In Which I Eat the Traditional Thanksgiving Chicken

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, which is why I have made it a priority to celebrate even while living abroad. This was actually my third Thanksgiving not spent in the US-- and my very first without a turkey at all. You see, turkeys actually are available in Thailand. Yet even the smallest Butterball is over $30 US. And yes, I know that turkeys are just that expensive in the states, but when the rest of your meal can be purchased for less than the price of a turkey, it just seems outrageous to spend so much.

Of course, Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, which meant that I had to work. My kids (with a lot of help on my part) made some adorable turkey headbands and I tried to explain to them that we eat these birds in the US on this day. I'm not sure that point got across, but they really looked darling. After work, my American coworkers and I went out for dinner at a creole restaurant that we had a 50% off coupon for. There are many big, expensive, all-American buffets on Thanksgiving in Bangkok, including one at the restaurant I was at, but we bypassed it for this cheap deal. I ended up eating a delicious dinner of roasted creole chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies. It was just enough like Thanksgiving dinner to make me happy.



On Sunday, we (the American teachers and a friend) had our feast. My roommates made stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and an apple crumble. I made a Kentucky Pecan Pie (with homemade crust), my famous cauliflower with sage salt, roasted carrots, a watermelon-feta cheese salad, and a roasted chicken. The whole spread was really delicious and we had a great time celebrating together. I was just really pleased to have an excuse to cook! The only thing that could have made the day better was football. And a turkey.