Living in Thailand Thanksgiving has no meaning so as a family we have to come together and bring what we think Thanksgiving is all about. No extended family around we decided to invite friends, 22 people in all and only 6 being Americans (the 5 of us and Erin's girlfriend came, she's from Idaho). 4 Aussie families and none of them had ever been part of a Thanksgiving so all were excited.
With work and school I was left to cook on my own, thankful my girlfriends were very willing to be part of the cooking process and joined me for some morning bubbles then down to some serious cooking. With a very tiny oven I had to be quite creative with how and where I was going to cook everything.
Turkey cooked on the grill ( I would highly recommend this. Wow!! Got many compliments) 2 turkey breasts cooked in the slow cooker (no room for 2 turkeys so had to compromise with the breast because we needed more meat) but found that Aussies like their dark meat. Next year will have to make 2 turkeys. Walter rigged the oven so I had 2 racks so was able to cook 2 pies at a time and all the stuffing. Everything else was cooked normal.
1 turkey, 2 turkey breasts, heaps of mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted green beans, cranberries, and popovers (they tasted good but failed in the popping part purely because I only had one popover pan and they need to be served right away. Next year no popovers for 22 people. No one noticed because they didn't know what a popover was and like I said they tasted good) and 4 pies with whip cream and ice cream.
The pies were an interesting thing. Aussies don't eat pumpkin pie. Pumpkins are not used as a sweet only a vegetable. They don't know what pumpkin in a can looks like. Pumpkins in Thailand are used as a vegetable to and they look very different than US pumpkins.
Luckily with Walter being in the US in October he brought me back cranberries and canned pumpkin. Both run between $7 and $8 US dollars here. Ouch! He also brought back little pumpkins, gourds, and pine cones. My mother in law also helped out with some really cool lights and silk leaves. All put together and my tables looked great.
2 extra things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving
#1 The Amari - extra beneficial being friends with the GM who very graciously lent us 2 tables plus chairs for 22 and the linens for the chairs and tables. Delivery, set up and take away is all part of the process. Love my Amari perks. Who knew that staying with them when we moved here would lead to this. Our Amari friends couldn't be any kinder or generous, guess it also helps when they are on the guest list.
#2. Khun Biayoon and his wife Khun Bic - sometimes living in another country sucks but sometimes it has its major bonuses. Those 2 are one of the major bonuses. Kitchen cleaned up and everything put away. I wish I could have that for every Thanksgiving.
Yep everyone had to write down what they were Thankful for then stand up and share. We also had Thanksgiving trivia. Had to teach those Aussies a little American history.
Before the grill
Pumpkin pies
Of course had an old Cowboys game playing in the background. We chose a game where they actually won. Lol
Also Charlie Browns thanksgiving was also played earlier for the little ones.
Table topics after dinner most kids had cleared out so it became a mostly adult table.
This Thanksgiving was a memorable one.
Grateful to have made some wonderful friends who appreciate our differences and can celebrate them.
Grateful that my sister, Katy, took Ryan in and entertained him all weekend. Always missing him but nice to know we have family who will take care of him.
Grateful for my awesome hubby and fab kids.
Missing all of our family and friends and hope very soon to spend a holiday with you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Cheers from the other side
😘 M
