Welsand's in London

An American Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with a traditional American meal on Saturday at our flat. We invited a British family, the Longhurst's, over to share in the celebration with us. Tracy went to university in Michigan so she was familiar with the traditions, but her husband Paul and kids (they have 2 sets of twins, yes you read it right, 5 year olds and 2 1/2 year olds, Sam & Harry, who Sophie just adores!) had not experienced it as we know Thanksgiving. Obviously in my small flat there were shifts, kids first, adults second as we don't have enough table space or chairs to accommodate, but it worked out fine.

Last year we attempted a holiday meal for Christmas and it was a disaster. Thankfully we learned from last years mistakes. I ordered most of the food with my grocery delivery (I will miss this a lot when we move back!), having planned out our menu a week in advance. I also had to make a stop at the Rosslyn Deli on our high street which has an American food section, expensive, but at least you can get much needed ingredients. And of course, Jeremy had to make a morning of run to the grocery store as well. We also realized that morning that we only had 4 adult size plates, so he was off to buy some more plates and another serving dish. Thankfully Tracy was also able to borrow me serving spoons and forks, a turkey platter, and several other things to help with the meal.

Our menu consisted of:
Turkey
Stuffing
Sweet potatoes
Corn
Cranberry sauce
Pumpkin pie
Pecan tartlets

Of course there was the relish tray, not seen on British holiday tables ever we were told!

Jeremy did an excellent job with the turkey as it was not dried out like the one I made last year. Everything was from scratch and completely homemade except the stuffing (thank you Jackie for the stove top!). I also had eggnog, which I know is for Christmas but I was craving it, and then we forgot to serve it to our guests.

Our friends said their holiday meal is very different at Christmas. The kids, not surprisingly, except for Jake the oldest boy, did not each much. It really is foreign to them. The taste buds between Americans and Britons are very, very different. Jake loved the meat and gravy, just like Jeremy, the son he doesn't have...

It was so nice to entertain, enjoy friends, conversation, and food! Thanks Longhurst's for celebrating our day with us! Cheers!

posted by Chris @ 10:27 PM