We spent our first Thankgiving abroad in Dublin in 2007. It was just the two of us and I managed to find a turkey breast at a local butcher. The lone turkey breast and my make-shift stuffing mildly resembled the traditional meal, but didn't seem to have the most important element - people - which made this year's Saturday celebration so special and true to the holiday's nature and spirit. Why celebrate on a Saturday? London and everywhere else in the world treats the third Thursday in November as just another day in the cubicle. Thus, everyone was working.
In addition to reminiscing about each other's traditions - eating, napping, card playing and football - we were also really excited to share Thanksgiving with a newcomer. It was really funny to see her curiosity towards some of the items we presented...squash with marshmellows? A weird concept to those unfamiliar with the gooey, goodness of my favorite dish. Overall, she tried everything, dove into the pumpkin pie and seemed to embrace the joy de vivre that represents Thanksgiving.
European kitchens, especially the refridgerators, are small.....really small. Thus, it was definitely a challenge to host Thanksgiving, roast the turkey (we don't even have an oven, seriously, which presented a very peculiar situation) and find storage for all of the leftovers. I have the utmost adoration for mothers and grandmothers that always seem to have everything warm and served on the table at the same time.
Across much of Europe, turkey is considered the grand dame at Christmas. Thus, most stores don't start carrying turkeys until the middle of December. To my delight, London's strong expat community makes it much easier to source American style products including a free-range turkey, chestnuts, cranberries and even pumpkin pie filling. However, we did import Kraft marshmellows via care package. I can recall small tantrums thrown on camping trips when my mom decided to purchase the grocery store generic marshmellows for smores. They just aren't the same!
Several London department stores have a special American section in their food halls that carry everything from Lucky Charms and Marshmellow Fluff to Dr. Pepper and JIF. I find that Partridge's in Sloan Square has the best selection and variety of products. I find these really interesting and also comical as the people walking by seem to have the impression that American's only eat Kellogg's pop tarts, A&W Root Beer and Betty Crocker cake mix. Thus, an imaginary line is drawn right from the grocery aisle straight to America's obesity problem. I'll admit, I'm tempted.....especially for graham crackers....but at $9.95!! Luckily, we have amazing farmers markets to patronize instead, buying up amazing raw cheeses, meaty olives and Spanish charcuterie.
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