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Post by casimira on Nov 21, 2018 17:31:12 GMT
Tomorrow 11/22 is Thanksgiving in the US.
T. started his seafood gumbo yesterday. I am baking a pie from a recipe that was featured in a special supplement in the Sunday NYT a couple of weeks ago. There were 5 or 6 pies featured and I decided on going with the Cranberry Herringbone (the crust being herringbone shaped.
There were a couple of others that were featured I pondered on making. One in particular was a Two-Tone Ginger Custard but I think the cranberry one is a safer bet for a first time baking.
(In a break from tradition I am going to the Fairgrounds Racetrack with a separate group of friends for opening day. Everyone gets real dressed up and I found the perfect dress and a hat that Bixa bestowed upon me many, many years ago. It's really a one of a kind black wool felt vintage number ('40's I think) in perfect condition that I rarely get to wear.)
I will join the old crowd later on in the afternoon and hope there's still some of T's gumbo left. (in fact, I am making sure he puts some aside for me).
A very Happy Thanksgiving to all!!
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Post by lagatta on Nov 21, 2018 18:04:21 GMT
That sounds like a splendid time!
I don't think even the closest neighbours of the US (North and South, and nearby islands) "get" that particular holiday, unlike religious ones, days of national independence, the end of wars etc or holidays deeply linked to the seasons. Fine if people enjoy it though.
I've never had truly authentic gumbo, unfortunately.
Enjoy your holiday!
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 21, 2018 19:22:36 GMT
The Americans here in Zambia are all scrambling round and panicking because this year there are no turkeys to be had anywhere.
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Post by bjd on Nov 21, 2018 19:33:53 GMT
Other than American expats, nobody here knows anything about Thanksgiving. However, there are Black Friday sales being advertised all week.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 21, 2018 19:43:56 GMT
Yes, even I started looking at some of the offers.
But to go back to the idea of Thanksgiving, I very much like the idea of a holiday with no strong religious roots that wants to bring families together for an exceptional meal. There should be more moments like that. Although France is exceptionally secular and several formerly religious dates are now used as an excuse for family feasts (Easter, Pentecost, Christmas...), it would be nice to have a date with no religious attachment so that people of other religions would not feel a bit odd celebrating something that has nothing to do with them. Most assimilated Maghrebi and Jewish families are totally fine with celebrating Christmas, if only because the kids want the same visit by Santa Claus that most of the other kids are getting, but it would be better if there was a holiday that everybody could share without anybody being left out.
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Post by whatagain on Nov 21, 2018 20:10:04 GMT
Black friday is the only thing I understood from Danish radiostations going back to ariport - with the word 'Rabat' - obvisouly meaning rebate. I heard all about Black Friday going to the airport in Belgium too - it is only the second year I realize we talk about it.
But as far as thanksgiving goes, for me any opportunity to gather with friends anc family and have a party must be seized. So : all good for me.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 21, 2018 21:18:02 GMT
A very Happy Thanksgiving to all!! And to you, Casimira! Enjoy opening day. I don't think even the closest neighbours of the US (North and South, and nearby islands) "get" that particular holiday How do you figure that, LaGatta, since Canada has its own Thanksgiving, albeit earlier in the Fall. The Mexicans know what it is & think it's nice because the Spanish name for the day -- Día de dar gracias -- says it all & they totally get the point of family feasting. The Americans here in Zambia are all scrambling round and panicking because this year there are no turkeys to be had anywhere. How they must be suffering! I can't get excited about Thanksgiving here, since to me the traditional foods of that day are really enhanced by the family setting, which of course I won't have here. A very few restaurants offer the classic T'day meal and the biggest participants seem to be the snow birds who so recently left Canada or the US. there are Black Friday sales being advertised all week. I never got that name, which seems so negative. Wasn't Black Friday the day the stock market crashed in 1929? I very much like the idea of a holiday with no strong religious roots that wants to bring families together for an exceptional meal. There should be more moments like that. Amen! I heard all about Black Friday going to the airport in Belgium too It's everywhere!
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 21, 2018 21:27:16 GMT
That sounds like a splendid time! I don't think even the closest neighbours of the US (North and South, and nearby islands) "get" that particular holiday, unlike religious ones, days of national independence, the end of wars etc or holidays deeply linked to the seasons. Fine if people enjoy it though. I've never had truly authentic gumbo, unfortunately. Enjoy your holiday! When I were a lad and the song Jambalaya came on I used to wonder what crowfish pie was and who Billy Gumbo was.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 21, 2018 23:25:34 GMT
The original tune from which Jambalaya was taken ~
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Post by lagatta on Nov 21, 2018 23:27:49 GMT
Thanksgiving even in English-speaking Canada is far more low-key than in the US. And in Québec it is basically a long weekend. However, all is not lost, as any long weekend will mean cooking and inviting friends and family over around here.
Black Friday has been renamed Vendredi Fou here. Indeed Vendredi noir evokes economic crashes, terrorist attacks and other nasty things. I confess that I'm actually going shopping at a chain here (not a luxury chain, a chain for work, outdoor and casual clothing) has a very plain winter coat I want at over 50% off. I hate shopping for that kind of joyless thing (hope the colours I've set aside are actually attractive - both are dark colours but I'm sick of always having a black winter coat) but I hate being cold more. And it is fecking cold now.
Last winter I went through a dry period before the year's end holidays and couldn't afford the coats I wanted or find a warm and attractive one in charity shops or church bazaars, and by the time I got a large payment from a client, there was nothing decent left and little between XS and 3X.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 21, 2018 23:32:21 GMT
Fascinating, that song, as it is a real Louisana French song! Some of those dialect forms are found in (old-fashioned rural) Québec and especially Acadian French up here.
Zachary Richard sings of "le Grand Texas" in another kind of song, more of a ballad, an "on the road" song.
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