A London Thanksgiving

There's nothing like Turkey Day in Idaho with the fam, and I will always be nostalgic for the flag football playing, unlimited pie eating days of old. However, Thanksgiving this year was the next best thing. I put together a dinner among friends in my hall, which grew from a small idea into a sizeable ordeal. I was more concerned with exposing others to a new experience than ensuring Americans had their turkey, yet I still wanted as authentic a Thanksgiving as possible. So, roughly 1/3 of the group ended up being Americans, while the other 2/3 had only seen Turkey Day in the movies. I was pleased with the dinner in every way. Everyone seemed overwhelmingly excited about the idea and very willing to help make it happen. In the end, we had 20 official guests, but fed around 25 people, as other Roseberians kept coming in and out. Nathaniel and Alex woke up early Thursday morning, and the three of us were grocery shopping by 8 am. Eight people helped cook for the full three hours of preparation, but everyone contributed at some point while we were cooking (depending on their class schedule, etc.). At our peak, we had people cooking in five different kitchens and the ovens going on eight floors. That was wild. I should also add that Rosebery has ridiculously small kitchens and ovens built for ants, hence the use of so many kitchens. The "oven" is the size of a microwave with two small burners on top. Not even kidding. All in all, it was a great group effort and smashing success.

Here are a more few details...

Regional breakdown of those in attendance:
America: Will, Vin, Drew, Charles, Andrew, Melissa, me.
Singapore: Farrah, Charmaine, JC
England: Nathaniel, Antonia
Honduras: Daniela
France: Johan
Sweden: Olof
Poland: Jacek
Romania/France: Alexandru
England/Singapore: Alex
China/America: Jimmy
China/Wales: Ruoxing
Spain/England/Portugal: Subash

Menu:
Roasted turkey breast (couldn't do a whole turkey with small ovens)
Cranberry/Orange sauce with a touch of cinnamon
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Rolls (& French jam)
Butternut Squash
Green Beans with Toasted Almonds and Caramelized Onions
Stuffing
Apple pie and vanilla ice cream

While on the topic of food, one more thing-- the UK apparently does not believe in pumpkin pie, squash, or apple cider. I hunted for pumpkin pie ingredients, but with absolutely no luck. A few people went in search of apple cider the night of, but we ended up having sparkling apple juice and Oceanspray cranberry juice instead. I think the UK actually does believe in squash (as a vegetable; not only as a sport) since I bought some at Sainbury's, but the only people who knew what it was pre-dinner were Americans.

Now, a few photos:

On the verge of 1) making toasts, 2) passing food around in a clockwise rotation, and 3)digging in...in that order.

Almost the official group. Missing: Will and Andrew.

Our long table in Rosebery's dining room.

The French- Johan and Alexandru

Jacek displaying the beans, though I should credit Ruoxing, Charmaine, Daniela, and Subash with preparing the dish at different stages.

Subash on potato duty.

Checking in on the true potato crew. Nathaniel, Melissa, and Farrah were peeling, cutting, boiling, mashing, etc. for three hours strong. Mashed potatoes for 20+ people = logistical mess. I secured a small handheld grinder/mixer gadget the day of, which helped, but between the large number of portions needed and Rosebery's pathetic kitchen situation, mashed potatoes still proved to be the challenge of dinner.

Andrew, aka the one man stuffing machine. I had him make the stuffing one tupperware dish at a time in the microwave and then dump it into the large bowl. I blame this cooking inefficiency once again on lack of proper kitchens.