Dia de Gracias... ¡FINALMENTE!

Thanksgiving day. Eight Americans. Four curious non-Americans. Two ovens. ¡Vamos a empezar!

Looking back, several humorous things happened in the process of making our dinner here in Spain. Just to give a few examples:

1. The cashier heading our supermarket queue happened to be an expat. What are the chances of that? They gave tips on how to use cherries in place of cranberries for cranberry sauce. Funny. Completely random.

2. Need marshmallows for sweet potato topping? The only ones available were the British hot pink Haribo. Funny. Completely random.
...and finally...

3. If you find sage in the mountains of southern Spain, don't pick some and use it in stuffing. It might be a poisonous. Oh, wait. It is poisonous. Funny. Completely random.

I keep telling myself that I should not feel stupid, ridiculous, or sad, but that my "stuffing story" is funny. Please read on:

Here, in Spain, I am friends with another distance runner . We try to go for one run together a week. Thanksgiving morning, (in our last attempts to boost our metabolism pre-feast), we go for a run. I passed a sage bush. "Ooooo!", I thought, "I have yet to make the stuffing and I find sage? Awesome. Who doesn't love stuffing with fresh herbs"? I picked a section off, stuffed it in my pocket, and didn't think twice. Three hours later, as I am putting the finished product in the oven, I can no longer ignore the fact that my hands are (and have been) itchy. The only thing out of the ordinary I handled was the sage.

After much research, we found that the specific type of sage I picked is the only non-edible species and it is not suggested for consumption. Even the smallest amount can be toxic if ingested. It also may cause skin irritation... This was why my hands were itchy.

Irony be what it is, I did NOT try the stuffing while I was cooking. It smelled good. It looked good. I did not take a single nibble. Can you imagine if I did? My biggest sadness is that I roasted chestnuts only to throw them out in a batch of poisonous stuffing. (Insert heavy sigh here.)I quickly re-bought the ingredients and made a quick 30 minute fix. Sadly, the final batch was without chestnuts, but turned out just fine.

Other than this, Thanksgiving was a smashing success. We all agreed that it was the best Thanksgiving menu EVER thanks to our NOT having the usual standbys. Every single item made from scratch and was too delicious for words. The other consensus was that it made us all wish we cooked double the amount, because if we did, we would all have more of that magic word: leftovers. Thanksgiving leftovers is just as big of a deal as the dinner itself! Well, happy holidays everyone. Hope it was special as well as ¡delicioso!

Dia de Gracias

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Hands down. Family, friends, food...what else do you need in life? Yes, I now live in Spain. Is that going to stop me from having Thanksgiving dinner? CLARO QUE NO! (Of course not!)

The American students at my Academy are conveniently all friends. We all decided that we will be having a Thanksgiving and divided up dishes to make. I will blog the actual event later, but the process has actually been quite an experience. The majority of flats here for students come without ovens. Why? We have no idea, so this was quite a hurdle. Only two of the twelve attendees have ovens, and yes, they have been already hard at work.

The other thing that makes this experience interesting is the obvious: Ingredients. What do we need first and foremost? That's right: a turkey. Can we find one? Everyone already was mentally prepared to just have a ham at the table. How Spanish! We got confirmation via Facebook (ah, technology...) that as of almost midnight, we were the proud owners of not one, but three turkeys. Success! Apparently big turkeys are an American thing. In Spain, if you can actually find one, they are just ...well...smaller.

The good news is that Spain loves their squashes (at least here in Southern Spain) and I easily found a pumpkin. (Sidenote: The pumpkins here in Spain are wildly different from America. They are smaller, more "squash"-like, and their skin is super thin. Nothing like the tough, thick skins we were used to. I could not wait to taste it.) Now for the part I hate: crust. Ask anyone and they will tell you Charlie is the master at doughs. It must be the Italian in him. I, on the other hand, am not gifted in the baking department. The entire time I was working with dough I wanted to pull my hair out. All I could think about is Charlie and Jenny, two masters at the art of baking. It came to show its face quite quickly that, even more so than ingredients, the biggest difference between a Thanksgiving in America, and a Thanksgiving in Europe, is making everything from scratch. No Pillsbury. No Caro. No Libbys. Nothing. As I pulled the pie out of the oven, my friend Sylvia and I gazed at it in contemplation and awe. The entire pie before us was built 100% from the ground up. You don't realize how many ingredients you rely on (like canned pumpkin, pre-made crust, or Cool-Whip) until you have absolutely none of them. Even the butter was different: It came from Ireland because the Spanish only use oils. It made me feel kind of sad, actually. This is the way Thanksgiving should be; foods, fresh and natural, made totally from scratch. Ironic that I had to move across the world to truly appreciate the real meanings of Thanksgiving. Sylvia and I did steal a nibble of pie that had stuck itself to the counter. Amazing. Delicious in every way possible. Fresh roasted pumpkin, home-made dough, Moroccan spices... I don't think I have ever tasted anything like it.

There is an open-air market on Tuesdays in my pueblo. I have written about this in previous posts, but this visit was extra special. My favorite vendor gifted me with free herbs just because I am a regular. How fantastic when I needed some for stuffing! He also gave me a deal on castañas, or chestnuts, and laughed when I tried to walk away with the entire crate. Come on ...It is not fall without chestnuts. I also got a Spanish lesson in ordering produce. For the first time, I actually needed a "bunch" of carrots. So, I asked for a "rama" de zanahorias. I asked if "rama" was the correct word (it is usually used for flowers) and they said "yes". It is one of three possible words and they taught me how else I could ask for carrots in the future. Que Guay! I adore these funky Spanish terms. And I love that they always are willing to help me out with the language. I guess that is all they can do when they speak no english. I sadly forgot already what the other terms were, but I am glad the word in my head was correct. When I ask for my next "rama", I will always remember my first Spanish Thanksgiving.

So tomorrow is the big day. I am very much looking forward to hearing how someone made "Green Bean Casserole" without a can of Campbell's soup. And I am also curious on where people actually found turkeys. Oh the stories ...just another culinary adventure in Spain!

Pisto Manchego

OK, so a few things are on my mind:

1. I cook ALL the time. Why don't I blog more?
2. I'm a student again. I need breaks. Why don't I blog more?
3. I moved to Spain. Why don't I blog more?

The theme here is? I need to blog more. Charlie is taking a blogging hiatus in the States. That is totally fine. I, on the other hand, can't let go so easily. I have noticed the trend (even back in NYC) was that we blog an average of once a month. I am going to try to up that number. Not by much though, I AM studying after all. Stream of consciousness over; Blog starts now:

Madrid. Loved it. I was on the hunt for pisto manchego because it is a tapa (that is truly vegetarian) I haven't found in southern Spain yet. (Well, that's a lie. I DID find it [in Málaga]. I went crazy when I saw the chalkboard, but made a mental note of where the place was. I was not yet hungry. Of course, I lost that mental note when my stomach started grumbling. My sense of direction is, and always will be, horrible. I always kick myself for not writing addresses down. And I haven't found that place since! It's my own darn fault.)

ANYWAY, I digress. On our last day in Madrid I actually found pisto, and in all places, a take-out deli type joint. Random. So I bought it, and sat at the base of a fountain savouring it. It was tasty, and tasted exactly like I assumed it would taste: Light. Summery. Not too spiced. Just "fresh" for lack of a better word. The recipe in my cook book calls for nothing more than garlic, olive oil, and salt. What more do you really need? It was lovely.

At the market today I bought a courgette and said "YES, today IS THE DAY I will make pisto manchego". I did. And it turned out great. I did alter it A LOT so calling this pisto manchego is really stretching it, but it is "in the spirit of" the original. Perhaps I will find that tapas restaurant again and see how South differs from North, but until then, my kitchen will have to suffice. I had Julia Child on the mind, so I cooked with Brandy tonight. So glad I did. Please read on:

Items:
1 large courgette
3 large red bell peppers
1 big handful of black olives
1 big handful of garbanzos
3 shots of your favourite Brandy
Pinch of Garlic Powder
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pimentón or smoked paprika
Your favorite olive oil

Method:
Julienne the vegetables (There will be quite an amount). Heat a large skillet with olive oil. Add the vegetables in batches (I had 3 batches) with a mixture of all the other ingredients, spices included. When the water in the vegetables evaporates, pour in a shot of brandy with each batch. Let the alcohol simmer away. The sugar from the brandy will caramelize the vegetables. LET THEM SIT IN THE PAN, try not to touch them. The caramelized parts of these vegetables are the parts you and your friends will fight over, trust me. After all the batches are finished, give a final extra sprinkle of salt. Enjoy at any temperature though the traditional way of eating this tapa is at room temperature.

Note: REAL AUTHENTIC pisto has aubergine and onions in it as well. It also does not use olives or garbanzos. As a vegetarian (and as the leftovers are my lunch for the next few days) I need the protein. Garbanzos are a mediterranean protein, so it works well. I hope you enjoy it. ¡Buen Provecho!