French-giving

Roasted Turkey with Sausage Stuffing, Crème de Potimarron, Potatoes Glacée, Green Beans in Smoked Bacon, and Red Currant Chutney



I love introducing Thanksgiving to the French.  Each year, I try to have someone new at the table and each year I get asked the same questions about the holiday’s origins.  Thanksgiving has no French equivalent; it is truly a foreign idea to them and even after much explanation, it still remains to them an odd, yet enjoyable meal. 

Thanksgiving in general presents its problems: overcooked turkey, family fights, and the boredom that sets in while waiting to get to the table.  I’ve tackled those problems, plus a few more.

To begin with, there are no turkeys available in November; I repeat: no turkeys.  This means we wait until just before Christmas (and sometimes the night before we board the plane for international travel) when they are finally available at the store and plunge one into the deep freeze for 11 months.  Yes, this takes some forethought, but having a whole turkey at Thanksgiving is worth it.

Then, there are some adaptations.  I’ve gotten used to this and am pretty good at swapping out ingredients with no notable difference.  Keeping that in mind, there are no cranberries or casseroles.  One is native only to North America and the other is looked at being too common for a holiday meal.

Last, there is the French factor, and this is a big one.  This is the one that pushed me to mix it up this year; to debone a turkey, to make 3 new dishes I’ve never tried, to individually plate the meals instead of serving it family style, and to have Champagne chilling in the fridge for dessert.  And this is the factor that I think makes it the most interesting. 

Our cross culture collisions in the kitchen emerge the most at Thanksgiving.  The turkey is basted in duck fat, red currants are used for cranberries, sweet potatoes are replaced by potimarron, and somehow the ultra-traditional French side dish of green beans wrapped in bacon appears.

The dinner has become a pinnacle moment in our house.  It’s a time for us to get together and look at who we are and what we have become together.  I might not have the morning parade, the football games, and the turkey induced afternoon naps, but I do have French-giving and it has made me a better person for trying something new, taking a risk, and sharing a part of me.

That's right; I'm a third of the way to a turducken.  This has given me some ideas for next year.