Fabulous post, photos and resources! This will be my first Thanksgiving not being in the U.S. (I'll be on my way to Lyon from Bordeaux) and while I'm a little sad to miss my favorite US holiday, I can't say I'm sad to be in France right now.
My first Thanksgiving in France was last year. My husband and I went to probably a dozen places trying to find cranberries. All of the shop employees thought we were nuts for trying to find them off-season. We were able to find one bag of dried ones, and one very big turkey leg. No luck with the pumpkin purée, but potimarron worked perfectly. It was a success overall!!
My in-laws through I was pranking them when I said we eat cheese on crackers BEFORE the meal. I’ve never seen their eyes open so wide in shock. They’re lucky I couldn’t find real crackers. 😂
Ugh, the cranberries! When I saw little boxes of fresh ones this year at the market (but two weeks before Thanksgiving), the guy told me to buy them now because "the Americans are coming" haha. I did and already made my cranberry sauce and froze it. Since then I think I heard that Picard might have frozen ones? Also, the pre-meal cheese and crackers 😂 --I love it! And I've gotten that wide-eye look several times. So amazing haha. Thank you for this great comment and HAPPY DANG THANKSGIVING!!
Oh and I love the reference to bitchy French! When I was teaching English, if I needed to get a little angry with my students, I always switched to French. It tended to silence them in a way that would not have worked had I kept using English.
Gorgeous recipes, I’m cooking a Thanksgiving meal for my daughter-in-law on Thursday (she spent much of her childhood in Seattle), but will cook pheasant rather than Turkey. Locally there are two American schools, so a concentration of Americans here in West London, which means that the supermarkets have fresh cranberries and plenty of tins of pumpkin purée. Happy Thanksgiving
Ahhhh you're so lucky! I decided to make a sweet potato pie this year instead of searching for the pumpkin purée. Today I'll go to the marché au Fontainebleau and get my patates douces (sweet potatoes) ! Bon dimanche and Happy Thanksgiving to you from the French countryside!
This post hits the nail on the head about how difficult it is to transfer Thanksgiving to France, or any other country for that matter, if you're not surrounded by other Americans.
I gave up on Thanksgiving in France very early on. As Karen points out, it's always just another Thursday in a long workweek. It also wasn't a tradition I felt was much fun to pass on to our daughters -- they were getting in enough long meals as it was! I barely even think about it anymore.
Ah, Thanksgiving. Those are some lovely recipes you recommend, and fine photos as well ! Our first Thanksgiving away from the US was in 2009. We moved September 1st began work October 1st and were exhausted and forgot about it completely. That is, until we were walking down Exchequer Street in Dublin and something reminded us. We ducked into a restaurant and called it Thanksgiving dinner.
Since then they've mostly been unconventional and not once with a turkey--though you've chosen well with the chapon. This year is still undecided, but we won't be joining the Democrats Abroad Riviera gathering; I fear that "thanksgiving" (with a lowercase "t") might not be the right word to describe the holiday sentiments.
In the US, Thanksgiving is the MAJOR holiday, I think. Christmas sees some people working through the 24th, then back to work on the 26th, depending on whether it falls on a holiday. But with Thanksgiving, many people look forward to four days off, which justifies travel to be with distant family members, etc. (By the way, did you see the story I issued about "The Year We Had Two Thanksgiving Days"? I'll restack it next week.)
In Dublin and here in Nice, Christmas is the major holiday; in Ireland with St Stephen's Day celebrated after, and many people have the week after Christmas through New Years Day off. I think over time we've adapted and now Thanksgiving is just not what it used to be, even if it's not wholly forgotten.
I will look out for your Two Thanksgiving post!! I suppose I will also eventually just prioritize the French holidays since that’s my reality now. But you’re right—for me Thanksgiving was always bigger than Christmas.
This post is fantastic! Gorgeous photos and table scapes! It's funny, I was actually thinking about our 2020 Thanksgiving and thinking that, in some ways, that was one of my very favorite Thanksgivings. Maybe because it represented our shared ability to survive and thrive and make beyond the best of what could have been a sad holiday. Plus, your twist on the green bean casserole is the BEST and an instant classic!
Ah yes, the tiny but mightiest of Thanksgivings in Brooklyn, en pleine pandémie (in the middle of the pandemic)! Also, I can't take credit for that legendary green bean casserole with the dashi powder. It is sooo good, I even linked to the chef who created it within this very post.
I screwed up a link to Alison Roman's great-looking wedding. Here's the real link to the Vogue slideshow: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/alison-roman-and-max-cantor-wedding
Fabulous post, photos and resources! This will be my first Thanksgiving not being in the U.S. (I'll be on my way to Lyon from Bordeaux) and while I'm a little sad to miss my favorite US holiday, I can't say I'm sad to be in France right now.
Thank you and I do feel the same way. It’s just little pangs :-)
My first Thanksgiving in France was last year. My husband and I went to probably a dozen places trying to find cranberries. All of the shop employees thought we were nuts for trying to find them off-season. We were able to find one bag of dried ones, and one very big turkey leg. No luck with the pumpkin purée, but potimarron worked perfectly. It was a success overall!!
My in-laws through I was pranking them when I said we eat cheese on crackers BEFORE the meal. I’ve never seen their eyes open so wide in shock. They’re lucky I couldn’t find real crackers. 😂
Thank you for sharing your wonderful stories!
Ugh, the cranberries! When I saw little boxes of fresh ones this year at the market (but two weeks before Thanksgiving), the guy told me to buy them now because "the Americans are coming" haha. I did and already made my cranberry sauce and froze it. Since then I think I heard that Picard might have frozen ones? Also, the pre-meal cheese and crackers 😂 --I love it! And I've gotten that wide-eye look several times. So amazing haha. Thank you for this great comment and HAPPY DANG THANKSGIVING!!
Back in the 1950s, Washington Post humor columnist Art Buchwald was living in Paris and wrote this classic column on explaining Thanksgiving to the French: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/le-grande-thanksgiving/2011/11/18/gIQA2nerYN_story.html
This is fantastic, thank you so much—can wait to read it!!!
Oh and I love the reference to bitchy French! When I was teaching English, if I needed to get a little angry with my students, I always switched to French. It tended to silence them in a way that would not have worked had I kept using English.
Love that! Nothing like bitchy French to get their attention ha!
Gorgeous recipes, I’m cooking a Thanksgiving meal for my daughter-in-law on Thursday (she spent much of her childhood in Seattle), but will cook pheasant rather than Turkey. Locally there are two American schools, so a concentration of Americans here in West London, which means that the supermarkets have fresh cranberries and plenty of tins of pumpkin purée. Happy Thanksgiving
Ahhhh you're so lucky! I decided to make a sweet potato pie this year instead of searching for the pumpkin purée. Today I'll go to the marché au Fontainebleau and get my patates douces (sweet potatoes) ! Bon dimanche and Happy Thanksgiving to you from the French countryside!
First… magician’s assistant?! Must read that post. Second… YUM! Third… Bitchy French is Fabu!
Haha! I haven’t yet written deeply about my magical adventures but the photo in that other post linked above gives you an idea of the hilarity 😂 🪄
Hope a recipe or two inspires you
And BFF: Bitchy French Forever 🇫🇷
This post hits the nail on the head about how difficult it is to transfer Thanksgiving to France, or any other country for that matter, if you're not surrounded by other Americans.
I gave up on Thanksgiving in France very early on. As Karen points out, it's always just another Thursday in a long workweek. It also wasn't a tradition I felt was much fun to pass on to our daughters -- they were getting in enough long meals as it was! I barely even think about it anymore.
I can imagine it would be hard to pass it on to your kids if no one else was into it. I wonder if I’ll stop thinking about it too over time…sigh
You might...then again, if you have a lot of American friends, there are ways to make it happen, although doing it on the weekend might be better.
Ah, Thanksgiving. Those are some lovely recipes you recommend, and fine photos as well ! Our first Thanksgiving away from the US was in 2009. We moved September 1st began work October 1st and were exhausted and forgot about it completely. That is, until we were walking down Exchequer Street in Dublin and something reminded us. We ducked into a restaurant and called it Thanksgiving dinner.
Since then they've mostly been unconventional and not once with a turkey--though you've chosen well with the chapon. This year is still undecided, but we won't be joining the Democrats Abroad Riviera gathering; I fear that "thanksgiving" (with a lowercase "t") might not be the right word to describe the holiday sentiments.
Wow! That’s an adventure. Do you even miss it anymore? I was wondering if my little « holiday homesickness » will fade out. Happy holidays to you!!
Oh, and Happy Holiday to you as well !
In the US, Thanksgiving is the MAJOR holiday, I think. Christmas sees some people working through the 24th, then back to work on the 26th, depending on whether it falls on a holiday. But with Thanksgiving, many people look forward to four days off, which justifies travel to be with distant family members, etc. (By the way, did you see the story I issued about "The Year We Had Two Thanksgiving Days"? I'll restack it next week.)
In Dublin and here in Nice, Christmas is the major holiday; in Ireland with St Stephen's Day celebrated after, and many people have the week after Christmas through New Years Day off. I think over time we've adapted and now Thanksgiving is just not what it used to be, even if it's not wholly forgotten.
I will look out for your Two Thanksgiving post!! I suppose I will also eventually just prioritize the French holidays since that’s my reality now. But you’re right—for me Thanksgiving was always bigger than Christmas.
This post is fantastic! Gorgeous photos and table scapes! It's funny, I was actually thinking about our 2020 Thanksgiving and thinking that, in some ways, that was one of my very favorite Thanksgivings. Maybe because it represented our shared ability to survive and thrive and make beyond the best of what could have been a sad holiday. Plus, your twist on the green bean casserole is the BEST and an instant classic!
Ah yes, the tiny but mightiest of Thanksgivings in Brooklyn, en pleine pandémie (in the middle of the pandemic)! Also, I can't take credit for that legendary green bean casserole with the dashi powder. It is sooo good, I even linked to the chef who created it within this very post.
I was and am so thankful for you always!!! xoxo