As usual Brad was our holiday coordinator for Thanksgiving. We decided on a potluck as the costs of a real western feast can be astronomical and well, cooking a western feast in a Chinese kitchen isn’t exactly a piece of cake either. Once assignments were made I ended up with the classic Green Bean Casserole, now in all honesty that is not even a dish in a Reagan Thanksgiving but I wasn’t about to foil the classics. Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup has magically appeared in Weifang and well the rest was easy enough to find with the exception of the fried onion topping which I can’t say I was too unhappy to leave out, I still get sick when thinking of those due to a G.A.T.E. Project in fourth grade.
The crowd as usual was an Olympic committee meeting with the three prominent languages being English(America, Canada, England and Australia) Chinese and French and of course we included the others with Germany/Spain (Manuel is both) and Italy being present. The Czech Republic didn’t make it due to illness but Daria was with us in spirit.
The Dinner was a fabulous hodgepodge of dishes, representing all countries present. Everyone contributed their favorite holiday dish as well as a classic. Holidays in China are a unique experience as everyone tries their best to muster a familiar holiday spirit but in all honesty I’d be lieing if I said it is half of what it is back home. For me the lack of holiday spirit is due to the lack of build up. Most of us forget about the holiday until the week of, then desperately throw something together to capture the spirit. It is amazing how much putting up decorations at home, seeing decorations around town and casually discussing holiday plans over the month contributes to my holiday spirit, but that is what I truly miss.
Turkey is hard and expense to come by so beef was substituted. This is China sacrifices mus be made. Any attempt at western food usually turns into a joke of substitutions and missing ingredients. Beef makes a wonderful substitute to just about everything in my book, so there were no complaints on my end. Brad did the honors of ‘Carving the Turkey’.
It was still a very western style dish which delighted our Chinese friends.
The biggest hit of the night was Kelly’s potato salad once again. She has still not been able to recreate her amazing batch for Brad’s birthday but she puts in an honest effort every time. (You know I absolutely love you Kelly!)
Again following most family traditions the children were relegated to the Children’s table.
Rachel made an amazing chickpea salad with a vinaigrette that was to die for. Mash potatoes and gravy were of course present as well as deviled eggs.
There were desserts galore in true Thanksgiving fashion, ice cream, pie, cake, and cookies.
Rachel made the pumpkin pie from scratch. It is always fun to share foods and watch people’s first reactions to common foods.
I always get a kick out of the decorations on Chinese Cakes.
Adding Stamps 