Thanksgiving Australian Style

Today is the first big test for my homesickness. It is not to say that I don't miss my friends or family everyday, but missing the large, annual family reunion is definitely a test. I foresaw the potential emotionality of this day, so I decided to be proactive and plan a Thanksgiving for myself. Just because Australia doesn't celebrate it does not mean I can't.

So, I invited Jess' family over for an authentic Thanksgiving dinner. In all, we had eleven people, Jess, her parents, grandparents, brother, her brother's lady friend Emily, her sister Tay, her best friends Pennie and Mitch, and I. Things went well, but not without a couple of obstacles.

First off, I got sick on prep cooking day. That is never fun. Second, I've never been able to make a pie crust. I've tried many times, but it always ends up too dry or moist or tastes bad or doesn't stretch or..... Well, I decided to give it one more go. Crisco does not exist here. Or I should say, as a brand of oil it exists, but as a vegetable shortening, it does not. The "closest" thing they have is Cophra, which is not a substitution as I and many Aussies/Americans have learned when crossing the pacific. It is coconut oil shortening and it just doesn't break up right. So, after a couple hours of working with bad pie crust dough, I just bought frozen pie crust. I wanted to make green bean casserole with the famous Frenches French Fried Onions©. They don't exist here, so I had to make those from scratch. I had to use an internet recipe for the pumpkin pies; the family recipe came a mere hour too late. At the end of the day, I did end up with two pumpkin pies, lots of dried bread, a bowl of shelled green beans, and french friend onions. It wasn't a wasted day, but it sure felt like it.

Today went much better. Even though I ended up a making a few trips to the grocery store for forgotten ingredients, it all went well. The turkey cooked a little too quickly in the convection oven, but it didn't get too dry.

Our menu for the night was:

Turkey

Aaron White's Famous no-oyster Dressing (recipe stolen from other, more-famous family members)

Sweet potato casserole with a crunchy walnut topping

Garlic Mashed potatoes and gravy

Green Bean Casserole with Aaron's French Fried Onion© topping
Buttermilk Biscuits (American Style of course)

Cranberry Sauce (from a can sadly)

And of course pumpkin pie

All the food turned out very well. Everyone seemed to be pleased. The whipped cream for the pie was oddly sour and I added too much nutmeg to the pie. Besides that, it was all very tasty! The two straight days in the kitchen helped take my mind off of what I was missing. It was wonderful to have a Thanksgiving in a foreign country with my Aussie family, though it will still be hard tomorrow not seeing everyone. Hello to all!

To the Missouri crew: I will be calling the house phone in the late afternoon around four or five. This is right when I wake up, so I may be a bit groggy. I hope I can catch a decent chunk of you this late. If not, I love you all and I wish I was there.