happy turkey day!

we're in roma! and this is our thanksgiving feast...

lots of prep....potatoes, chicken (no turkey in italy!), and squash soup...and that's squash that you can't find in the U.S. (turned out to be the best squash ever and one of my favorite dishes!)

yummers

lots of spices and such

that's keith taste testing the mashed potatoes

did we get a caterer? no.....those are just my fancy aluminum dishes that came in handy.

keith bought flowers



the best squash soup, hands down. I don't mean to toot my own horn but this could have been at a fancy restaurant and I would have been dumbfounded and left with a gimpy-hand!
the squash looked like a pumpkin at the market and after roasting in the oven (with apple) it shredded like butternut squash. I added the squash and apple mash to a pan with butter, sauteed leeks and added homemade chicken/porcini mushroom stock and then some nutmeg, salt, pepper... whipped with my fancy immersion blender (see previous post) and added a splash of milk. presto!

drumsticks stewed/sauteed in wine, rosemary, olive oil, olives...

squash puree for keith and chicken off the bone

homemade stuffing - good ol' mom's recipee with the best crust top!

yams! let me tell you that yams are very hard to find in italy. I think they import them from america because the sign at the market said "america yammys"....and two giant yams cost just under $8!! but oh, so worth it. oh, yeah....and no brown sugar in italy...or maple syrup or molasses. so, I still roasted them in oil and then once cool, cut them up and roasted with a bit of chicken stock, orange juice and sprinkled with a litle sugar.

keith's favorite....mashed potatoes!...with no cheese! ahahahhahah



mmmm

keith's first finished plate!

keith doing the dishes...never have to ask...what a gentleman!

keith passing out after dinner

and a brief sidenote: we bought this fun fabric at a strange fabric store in rome because our sofa smelled a little funky. now we love it and want to ship the fabric home afterwards!

hope you have a great thanksgiving - and *thanks* for reading!