Thanksgiving Dinner

This Thanksgiving was very introspective for me as there have been changes in my life recently. This is my first autumn back from living in Toronto and experiencing fall in Vancouver is so different. There isn’t very much sunlight, there’s a lot of rain yet the rain lends an air of cozy-ness and an atmosphere of nostalgia. It reminds me of my childhood in rain boots walking to story time at the library, having recess indoors in the school gym and rugby practices (when I was much older) in the rain… it makes you feel really safe when there’s a torrential downpour outside, and you’re warm, indoors spending time with friends and family. It also makes rugby so much more fun when you’ve had a hard game and you roll in the mud and the cold rain cools you down. It always felt very epic to play in the rain. The occasional sunny days feel so great though, and it makes you appreciate them even more while strolling from store to store on main street or taking a walk along the sea wall. I love the crisp air and warm sun.

Anyway, other than those memories that came flooding back, Thanksgiving reminded me of the recent years past in Toronto when I used to have over a dozen of my friends  invited who, like me, didn’t have family in town to spend the holiday with. Everyone would be crammed in my modest bachelor apartment and every surface would be filled with food. I would have a massive rosemary sage turkey, cranberry apple stuffing, roasted vegetables, mashed yams, roasted orange maple butternut squash, mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce and a pumpkin pie with truffle chocolate swirl. The room would smell of mulled wine and apple cider, rosemary from the turkey and the smell of pumpkin pie that had just been baked would linger. After carving the turkey, there would barely be enough for seconds, and all my friends would sit anywhere where they could find room.

There would be people making new friends around the kitchen table, others seated on the couch and arm chair, another sitting on my ottoman, someone perched on a drafting stool, sitting on side tables and a few at the desk. It was always very warm in there because the oven had been on for hours and hours and all the people would make it even hotter, but it was always nice stuffing your face with food with the windows open and an inviting gust of cold air would come in. The chatter would mask the sounds of jazz in the background and my cat would hide under the bed, as even she was tired of being petted. We would always complain about our projects, lack of sleep, talk about professors and their woooonderful lectures, discuss the exhibits that we saw during Nuit Blanche that year and talk even more about school. Oh! and we  broke out a game of charades. Dragon Ball Z – imagine how that would be acted out! Oh I miss them…

  

This year, I had two Thanksgiving dinners, one with my 2nd family (my best friend’s place) and one the next day, at home. At the M&M’s, we had this amazing bone-in ham that was stuck all over with cloves and glazed with honey, mashed purple potatoes, and homemade spring rolls… mmm…it was so good. I should go back to have some ham leftovers! (oh what a great idea…) It was great spending the whole day there, it was one of those sunny crisp days where I had a nap, played with my toddler nephew (most adorable kid ever!), spent time lingering in the kitchen as I watched my momma make spring rolls (my Peruvian mother is Chinese on the inside), my pregnant sister (she's ready to pop!) make apple pie with reduced apple cider (oh man was it ever delicious) and lazed around on the couch with Bon Appetit and Martha magazines (my favourite!). It was so great finally spending Thanksgiving with them again and I really felt thankful to be so fortunate to have them as my 2nd family.

The next day, I finished work early and came home to find that my sister had prepped all the yams, took the outer layer off the brussels sprouts, cleaned the work space on the counter, and set the table. My mom had gone foraging for pine mushrooms in the forest for the day, and it was such a relief to come home to be able to cook right away! I made the chai coconut pumpkin pie first, then the traditional pumpkin pie, then made stuffing, and finished seasoning the bird all the while having a great assistant that would find what I needed when my hands were full! Everything went smoothly without a hitch, and I had a great time happily cooking, baking and roasting, humming along to Ella Fitzgerald. We invited a few friends over who didn’t have family in town, or had never experienced Canadian Thanksgiving before, and it was great! 2 bakers from work who had never met each other before (they work when the other doesn’t) and two UBC students. It was great laughing over stories, my mom got to play show and tell with her home made blueberry sake, and I got to indulge in cranberry apple stuffing, my favourite part of Thanksgiving dinner! Mmm… gluttony.

*Cranberry Goat Cheese with crackers, Garlic Herb Dip and multigrain baguette, and Pecan Fruit Crisps with Camembert cheese while waiting for the turkey to finish!

Wyatt and Esther, having fun playing piano. He was really good! Improvising and jazzing it up!

 

*Baby spinach with supremed oranges, dried cranberries, apple  and shaved carrots with a cranberry raspberry vinaigrette.

 

*The dish my sister made: Creamed cauliflower. It was like mac and cheese with cauliflower! mmm..cheesy…

Before: Seasoned with: cayenne and paprika on the outside, and butter, sage, rosemary, thyme and garlic under the skin. The skin’s all lumpy because there’s pads of butter under there. Don’t forget to tie the legs together and tuck the wings under.

 

After: Roasted turkey. Oops, I forgot to take a picture when it had just come out of the oven. This is after I spooned the stuffing out to put back in the oven (you can never be too careful) and took the sausages off the top. My trick? with one hour left on the clock, put sausages on top of the breast to keep it the breast meat juicy. Also, baste a lot.

Table setting with mashed yams, Maple Dijon Brussels sprouts, and roasted vegetables

Maple Dijon Brussels sprouts. My trick: peel the outer layers of Brussels sprouts, steam them, then add Coarse grain Dijon, Pure Maple Syrup, salt and pepper then roast it all in the oven. Comes out sweet, tender and not the slightest bit bitter.

My traditional pumpkin pie with honey glazed pecans.

Last but not least: Chai Coconut Pumpkin Pie.

*The girls.

*The boys.

*Me: a little dishevelled after all the cooking, but still ready to eat it all!

 

*photo credit: to Kajin, my sister.