Thanksgiving at Tiffany’s

Tiff, fellow American food blogger living in London, invited me for a Thanksgiving lunch at her house with some of her friends and lovely housemates. I never experienced a Thanksgiving fare so I was looking forward to it. The lunch was to start at 3.30pm. I was a bit late, I blamed the bus!  Sam, one of her housemates, opened the door with a big smile and directed me straight to the kitchen. As soon as I put my foot in the kitchen the turkey was taken out of the oven! The smell of Christmas food filled the place. It was a busy kitchen with Tiff cooking and some of her mates helping out in a very festive mood. It immediately remind me of Tiff’s blog – Kitchen Conversations with Tiff.  Lots of bubbles, friendly conversations and 30 minutes later lunch was ready. What a feast and what a big table too! 

The menu:  Turkey – it was tender and moist, homemade cranberry sauce – I never had it homemade before simply delicious I will never buy it in jar again; roasted carrot and beets – colorful and enjoyable; green beans with caramelizes onions – very pleasing to the palate, mash potato, expertly prepared, was creamy and well seasoned; stuffing – very different from the English recipes, it is made of bread cubes and lots of herbs – very tasty; mushroom gravy was lush and creamy,  sweet potato with pecan and marshmallow – the strangest combination of all, but it works and it looks pretty too;  and finally the  pumpkin pie and cream, prepared by Tiff, made with evaporated milk and spices. The cream was whipped at the table by Scott.  Everyone brought drinks of choice and plenty of it!

Once seated at the table everyone took turn to express through our own words thanks for the blessings received during the past year and for the meal on offer. Ultan , Oisin Coyle‘s brother, did a sterling job of carving the turkey. The only American at the table was Tiff, but her twelve friends, who were from Ireland, Canada, Germany, Poland, UK and Brazil (me!); really embraced the spirit of the occasion. Look at this feast:

Thanksgiving is an American tradition of expressing thanks for all the blessings and mercies received throughout the year. It is one of the major holidays of the year and it’s celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. The day after Thanksgiving is a day off in the USA. It is popularly known as Black Friday, because of the heavy shopping that day helps put retailers’ books back into black. Black Friday has been considered by retailers to be the start of the Christmas shopping season.  

I simply loved the whole experience. The warm welcome of all her friends, combined with the feast offered, the laughter and interesting conversations around the big table made this late and very long lunch, the first guests left at 10pm, a very pleasurable experience. Thanks Tiff for my first and very joyful Thanksgiving adventure! 

Recipe Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

* To make pumpkin purée : start with a small-medium  pumpkin, cut out the stem and scrape out the insides, discard. Cut the pumpkin in half and lay cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake at 350°F until fork tender, about an hour to an hour and a half. Remove from oven, let cool, scoop out the pulp. If you want the pulp to be extra smooth, put it through a food mill.

1 Preheat oven to 425°F.

2 Mix the sugar, salt, and spices, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Stir in the evaporated milk. Whisk all together until well incorporated.

3 Pour into pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

4 Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours.

Serve with whipped cream.

 

More Recipes at Tiff’s blog here