Thanksgiving dinner shopping

So, I am lame.  I have never had to cook a Thanksgiving dinner all by myself.  As an unmarried woman, I had always gone to an Aunt's house on my Mom's side of the family.  As a married woman, I have always gone to my husband's family's house. (We negotiated the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday split before we said our vows)  I've only ONCE in my lifetime actually cooked a turkey on my own.

Now, I'm not so totally lame that I don't cook and bring something to add to the dinner each year, so wipe that ugly look off your face if you are the house that hosts YOUR family every year.  Let me also add that David and I are usually the first ones to start the clean up AFTER the feast AND we/he always make the Turkey salad for the "snack" later in the night. There, I feel better.

This Thanksgiving will be my first without any family.  Insert sad face emoji.  Both of my younger  kids will be spending their Thanksgiving with a friend and Joseph will be eating with his Dad.  Do you hear the violins playing in your head??  Not only will I be missing the dinner and fellowship of family on Thanksgiving day, but I will also for the first time in more than 30 years I will miss the DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING SHOPPING!!

Yes, I am one of those crazy people who leave the house before 5AM to hit the sales.  I'm sure that I could share many stories that might make you laugh. I am also sure that my sisters-in law and mother-in-law would be happy to share stories that I'd rather not be heard.

Back to Thanksgiving dinner shopping.  As I've said, I've never been responsible for making the meal before.  I have made many of the side dishes and even the pies to take, just not the whole shebang.  I at least knew enough to order a turkey from my market butcher.  You can't just walk into the grocery store here and pick up a frozen turkey, nor can you pull out a FROZEN turkey the day of Thanksgiving and produce a meal.

So, I have a turkey coming next Wednesday.  That is a story all by itself.  I had to learn the french words that would allow me to do that.  A turkey is "dinde"….it sounds more like "dahnd" when you pronounce it.  Anyway, I got my message across, she took out her calendar and wrote my name down….on the 29th.  Not until I got home to put it on the calendar did I notice the problem.  The 29th is FRIDAY.  So, I had to go back the next Wednesday and again "learn the french words" to let her know that was the wrong date.  (The French don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so they have no idea)

Now, I have NO IDEA how much my turkey is going to weigh.  She simply asked me how many people I was serving and hopefully, she heard "6" and not "16" or "60".  Yes, I said "6".  You see, we will be overjoyed to be hosting Sarah's sorority sister MARY and a friend for dinner.  Mary is studying abroad in London this semester and she is going to come for a visit.  YAY a THETA in da house.

Sarah and Mary outside the Theta house in Bloomington

I have been shopping almost daily for the Thanksgiving "fixins".  Unfortunately, my "fixins" and French "fixins" are not compatible.  I have chosen several recipes to make and then go to the store and can't find the ingredients.  Here are just a few that have been discarded:  Broccoli-Wild Rice casserole (no wild rice in France), Broccoli-Cauliflower casserole (no velveeta OR French's fried onions in France),  Creamed-Corn souflee (no creamed corn in France) and so on. I did have the foresight to bring my own pumpkin….they don't have canned pumpkin here either!!  So, what is a girl to do?

The other difficulty is my oven.  It's more like my TOASTER OVEN back in Indy.  The inside dimensions are only 17" wide by 10" high.  Yes folks, a 13x9" pan barely fits on the shelf.  Like I mentioned earlier, I hope that my butcher heard 6 people.  If my turkey doesn't fit into my oven, you will hear a scream from across the pond for sure.

So, I will bake my turkey in my tiny little oven and then somehow make the side dishes that the French grocery stores will accommodate.  I am happy to report that although I was unable to locate canned yams, I found the real patates douces (imported from Israel).  Just as an aside, potatoes in french are called "pommes de terre" or "earth apples", so why are "sweet potatoes" not called "pommes de terre douces"??

I have been on a quest since my arrival to find "brown sugar".  Cannot make sweet potatoes, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie or caramel apple sweet rolls without it.  This is my "assortment" so far…..

None are as good as "domino", but I think that the two on the left will suffice.  The other 3 (plus the ones that I actually threw away) I use for my tea.

That's all for today folks.  Gotta get in the car and go pick up the hubby.  Just finished making a new dish….Spicy Whiskey BBQ sliders (thank you Ree Drumond aka Pioneer Woman), I'm not sure that I will make it to the car without eating one!!

Have a blessed day and be sure that you let your family know that you are THANKFUL to have them.