sign up for. Plus, you're sure to get at least a four day weekend out of it, right? What is there not to like?
At any rate, I'm particularly thankful for this years Thanksgiving. It's the first one I spent at home with my parents since leaving home for college. I'm not sure when I'll ever get another opportunity like this one so I'm doing my best to make the most of it while I can and thanking my lucky stars all the way.
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