My French Thanksgiving

Since we’re still in the time machine…let’s talk about my first Thanksgiving in France!

Well…I’ve spent one other Thanksgiving away from home, when I lived in France right after college, but it’s when I lived in the middle of nowhere, had no friends, and was sick on Thanksgiving, so my celebration involved eating microwave instant cup-o-soup and watching Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.

So like I said…my first Thanksgiving in France.  Having friends AND a turkey, we are already off to a great start!

Maygan and I ordered a turkey from the butcher two weeks prior, and they said for 20€ extra they could cook it for us. Heck yes. How else would you make any sides if your one tiny oven is stuffed with a turkey all day?

Incidentally, French turkeys cost about $75 in case you were wondering.  They grow up eating nuggets of gold which infuses into the turkey meat.

I made a homemade pumpkin pie and my mom’s stuffing recipe. I also provided traditional cranberry sauce, served in the shape of a can.  (When Kelly, Em, and Erin came to visit in October, they brought me all the pumpkin spices, cranberry sauce, and other stuffing spices I needed. Yay!)

I spent all day cooking with our kitchen/back balcony door open while listening to Christmas music.  It was delightful!

When it was time to go over to Maygan & Kyle’s, I realized that I didn’t have a car and had never attempted to transport hot food across town.  I loaded up my rolly shopping cart, lined it in towels, put the stuffing in (covered in foil), then put another layer of towels, then the pie.  And I rolled my Thanksgiving goods 20 minutes north from my neighborhood, past the Eiffel Tower, and to Maygan & Kyle’s apartment.  It was pretty bizarre, wheeling stuffing and pie behind me, but whatever, it works.  It got there.

Maygan & Kyle made mashed potatoes, green beans, & delicious sweet potato fries that were so good we were kicking in the kitchen.

We picked up the turkey at our projected dinner start time…only to discover we had to bake the turkey for another hour (oops)

With aluminum PEASE!  So sweet. They tried to throw us some English.

We decided to have a “first course” of sweet potato fries to tide us over while watching football.  We are certain this will become a tradition in the next two years of Paris Thanksgivings.  M&K had two friends in town, Kyle carved our French turkey, and we all toasted to Thanksgiving in Paris, stuffing ourselves like we were at home.  I could barely waddle home I was so full.  God bless America.