BIG, FAT THANKS

Well I hope all my loves in the states had a great holiday, being thankful for the harvest, and whatever else y’all been blessed with this year.

& ON THE TOPIC OF THANKS

- Gotta shout out my otherbrother, Jake, for taking the aesthetics of this blog to the next stage. Love the new look.

- I am beyond grateful and thankful for all the love I have in my life.

- Thank you to the Thomas’ and Mr. Kuhn Sonson for attending the Thanksgiving feast I insisted on making. It was so nice to share this tradition with you guys : )

The Feast !

SO, more about one of my favorite parts, The Food. Chicken was used instead of turkey because chickens are fresh here, and a turkey would have been frozen, shipped from the US, and well, Stéphane and I agreed chicken > turkey as far as taste. EXCEPT if it’s a fried turkey, which has been a tradition at the Oskows, where I am usually celebrating, for years. I prepared a birdy with thyme butter, the other with bacon drippings – both stuffed with apples and some onion. Stuffing was apple, celery and smoked ham then caramelized shallot and sage mashed potatoes, some autumn succotash, a carrot and cranberry salad with ginger dressing and lastly, bacon-crusted cornbread. Most of the inspiration and recipes came from my favorite magazine, Bon Appetit.

Call me lame, but I don’t really like Pumpkin pie, at all. And I generally like ALL foods. But this worked in my favor as I am not really sure where I’d procure fresh pumpkin for a pie. I made my second key lime pie since I have arrived (Mom’s recipe). It was better than the first, and pretty damn delicious I must say. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo before it was devoured, HA! But I am sure I will make another soon. In fact, Stéphane bet me a key lime pie, and I lost so, I suppose it’s a definite.

Graham crackers haven’t appeared yet so I have been using a Haitian equivalent – Bonbon Tempo – or Tempo (brand) cookies. I found a mix of the coconut and malta flavors works best, you have to reduce the butter a little to make a graham cracker-esque crust. The first pie I made I used limes from our yard but I don’t think we’ll get enough from the tree again for a while. NOTE – All limes, sitwon, in Haiti, are what Americans consider the “key lime” – little, perfectly round guys.

Happy Thanksgiving

From left: Max THomas, Roselyn Thomas, me, Sonson Kuhn, Stéphane, Joelle Thomas

Add a bottle of wine or two and we were set. Stuffed to the gills by 6:30 pm : D