I openly admit that I do not find American culture particularly appealing or interesting; to me, the US is a young country devoid of meaningful traditions, a "melting pot" of pseudo-cultures where nothing really takes root but the latest (and quickly supplanted) fads; it is the country of intellectual "heavyweights" such as Oprah Winfrey, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Choprah, it has given the world some of its greatest evils (Dubya and the atomic bomb, just to name a couple) and its self-professed mission of "policeman of the world" spits in the face of honest policemen everywhere. I could go on with the ranting (don't even get me started on raw milk cheese or cattle farming) - that would be neither informative nor constructive.
That said, I feel lucky to have been invited for the 2nd year in a row to celebrate a typically American holiday, Thanksgiving, at the house of some dear Sino-Korean friends; some members of that family spent a number of years in the US, and still respect the tradition now that they are living in Hong Kong. As last year, a giant turkey was the guest of honour at the table, and copious amounts of delicious food had been prepared by a few diligent fairies. One of the family members had been very sick this year and spent quite some time away from home getting treatment, and I was very happy to see her back and reasonably well to celebrate the holiday with us - this was, truly, something to be grateful and thankful for.
Having recently hit a bit of a bump in the road myself, albeit (thankfully) of a different and much less serious nature, I have been focusing on getting back on the bike, and could unfortunately not participate in the cooking or shopping trips to the market to prepare for this awesome meal due to prior commitments, which I very much regret. If several years of practising yoga and reading the writings of various swamis has taught me anything, it would be this: there can be no genuine happiness where there is envy or resentment. If you want to "be the change you want to see in the world", it starts with the baby-step of being grateful for what you have. I think that day, I truly grasped the meaning of Thanksgiving. Maybe going forward I'll cut some slack to these poor Americans and try to look beyond the appearances. Maybe, after all, there is something to be learned from them as well...
Veggie sticks, creamy Roquefort dip with walnuts
I zeroed-in on the celery sticks - celery & blue cheese is one of my favourite things!! My faithful tastebuds identified the Roquefort immediately - easy for me as it's my favourite cheese. This appetizer platter really had my name on it!! :-)
Roasted bell pepper dip with crème fraîche
Creamy and bursting with flavour - delicious!
To ensure optimum moistness, the Resident Surgeon re-injected the cooking juices into the turkey. Aouch...
The almighty turkey, waiting to be devoured...
Table-side carving
The cooking juices of the sweet potatoes, reduced to a glaze
Baked purple & orange sweet potatoes, glazed in their own reduced cooking juice
Baked baby vine tomatoes with garlic, thyme and olive oil, served with fresh basil
Braised Brussels sprouts with thyme & shallots
Beetroot salad with feta, hazelnuts and Italian parsley
Mashed potatoes & onion confit (15 onions in that bowl, patiently reduced to a jam though numerous hours of careful cooking...)
Kalbi chim (Korean braised short ribs)
Very tasty and tender meat with plenty of collagen. Very very yummy. I regretted not to have room for a second piece...
Pumpkin pie - I really liked the spice mix and the discreet sweetness. Good crust too - overall a very good pie.
Pecan pie
This pie was totally awesome. Roasted pecans, butter, brown sugar, whisky and home-made crust. Here again, no room for seconds. Best pecan pie I have ever had - period.
Fresh figs (stuffed with Serrano ham & slightly torched)
Apple pie - I did not try it as I was running out of stomach space for all these goodies, but it looked pretty good too...
My foodie buddy Peech did not only bring back macaroons from Paris, he also brought cheese!!
This is raw milk Vacherin Mont d'Or, from Fromageries Androuët (as are all the wonderful cheeses below)
Raw milk Vacherin Mont d'Or - perfectly ripe
Cabri Ariégeois, which is like a goat's milk version of vacherin
30-month old Comté. Aaaah, the sweet nuttiness and the salt cristals!!
Raw milk Epoisses from Gaugry - the last cheesemaker in France to make Epoisses with raw milk I am told. So sad :-(
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