Thanksgiving 2019 has come and gone with all the familiar anxiety and excitement like previous years, but of course, this year WAS very different. I tried my best to create the same experiences with the same foods that we have been making every Thanksgiving and devouring as a family for the last 15 years. Here's the usual menu:
→ Turkey
→ Stovetop Stuffing (not Dressing 😉)
→ Candied Yams with Marshmallows
→ Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
→ Green Bean Casserole
→ Cranberry Sauce
→ Orange Heavenly Hash (My FAV! 😍)
→ Dinner Rolls
→ Mini Pumpkin Pies
Before Thanksgiving, the family and I made a quick trip to the 🇺🇸 USA 🇺🇸 to apply for our Visa D for a long-term stay in Bulgaria. While we were stateside, we stocked up on all of our favorites that we cannot find in Sofia. Cheez-Its were at the top of Matt's list. We came back with eight family-sized boxes. Eight! If only Kellogg's knew how much Matt enjoys his Cheez-Its. He actually brought an empty suitcase just to stock up. Christopher opted for a variety of candies to give his friends at school. Nerds Rope, Sour Patch Kids, Three Musketeers, Reese's, and more. He also picked up some bags of Taki's (his favorite chip - very spicy) to share and probably show off a bit to his friends. I was thinking ahead and chose to stock up on some necessary ingredients for a memorable Thanksgiving dinner - Orange Jello, Marshmallows, & Stovetop! Remember, Sofia doesn't have a lot of the processed foods that America offers. I had a quick realization that I was actually going to have to cook from scratch this year.
I used to think I cooked from scratch in Arizona often making dinners at home with fresh vegetables and meats. But come to think of it, I hadn't cooked a turkey in ages! Honeybaked Ham always had the yummiest turkeys that only required reheating. Campbell's gave me the recipe for a killer Green Bean Casserole that I have been cooking for as long as I can remember making Thanksgiving dinner. And what about those buttery, flaky, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls?!?! A must for our family dining experience! I don't have any of those things here in Bulgaria; however, it's incredible what you can do with a little bit of courage and Pinterest.
After searching three stores (btw, no car here), I found some frozen turkeys at the Фантастико (Fantastico). Two, to be precise. American markets are drowning in turkeys this time of year, but Thanksgiving is not a Bulgarian holiday. Wait....Thanksgiving is NOT a Bulgarian holiday...🤔. Will Matt still have to go to work? Will Christopher still have school? The answer: Yes. Thanksgiving here is just Thursday. A normal, 50-degrees Fahrenheit, sunny Thursday. After picking up my frozen turkey on Wednesday, Matt and I decided to delay our "giving of thanks" to Saturday, so we could really enjoy the day together. Kudos to my mom for the idea after telling her that I was now googling in panic how to defrost a turkey in less than 24 hours. Best idea ever!
Now that I have my turkey thawing in my ridiculously tiny fridge, I have to think about how I am going to make my Green Bean Casserole. Here's the good news, kids! Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup CAN be made at home and takes max 5 minutes to throw together. The flavors from the vegetable broth and mushrooms were just the kick my green beans needed. Check out my yummy GIF to get that holiday cooking mojo going! I did bring home French's Fried Onions because I just knew Sofia had not been introduced to this fried greatness yet. Did I mention the local market has a new American foods section? It consists of onion rings, french fries, chicken nuggets, hamburger patties - all in the frozen foods. LOL! Good 'ole American food, huh? 😆
My last big challenge was finding those crescent rolls. People have always told me that I'm a good baker, but they don't know one very BIG secret I've been keeping. I've never used yeast. Ever. So, I've never made homemade dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls or anything that requires the activation of yeast. I don't know why.🤷🏻♀️ Sometimes, I place certain challenges on a pedestal as if they are untouchable, and I avoid them altogether. Baking with yeast has been one of those challenges, BUT I did it! ❤️Pinterest had some great ideas, and I borrowed a recipe for a quick 30-minute roll. Here's the funny though: I needed to find a warm place to let my dough rise for 10 minutes, but my oven was cooking the turkey (and it was too hot). So I covered my casserole dish of dough with a kitchen towel and made my way to the laundry room. After allowing the dryer to run for a couple of minutes, I put the rolls in the dryer (Dryer - Off) to allow the dough to rise. It worked brilliantly! Matt even bragged on me during dinner saying I "used every appliance in the house to put this dinner on the table!"
Overall, our Thanksgiving was different but the same. All the same foods I've made every year but with a twist. If Matt has it his way, I don't think I'll be allowed to buy a Thanksgiving turkey from Honeybaked Ham ever again. Butter-baste with garlic and thyme created the most moist, tender turkey we have ever eaten, or it could have been the 12-hour brine. We'll try it again next year and hope for the best!🤞🏻 Now onto the Christmas season! Christmas in Germany coming up next!