Thanksgiving Feast 2012

T Day came early for me this year. It’s one of the blessings/curses of being an American abroad. You’re most likely not going to be able to be free during the actual Thanksgiving Thursday or the following Friday. But if you plan your festivities the weekend before or after, you won’t be frowned upon for committing some act of anti-American sacrilege.

So Kemey and I had a few folks over for a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal over the weekend. This was only the third time in my life to host a Thanksgiving dinner. But the second year in a row. The older I get the more I find to love about this holiday.

Luckily, American Thanksgiving traditions and the typical British Christmas dinner aren’t all that different. It’s pretty easy to find all the ingredients for Turkey Day here in the UK (Whole Foods Market is an especially smart destination for Thanksgiving essentials).

I’ll be sharing a few of the recipes from Saturday’s meal in detail over the next few days – just in time for my American friends to get some Thanksgiving tips and well in advance of Christmas for any British folks looking for ideas for their Christmas dinners.

Until then, here’s a quick look at what we were plating up for this past Saturday’s 2012 Osburn/Lafond Thanksgiving feast:

24 month Parmigiano-Reggiano chunks on a cutting board as well as mousse de canard on water biscuits for nibbles served with a Crément de Bourgogne;
A massive 10k Copas turkey (referring to Dominic Chapman’s Great British Chefs Christmas turkey recipe as a guide);
Turkey giblet gravy;
Pancetta (leftover from roasting the turkey and served in a bowl as a “just in case you’re still hungry” extra);
Dressing (my mom’s recipe);
Mole (my own tikichris variant of the famous Rick Bayless recipe he made for the White House);
Carrot and sweet potato mash;
Heston Blumenthal’s Vodka, Orange and Cranberry Sauce;
Chestnut puree (Kemey made this using her mom’s recipe; it was unquestionably the favourite side of the night);
Spinach tart (Another of Kemey’s delicious creations);