Thanksgiving in London

For the past two years, we've just kind of ignored Thanksgiving (we did make a halfway attempt at Thanksgiving the first month we were here, but it wasn't that great and definitely didn't feel like the real thing). But this year, we decided to go all out and invited a bunch of friends over to celebrate with us. Our friends were English, Polish, Kiwi (New Zealand), and Bangladeshi, so it was a pretty international crowd and most people's first Thanksgiving celebration!

Warning...the following are horrible pictures of me, post-nap and pre-shower and in my PJs. So sorry!

Our turkey!


Meg sent us a delicious and butterlicious turkey recipe. The first step was to separate the skin from the breast....kind of a weird feeling (as evidenced by Jim's face). Jim actually did the turkey and it turned out to be PERFECT!



It was a little bit of a tough bird, though:


Putting the turkey in the oven!


Mom's biscuits (which were an international hit!)


We dragged the outside table in as an extension and crammed everyone into the conservatory. It was a cozy Thanksgiving dinner! On the menu: Turkey with homemade stuffing, vegetarian stuffing, green beans with almonds, biscuits, Jim's delicious mashed potatoes, lentils, gravy (American style).



Victoria (New Zealand) made some REALLY good Pecan pie (her first pie ever!) which was hands down the favorite pie of the evening. She also made whipped cream:


Ben (England), Monika (Poland), Fatema (Bangladesh) and me, after supper and before dessert.


Jim and Mushtak having a chat in front of the fireplace that doesn't work:


The women finishing dessert:


The men, in the kitchen (why do men and women always divide at some point during parties?):


Dessert demolished. Pumpkin pie was a new taste sensation for most of the people in the room and they liked it! They did think that pumpkin in a can was kind of funny.


Jim, master turkey chef AND maker of outstanding cappuccinos (thanks to Meg and Dan's cappuccino maker).


It was an excellent dinner party and well worth the two days of cooking it took to make all that food! We are totally impressed with our moms, who have been cooking Thanksgiving dinners for over 30 years (and usually in only 1 day!). Now we know we can do it, too! And Jim has his coveted Thanksgiving leftovers, which he says is the best part. Happy Thanksgiving!