It’s a very British Thanksgiving everyone!
It’s always a little strange celebrating American holidays in a foreign country.
But this year instead of dinner for two in Edinburgh, we celebrated in our new location, southern England, creating a feast for eight…
And eight is a huge number for a semi inexperienced host.
Luckily, my good friend and fellow sorority sister Sara popped over from Brighton to cook and share in the fun. While everyone else did normal Thursday things like go to work, we got cooking.
First, we appropriately started the day.
So we cooked, taste tested and cooked some more.
Until finally, our meal was almost complete, simply keeping warm in the oven.
Before we could sit down to our feast however, we decorated.
I found these gems from the the Christmas section at Sainsbury’s. It’s fine, we’ll save them for Xmas too. Let’s keep that a secret shall we?
Posing with the “Thanksgiving” garland.
And throwing a sorority classic in the mix…
After all the silliness, we were all ready to sit down to enjoy the food.
J took on the responsibility of carving up the chicken… that we bought from Marks & Spencer. Don’t judge. The rest of the feast was homemade.
Our little spread.
In case you’re feeling ambitious, or craving a Thanksgiving feast round two, below is the recipe list from the day. Click on the link to take you to the recipe. My favorite is the sweet potato casserole… but the gooey mac and cheese is a good contender.
Our Thanksgiving Menu:
Simple Spinach Salad: (chopped up celery, cucumbers, spinach)
Roasted Broccoli: (chopped broccoli, sprinkled with olive oil, pepper, garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese)
And for dessert…
Pumpkin Pie: (with vanilla ice cream)
It was the longest day of cooking that I’ve ever done, but it was completely worth it.
Also, tis the season and I’d love to be able to rattle off everything I’m thankful for in my life… but it would get far too long winded. So let’s sum it up:
Family and friends, good food, good health, and the ability to travel.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving, or you know a great Thursday if you’re not from the states!
xx Kelly
I cooked Thanksgiving for 9 people this year for the first time, and I agree with you about it being scary for a semi-inexperienced host! It was worth it though. Looks like you had a great time as well.
Considering cooking for two can sometimes be a difficulty… I was thrilled with how Thanksgiving turned out. I’m glad we were in the same boat on this one! It was a ton of work, but I’d do it again. Good thing too because I probably will have next year as well. Such is the expat life! X
You had nothing to worry about, your dishes look mouthwatering! I’m loving the festive decorations, and the everyone’s outfits! xx
Ah thank you so much! I think I need to make a second round of these dishes soon. Hopefully no one objects! Also, thank you about the outfits. I love getting dressed up for the holidays! X