Grazie-giving?

Being so far from home and away from our families at Thanksgiving for the first time EVER, I was determined to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to remind us of home.  Though the fact that our kitchen is about the size of the Fisher-Price one I played with when I was a child should have deterred me, I reasoned instead that I had years of experience cooking in a small space, and somehow I'd make it happen.  It had to at least taste better than the plastic food I used to "whip-up," and if all else failed, there was always pizza around every corner, right?

Translating ingredients, finding Italian substitutes for certain things while giving up on others, and paying about $6 for one can of pumpkin at an international grocery store strengthened my resolve.  Unfortunately, Luke had to work so I went it alone, relying on the time-table I had created to ensure that things ran smoothly (sound familiar, Dad?).

First, pie crusts.  Sale? Check.  Zucchero? Check.  Burro?  Check.  Farina? Check.

 Extra strong cappuccino?  Check.

Aaaaand that's as far as I got with the picture-taking for a while.  We'll just say things got a little busy.

  

Despite a few overwhelming disasters and nervous breakdowns (the worst of which Luke was able to witness when he sweetly called to see how I was doing and I immediately began hysterically crying, having just dropped half a can of evaporated milk all over myself, the floor, and the fabric seat of one of our chairs), things somehow pulled together.  Stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey breast, and roasted veggies were all accomplished.

 Everything happily roasting in the oven.

 The table was set (complete with new fancy cloth napkins replacing the usual square of paper towel) and we were excited to have Tiago, our Brazilian neighbor and friend who works with Luke, join us! While we finished cooking, he made us delicious Brazilian drinks called 'caipirinhas,' which we just may have to institute into each of our future Thanksgiving endeavors.

 Luke took on the responsibility of carving up our turkey breast...

 which was looking pretty good!

Ready to eat! (notice everyone's feet in the picture :) ) It all looked more appetizing in real life, I promise.

 This was also Tiago's first time eating "American food" so the pressure was on a little.  He ended up enjoying everything (or at least he said he did), which was a double-success for Thanksgiving in Italia.

And let's not forget about dessert!  An apple tart and pumpkin pie that both came out pretty nicely!

It was definitely a Happy Thanksgiving!