Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving!)

Thanksgiving was a huge success!!

It was so fun to share a traditional American holiday with all the people of the 13 Lunas Hostel. Most people knew that Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, but didn’t know much about it other than that it was a big feast that usually involved a turkey. Many people thought it was religious or only celebrated by some Americans. I was more than happy to make them a big meal as close to the traditional American version as I could (with a few substitutions) and tell them all about the history behind the holiday.  And cooking it was actually very fun as well! I’ve been really into cooking and trying new recipes here (I have a lot of free time in the afternoons when its slow) so I had a blast picking unique recipes and trying them out. It was also a bit of a challenge to find the right ingredients, since typical Thanksgiving food isn’t sold here. No canned pumpkin, stuffing mix or fresh cranberries for me. So finding substitutes and making dishes from scratch was a fun challenge.

The menu ended up being:

~2 Chickens (in place of a turkey, which was nowhere to be found) 1 roasted with sage and garlic butter, and the other roasted with garlic, basil and prosciutto under the skin.

~Baked Mac and Cheese (with a blend of random cheeses I could find here)

~Green Beans sautéed with Bacon and Almond slivers

~Honey, Orange Juice and Brown Sugar- marinated Roasted Carrots

~Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

~Mushroom and Walnut Stuffing

~Gravy from the traditional roasted turkey

~Cranberry Sauce (made from dried cranberries)

~Zapallo Pie (a type of squash that has roughly the same texture and taste as a pumpkin)

~Walnut Pie (in place of Pecan Pie)

~Fresh Whipped Cream

Everything ended up being wonderful!! Melanie and I had a relatively relaxed day cooking (We even had time to make hand turkeys for decorations) and it wasn’t until about the hour before dinner was meant to be served and all the sides were prepped to go in the oven that we realized that we did not have enough food. So we went into hyper speed and bought double of all the veggies, and prepped all of it while the chickens finished up in the oven. The chickens also took a little longer than we were expecting, so dinner ended up being an hour later than we planned, but it wouldn’t have been fun if everything had gone perfectly smoothly right? There was actually a point where Melanie and I were sitting looking at each other because there wasn’t anything to do, questioning why things weren’t more chaotic. Then it all hit us in the last hour. But it was just the right amount of stress to make it interesting and make the final meal, once it all came together, feel like a true accomplishment. And I enjoyed being the head chef in the kitchen for the day! By the last hour, I had lots of kitchen helpers and everyone was so eager to help and looked to me for direction. I’ve certainly never had any authority in a kitchen before that day, so it was an amusing experience. Once we sat down to eat, there were about 20 people, and we had just enough food to feed everyone! There were even a few things leftover to make the equally traditional Thanksgiving leftovers meal the next day. 

Zapallo for the pie!

Walnut Pie (turned out awesome!!! Have to remember this recipe)

Cupcakes from leftover pumpkin pie filling!

Before (the lumps under the skin are pats of butter, not tumors)

After

Nothing better than baked, bread crumb topped mac and cheese

My unbelievable copilot for the evening! Thank you Melanie!!

Love the look of a full plate

Pies!

We almost made that time!

It's not Thanksgiving without some hand turkeys

My team of helpers!

The whipped cream is integral!

The whole night went so well. Melanie and I had a blast cooking and decorating (I COULD NOT have done this without her!!) It was an incredibly welcoming and eager crowd, who were so grateful to have been included in my holiday traditions and to learn about Thanksgiving. And they of course enjoyed the wealth of food as well! All in all, it was a great way to spend my first Thanksgiving cooking on my own and away from my family. I got to spend my day with new friends and in a new home and for that I am incredible thankful :) 

Besos xox