This story and entry will not compare to the New Yorker article about finding ingredients and cooking in a small village somewhere in Rome....but, like that story and the other stories of Americans re-creating what is a quintessential American holiday abroad, it has both sad, funny and happy moments. It all began with seeing a pumpkin on the side of the road for sale at the crazy fresh veggie market that I pass (and normally curse) every morning on the way to school. Nuns, large men, fancily dressed women and their cars/motorinos/trucks and other items block the road during morning and evening rush hour, at a point where, for once, Roman drivers must stick to one lane. Imagine the frustration of not being able to create multiple lanes....but, I digress. I saw that pumpkin and decided it didn't matter how ridiculously priced it was, I wanted to get it. So, after dropping the kids off, instead of fighting to get around the entrance, I parked....and others had to fight to get around me! I read the sign (to know what I would mis-pronounce and ask about inside) and saw that "zucca di halloween" were E 6.50 a kilo! The nice man who didn't speak much more Italian than I do (maybe it would have been easier in Urdu? Bangali?) weighed this overpriced pumpkin and out I walked with it....Two happy kids met the pumpkin later that day, and luckily Grandpa had already carved pumpkins with them in California a couple of days before. So, there sat the pumpkin on our front steps. I didn't dare carve it, as I was secretly investigating how to make a pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread with fresh pumpkin. To my dismay, I found out that one needs a "sweet pumpkin" not a fresh pumpkin to make both. And, I needed allspice....which, it turns out is NOT a mixture of spices! So....alas, the pumpkin became a mere reminder of the season that was passing....
Following this disappointment (yet beautiful decoration for our front porch), Richard and I discussed having two Thanksgiving meals, one with friends and one with our landlords. IN preparation, I started asking around about turkeys and cranberries.....two things I have found are hard to find. Richard and I had found that one of the "gastronomias" near our house could order a thanksgiving turkey. So, I went there to inquire about ordering it...but, somewhere during the conversation I got the feeling that what I was ordering was the full turkey, i.e. including guts and feathers and head and feet....and since my ability to negotiate the removal appropriately was almost non-existent, I thought better of this. Instead, Richard brought us our first Butterball from the FAO commissary....those additives do make a yummy bird! Next came the fresh cranberries or better yet cranberry sauce in a can! Alas, the commissary didn't seem to have that or the pumpkin pie filling...so, off I went to find the fresh cranberries. I found dried cranberries in the natural food store, and the German discount store, but no fresh cranberries. So when Granny came to visit last week, we used the few minutes of sunshine to walk around the Campo di Fuori, having coffee and croissants, and admiring the various items for sale (very expensive, but beautiful!). Upon walking out, there was a stand that had fresh ginger…another item that is difficult to find, so we decided to buy some. On the off chance that the guy had some, I asked about the cranberries, and to all of our surprise, he had some fresh ones! Happily I started planning the Thanksgiving dinner!
Needless to say, the dinner itself was a success, with friends coming over, a fabulous turkey made by Richard (an hour late as per tradition…with 5 starving kids waiting!), some fairly good stuffing, potatoes, broccoli, carrots and salad….unfortunately, I tried to make dinner rolls (yuck) and was inspired by Alton on the cooking channel’s thanksgiving dessert show. My “Perfect Pear Cranberry Pie” wasn’t even close to perfect….thankfully, our friends had brought a Swiss chocolate cake to save the dessert, and the kids and I had made “kid chocolate turkey truffles”….the evening ended with one scorched pan, 5 bottles of empty wine, kids fighting, and a rousing rendition of John Denver’s Country Roads, sung in full by our Swiss friend and American friend who has been out of the country for most of his life (though was raised in Sacramento!). While I sit here writing, the kids are calmly enjoying the Sunday after, and Richard is on a plane to Cancun! I am considering my next meal….turkey will be involved!
