Thanksgiving Round 2

I wrote a few weeks ago about my first round of Thanksgiving, which took place one week early. I thought that my second round would be on Thanksgiving Day itself. Oh but then there was the whole ruptured ovarian cyst round 2 (read about round 1 here), conveniently the day before Thanksgiving. I'm convinced that the only reason I stayed out of the hospital this time around was because of the many friends around the world who were praying for me. My dear teammates were at my house taking care of me from 5:30am until well into the evening. They also decided that I should be able to enjoy Thanksgiving fully, so they offered to postpone Thanksgiving. Sweet friends that they are.

So yesterday, Wednesday December 2nd we celebrated Thanksgiving. We had obtained a turkey, and while it was a good size, de-feathered, and didn't include the head and claws, there was one small problem. The neck.

I guess in America they must just cut it shorter or something? Because that sucker was sticking out a mile. Paired with teeny tiny Romanian ovens, that wasn't so much gonna be fitting. So Erin being the champ that she is, went at it with a knife. First serrated, then just hacking away with her sharpest knife once she hit bone. She's a rockstar, given that this was what she had to look at:

Sorry if you're queasy and I just made you gag. I could have warned you, but would you really have turned away or scrolled extra fast to whiz by it? I think not. We debated sticking it in the pan and roasting it for their dog Ginger, but then just decided it wasn't worth prolonging the process of dealing with The Turkey Neck. Straight to the garbage. Thankfully when the turkey came out, it looked just fine.

We cooked throughout the morning listening to Christmas Carols (hey, it's December!). We were excited when we needed more salt and butter and realized, Hey, it's not actually Thanksgiving in America, so stores will be open! We enjoyed our own private little holiday. Here are Erin and Dave finishing up the rolls and turkey, respectively, right before we sat down to eat.

And here is the final spread, which included turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, corn, and rolls. This was for 5 adults and 2 children.

Needless to say, we didn't finish it all. This doesn't even count the FOUR pies we tackled later in the day (MUCH later)- apple, pumpkin chiffon, pecan, and key lime. Yay for leftovers!

This Thanksgiving was particularly special because it required an extra amount of effort. NOTHING is ready-made here, so we have to do everything from scratch- pie crusts (regular, gingerbread crumb, and graham cracker crumb) and whipped creme most notably. Ovens and sinks are smaller, by and large we don't have as many pots and pans and bowls as we would in America, and we don't have all the convenient appliances that many American households have like a turkey baster and an electric turkey carver. This isn't a complaint by any means, it just somehow feels more... satisfying when you have to do it "the old-fashioned way." It also forces us to be more creative, which is always fun.

It was just relaxing, fun, and lovely to be together all day. I have much for which to be thankful!