Bechamel in Marseille

Now, if one assumes this will be a pity post…. it’s not.

Well, slightly.

November 23, 2005: I was in Aix-en-provence, cooking a turkey leg, with stuffing on the side, a salad, and drinking ridiculous amounts of a cheap wine I could afford (which probably beats anything I buy in the states). The only one who was there with me was my french landlady, who just watched TV, looking concerned at the weird smells emitting from her kitchen. I laid with Alex at night after he got off work and recieved a 2 am call from the family, all wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. I promptly burst into tears when I hung up.

Possibily the thing that makes me homesick the most are the holidays. The holidays are a huge deal in our family. Through the influence of my white uncle, our entire family has a large traditional Thanksgiving Meal  every year, complete with Kimchi and other korean food, of course. My aunt would make the most succulent, Lawry’s can go to hell, prime rib with garlic cloves stuck in them and a rock salt-dijon mustard crust. My brother and I would starve ourselves Thanksgiving Day to prepare ourselves for the dinner, where I would polish off the dark meat (him white) and then a huge fatty piece of prime rib (him lean) with the giblet gravy, cranberry sauce (the real kind, not the canned shit) creamed corn, kimchi, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams with the marshmallows, and banchan. Then after, we would sigh contently and sip our Martinelli’s apple cider (in the plastic champagne glasses, of course) and prepare to demolish a pieces of pumpkin pie and Auntie’s famous chocolate turtle squares.

Over the past 3 years, I had taken to helping Auntie with the feast. She taught me how to properly truss the turkey, baste it every 30 minutes, make stuffing, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, and her famous turtle squares (although not quite as good). I would always prepare the vegetable appetizer and the shrimp cocktail. Then I would set the table, folding the napkins into birds of paradise I would always turn on The National Dog show and watch from the kitchen counter, ooing at the dogs. This was my favorite part of Thanksgiving, being able to help prepare everything and then sitting doww to the meal later.

This year, I have decided to create my own mini-thanksgiving feast this weekend. Although I won’t be cooking a 15 pound turkey, there have some lovely 4 lbs at the supermarket, perfect for the two of us.

Menu

Brined turkey
Traditonal stuffing
Giblet Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Mashed potatoes
Asparagus
Corn
Yams
Tarte de framboises (have to make it a little french)
Pumpkin pie (from scratch!)

Happy Turkey Day everyone, watch the dog show!

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