Happy Thanksgiving

For my next few posts, I will have a lot to catch up on from the previous week or so---a spectacularly good opera, a spectacularly bad play, a charity walk, a trip to Provence---but today let me skip ahead.  I want to wish a safe and happy and relaxing Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.

This will be my third Thanksgiving out of the United States.  I love Thanksgiving for many reasons, so one would imagine that being away from the US and from family on this holiday would be difficult.  Of course I will miss seeing everyone, but spending Thanksgiving overseas has its own substantial charms.  In the post below, from Thanksgiving in Paris six years ago, I talk about how spending Thanksgiving overseas twice has resulted in more celebrations, as invitations come from friends who want to make sure you are not too homesick as well as the Thanksgiving-curious.  

https://pariswiththeellisons.blogspot.com/2017/11/thanksgivings.html

So, six years ago, we actually celebrated four (!) times, and this year it will only be two.  But two is plenty.

Last night, Glenn and I went to Verjus again, just as we had six years ago, for their fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.  I forgot to take a photo of the menu or any of the food (of course), so I will try to reproduce it from memory.  We started with a glass of champagne (bien sur) and five different amuse bouches:  egg yolk with honey and herbed whipped cream served in a broken egg shell, a small portion of roasted beets with shaved goat cheese, a corn masa and spinach strata, a tiny cannoli filled with squash and ricotta, and a fried chickpea socca with fresh herbs.  The entree came in two parts---not sure why it didn't count as two courses---clams in a rich scallop and herb broth followed by a scallop crudo.  The main course was roast turkey breast with turkey jus, whipped potatoes, kale wrapped stuffing with bits of turkey leg confit, and cranberry sauce.  And the meal finished with a tarte tatin served with salted caramel ice cream.  We had wine pairings with each course, which were wonderful, but I don't remember the particulars.  

We are preparing for our second Thanksgiving, which will occur tomorrow night.  We have been invited by friends---a couple with one from France and the other from Belgium---who were interested in an authentic American Thanksgiving.  There will be ten of us total, and we are all contributing various dishes:  champagne (bien sur), roast chickens, pan stuffing, haricots verts, roasted root vegetables, whipped potatoes, cranberries, pecan pie, apple crumble, etc., etc.  I am very much looking forward to a delicious dinner and a warm and wonderful evening.  

One interesting note:  fresh cranberries were difficult to find six years ago.  I figured that much had changed in Paris since then, because I happened upon a display with bags of them at one of the fruit and vegetable vendors at the outdoor market near us (in Port Royal).  Luckily, I snapped up two bags then and stuck them in the freezer.  Today at PSE, I ran into a colleague, Francis, who was at loose ends.  He is French but had spent several years in the US with his family.  His children, now grown, were coming home this evening and had been promised an authentic American Thanksgiving dinner upon their arrival, but Francis had been searching in vain for cranberries.  "You've come to the right place," I said.  Francis accompanied me home this afternoon, and I gave him cranberries from my excess.  I was truly happy to have been able to help, sort of a sacred duty as an American expat.  

Of course, one of the things that I like most about Thanksgiving is the nudge it gives us all to pause and contemplate everything that we have to be thankful for.  I have so much.  Some of it is readily evident from this blog---the fact that Glenn and I have jobs that allow us to spend a year in Paris, that we have the means to enjoy so many aspects of living here, that we have so many kind and dear friends.  But, really, I am most thankful for my family and the strength, resilience, compassion, and warmth that they all have shown so clearly this year.  Happy Thanksgiving.