A day of thanks

2012 Thanksgiving meal. Or as we say in France- the meal we ate on Thursday Nov 22nd.

I associate this season with loved ones and the time we spend with each other, so this week I've been missing family and friends and the frequent gatherings that last from Thanksgiving to the beginning of the New Year.  Seeing everyone's preparations for the holiday- be it travel plans or dinner menus- makes the distance between us and them more tangible.  Last year, I was making those same preparations.  Almost every year since I can remember, I've sat around a table replete with an abundance of food and an atmosphere filled with friendly conversation (and a debate or two covering current events).

This year, Thomas and I decided that we would not make a traditional meal. At this point, we don't know enough people who would appreciate such an effort.  We will celebrate it - sort of - tomorrow.  Thomas has an American friend who lives in Italy. He and his wife are visiting Paris this weekend, so tomorrow we will go out to dinner.  I'm sure it will be nice.  But no turkey. no pumpkin pie. no stuffing.

In France, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so there aren't many people to share in the anticipation. It is just another ordinary Thursday.  To try to make today not so ordinary we included a few festive dishes to tonight's dinner. It made us feel a little less disconnected with everyone in the States.  While not the traditional turkey Thanksgiving day dinner, we came close.  Today's dinner was lamb with homemade stuffing and green bean casserole.  In my opinion, Thanksgiving isn't really Thanksgiving without the green bean casserole.

The stuffing was your basic recipe. It was good, but not extraordinary, although I do recommend using a day old baguette because it soaks up the butter and chicken broth nicely.  The green bean casserole was a nice find on allrecipes.com.  It uses a  tasty, easy to make cream sauce instead of cream of mushroom soup and caramelized onions and planko instead of french's onion.  I'm glad we included a little bit of Thanksgiving in our new French life. Making time for family and friends that includes good food and desserts sounds like a good idea no matter in which country one lives.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Things I am grateful for:

* My husband who is generous, caring, smart, and industrious

* Our two beagles who are loyal, reliable, and great bed pre-warmers

* Family and friends and the ability to skype and facetime with them

* The opportunity to live here in France