Dia de Acción de Gracias

Thanksgiving, for the last few years, has been spent with surrogate families.  In Spokane, it was my MFA classmates, everyone convening potluck-style in someone's apartment with their favorite recipes.  The host made the turkey.  But here in Buenos Aires, Jess and I arrived from the states mid-October, and we were sure we would end up spending the holiday in a restaurant, or cooking our own small, extravagant meal.  On the first night in the CasaBB, though, we mentioned the upcoming holiday, since 3/5 of us at the time were American, and Paola exclaimed that she wanted to host.  She would cook the chickens, she said.  Everyone else would pitch in one way or another.  We'd make it festive.  As much as we could without turkey or pumpkin, in 85-degree weather.

The food was amazing.  Paola roasted 2 whole chickens, one "oriental" with soy sauce basting and one "normal" with secret Peruvian deliciousness.  Jess made apple stuffing from scratch, corn from the cob, chicken gravy, and helped me put together the last of my apple empanadas (my Argentine version of the apple pie).  Guy made some bean dish and skin-on, scallion mashed potatoes.  Paola finished up with Arabian rice.  And we each bought a bottle.  We convened in the asada house on the roof, where there's a big table in front of the grill we've yet to use.  With dessert (the empanadas), we also tried a Dulce de Leche liqueur over ice.  I had been skeptical when I bought it, but out of all the options (Strawberry, Chocolate Coffee, Egg), it was the most Argentine.  Does Godiva make a caramel cream liqueur?  If so, this would taste like that.  

Earlier in the day I had gotten nostalgic for pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce, for my family and friends enjoying autumn up north.  But with this food, with these people, in this beautiful weather, who wouldn't be thankful?  Even Luna, who received a Thanksgiving feast of plain yogurt and paté, was pleased.