An English Thanksgiving

Thursday was Thanksgiving and as many know, it’s only celebrated in the U.S. but just because it’s an American holiday doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate it no matter where you are in the world. This year because I was away from home (obviously) I decided to celebrate it with new friends, my course mate family, and flatmates. Those of us in the TVJ program had filming on the actual holiday therefore Wednesday was the night! I left classes early, started on the bird and american goodies of side dishes.

I was extremely nervous because it was my first time ever being in charge of the special day. Not to mention explaining the holiday to friends who have never heard of it. “Well… see there were these indians…. no wait…. it’s about being thankful…. yeah, yeah, that’s it. It’s about being thankful.” It was rather difficult but I was able to make stuffing from scratch (I still think Stove Top stuffing is WAY better), sweet potatoes with marshmallows, garlic roasted mashed potatoes, and bourbon gravy. Yes that’s right, I just type bourbon gravy. Each of the recipes I found were thanks to Martha Stewart but I will admit, she’s not the best cook out there. At least recipe wise.

We had around 20 people packed into a kitchen designed for 10, many from other countries including Canada, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, Egypt, China, Nigeria, India, even Argentina. Everyone brought something whether it was a dish from their own country, a bottle of wine or dessert. Many laughs were had, Christmas music played and there were no leftovers to speak of. 

Thank you to everyone who came. It really brought a little bit of home to London. 

I think for my first solo Thanksgiving with friends we rocked it. I don’t know how I’m going to top this next year. :)