Thanksgiving in Rome

So Ashley and I decided quite a while ago that we were going to make Thanksgiving in Rome. We just can't live without it. So finally, the day rolled around and we put on a show. We had told our signora to invite a friend and we had invited our friend Matt, so we were able to show a whole group of Italian people what Thanksgiving is all about.

Ashley did all the grocery shopping, bless her heart. I only had to go out and get the stuff that was forgotten. Because what is Thanksgiving without having to go back to the grocery store multiple times? Then we spent hours and hours cooking and preparing everything. We made deviled eggs, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, gravy, cranberry sauce, and apple crisp. Our signora brought a cake, her friend brought cookies and Matt brought vino. Everything was delicious and cooked perfectly. The sweet potatoes were a little bizarre because Italian sweet potatoes are not like American sweet potatoes. I was the only one who really enjoyed them and that was just because I'm obsessed with brown sugar. We did a great job if I do say so myself. The 5 of us just sat, drinking wine, eating and talking. It was a great evening and we didn't even get done with dinner and dessert until 2 in the morning. Quite an experience and my first Thanksgiving cooked without parents!

Some pics:
The 5 of us well into the dinner
Ashley and I with our signora
Matt cutting the turkey, he was really a perfectionist about it :)
Proud cooks!
Check out that spread!
I made great friends with this turkey. I got to give it a bath and stuff it and rub it down with oil... super fun.
The cooking process. We kind of tore apart our signora's kitchen. But we cleaned it all up that night before we went to bed. Every last dish.

Comments

Opus #6 said…
Bravo! Patty and Ashley! A beautiful American Thanksgiving!
December 7, 2008 at 7:09 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Musings

First off, let's examine the word musings. It has the word muse in it... I wonder if there is some connection to the concept of the Muse. Like maybe my random thoughts are inspired by the Muses? These are the kinds of things that my mind does now that I've developed a newfound passion for linguistics. It's quasi-annoying because now when I speak even in English I'm always wondering about what I'm saying and where the word came from and all of that. My signora and I laugh because she has the same problem, since she knows so many languages (German, Italian, French, English... and those are just the ones she knows well. She also learned Portuguese and Spanish). Oh well, I guess it's just a cross I'm gonna have to bear ;) Anyway, let's talk about feelings. Namely, mine. I'm having a hard time thinking about leaving Rome. I mean I really start to freak out when I think about it for too long. I feel like I'm losing a part of myself that I do...
Read more

Falling in love with myself

Stiamo a Roma! I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. Because I'm pretty sure only my mom reads this blog. I haven't cried in a long while. I don't know why and I'm not sure how I feel about it. But once we landed in Ciampino and were on the bus through Rome to get to Termini, I began to feel overwhelmed with a desire to stay. It's like I'm reliving my last 5 days in Rome all over again. That feeling of being ripped away from everything that I am. And I cried. Jessica is my external hard drive of emotion so naturally she cried too. She's already cried multiple times. I kid you not, she cries every time it would be appropriate for me to cry and I can't. Examples to follow. So after we got to Termini, we walked over to our hostel and I ended up having to ask directions. I'm pleased to report that my Italian came flooding back, like riding a bike. We found the hostel and once we got settled in I took Jessie over to Trastevere...
Read more

¿Te gustas?

So kayaking and snorkeling went well. If you call a swarm of jellyfish well. Which I obviously do. It all started quite unassumingly. I saw something that looked like a white piece of trash bobbing innocently on a rock. I peered into the depths and after a lot of pondering, decided that it was a jellyfish. I told the guide (BJ) and he dove down and confirmed my suspicions. I wasn't surprised and had already named the jellyfish squisherwhistle. BJ swam us over to another area to get away from squisherwhistle. Which I thought was a bit dramatic, but I suppose that's why I'm not the guide. Thank god he swam us over there, because we were promptly surrounded by a swarm of yellow jellyfish with purple spots. Which also sting. So we cried uncle and swam toward shore. On the way, I saw a small pink jellyfish with loooong clear tentacles looming menacingly... A FOOT in front of my face. Something about that jellyfish struck fear into my heart. I think it was the color. Also, we kay...
Read more