Thanksgiving

This year I'd decided I wanted to have pumpkin pie and a nice Thanksgiving meal, because last year, as strange as that feels to say now, I was able to go home and surprise my family for the holiday:

After trying to figure out how to get my hands on a Costco pumpkin pie for weeks, Hannes told me that a housewife who occasionally volunteers at his NGO goes there all the time, and he paid her to get a couple for us. Yusss.

We were set to have the thing at Patrick's, but I wasn't even sure if it was going to happen because he and Amy had been drinking a shitload the night before. Patrick finally woke up at about 3, and Amy had lost count of how many times she'd thrown up that day, but amazingly, they jumped into gear, invited some additional people over, and started cooking.

Amy made a little ham thingy rubbed with herbs, a chicken, chicken gravy, veggies cooked with the chicken, homemade stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce that was actually a reduction of dried cranberries, orange juice and red wine, and baked eggplant with tofu stuffing. Patrick made mashed potatoes with lots of butter, cream and cloves, because it "smells like Christmas".

I made a big salad, a spinach frittata, sweet potato croquettes, and a simple centerpiece with cardboard, raffia, and a candle. Hannes brought the pies and a bottle of whiskey.

We chatted, played a little GTA 5, and had a really nice low-key night before taking a cab home in the freezing rain that was to turn to snow the very next day.

Didn't it turn out pretty? I was so impressed by Amy's cooking, especially at the last minute. I'm also really glad I introduced Hannes to pumpkin pie and hope to take him to the States for Thanksgiving one year, though I don't think it'll be as good as this one was. *aww,warmfuzzyfeelings*