Expat family
On Friday night five American girls celebrated expat Thanksgiving, preparing a complete turkey dinner for 18 guests (13 of them Thanksgiving “virgins”). It was my second Thanksgiving away from home, and although I was sad to be far from family, there was something very “milestone” about it–being so far away yet surrounded by 17 new friends, pulling off a feast of the most nostalgic American dishes prepared with the most confusing Spanish ingredients. (Who knew “cornstarch” and “cornmeal” were called the same thing in Spanish? The cornbread was nearly a casualty of mistranslation.) Although we faced obstacles–a one-rack oven, only two functioning burners, no Libby’s canned pumpkin, a pie crust that caught on fire, mistranslations with several ingredients and a few last-minute sprints to the grocery store–in the end, everything was absolutely delicious and I’d go as far as to say it was my favorite Thanksgiving yet.
On The Menu:
Mains:
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Sweet potato casserole
- Green beans with gorgonzola and hazelnuts
- Sausage and apple stuffing
- Turkey breasts and legs
- Gravy
- Cranberry sauce
- Green salad
- Cornbread with chestnut spread
Desserts:
- Dulce de leche brownies
- Almond cake
- Pumpkin pie
- Apple crumble
Drinks:
- Hot spiked cider
- Wine for days
*This being Spain, we ate our dinner at 9 p.m. DO NOT RECOMMEND! Trying to sleep after such a late feast was agony.
The five American chefs–Chelsea, Kaitlin, Katie, Taylor, and me.
Taylor, Thanksgiving savior and budding Martha Stewart, single-handedly cooked the turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, apple crisp, and pumpkin pie. Check out her blog here.
We were so caught up in the food that we didn’t remember to take a picture of the feast until after we demolished it.
About The Author
Jenny
Jenny Marshall studied Language, Culture, and Society at the University of California Santa Barbara, and now teaches English in Spain. Here she writes about the intersection of language and culture, and lives a life translated by travel.
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