Saturday, November 26, 2016

Thanksgiving - Bristol Style

While Thanksgiving isn't really celebrated here, there are enough Americans around that you can find a good meal with some thankful people. We joined the Americans in Bristol facebook group for a potluck Thanksgiving last Saturday. It was a feast tasting of home with a few British influences thrown in.
We were at a church fellowship hall so set up tables and decorated a bit. Brian and I joined the set up committee (way better plan than helping with clean up! ;)

A few of the random decorations people brought. In the end, they all came together and the place was pretty festive.


And of course, there was lots and lots of food! I think there were 3 turkeys, at least 4 different kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potatoes a few different ways, and pigs in blankets.

Wait . . . what?  Pigs in blankets?

So, I mentioned that little British influence above? That would be the pigs in blankets. Back home, pigs in blankets are a breakfast dish - sausage links wrapped in pancakes or crescent rolls.  But here in the UK, pigs in blankets are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. Yes, it is as delicious as it sounds and something the Brits serve with Christmas dinner (although you can find them in the grocery stores all year round I think (I hope!). Being the inclusive and welcoming people we are, we decided to happily add pigs in blankets to the Thanksgiving meal tradition.

And for dessert there were a number of pumpkin and sweet potato pies, and apple pie and I brought a pumpkin struesel cake that was a hit. The challenge with anything pumpkin is that the canned stuff from Libby is hard to find here. I even tried Amazon, but decided I wasn't paying 8GBP for a silly can of pumpkin. I ended up making my own with a little pie pumpkin from the grocery store. Not too hard actually, but doesn't have the concentrated flavour of the canned stuff. Not to worry though, we had plenty to eat and no one went home hungry - just as it should be.

Someone even brought an American flag and below is our group photo from the day.
 
And what do a group of Americans in Bristol talk about over Thanksgiving? All the funny difference between American and Queen's English of course. Well, that and where to find the best fish and chips!

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