Thanksmas

So first off, yes I know Thanksgiving was a while ago.  But this needs to come before Christmas posts, and we've been off travelling to Portugal, Spain, and Rome for the last two weeks--More than that in these next few days. 

Hall dinners are excellent here.  Just saying.  It started early this year when introductions were being made.  Jenny and Zoe, my two wonderful Chinese hallmates each independently offered to make dinner for the hall.  When they realized that great minds think alike and that they had both offered to make dinner, they joined forces to make the best Chinese dinner I have ever (and probably will ever) have.   Here's a few pictures of the amazing-ness.  I'm afraid the pictures do no justice to the wonders of this Chinese dinner.

The best Chinese EVER

Dessert: British sticky toffee pudding by Lauren

This of course left the Brits and the Americans to reciprocate.  Nothing is more American than Thanksgiving, but due to class schedules everyone scattered by Christmas.  This resulted in the best possible plan --combine American Thanksgiving foods with British Christmas foods to make the best ever Thankmas.  Both have meat, potatoes, veggies, dessert.   Practically the same meal anyway.




Or maybe not... Many conversations leading up to the biggest most epic dinner ever went along these lines.

Me: "So.  I just realized we might have different ideas of potatoes."
Representative of Britain: "Yah, like what?  Don't you roast them?"
Me:  "For Thanksgiving?  Nope.  Definitely mashed."
RofB: "Hmm.  They are definitely roasted at Christmas."
Me:  "Two kinds of potatoes it is, then."

Not nearly as many things crossed over as we originally thought they would.  This resulted in making two different versions of roughly similar things, which in turn resulted in about 4 meals worth of food.

The resulting bellyache and lack of appetite for two days afterward were so worth it.  Check out what we had for dinner....

Photo by Jenny

Rosie made these paper chains, its British tradition!

Specifically American  (Sam and I were in charge of procuring these)
Turkey breast --which I roasted with apples, and covered in foil to keep it from drying out
Mashed yukon gold potatoes
Biscuits  --the American kind, not British cookies
Pumpkin pie and whipped cream --neither is typically eaten here
Eggnog --Homemade, couldn't find any in the store, also rather unheard of here
Olives --The big black ones I always stuck on my finger as a kid
Corn --my family always serves this at Thanksgiving.... so it must be traditional, right?

Both British and American
Cranberry Sauce, Gravy, and Advent Calendar




Specifically British (Rosie & Jack, Lauren & Nick in charge of these)
Ham --which was done in the most fantastic way, with honey and chili flakes/paste/something spicy
Roast potatoes --these are cut into large cubes and roasted to have a tough/crunchy/amazing exterior
Brussel Sprout --You have to have one on your plate at Christmas, even if no one likes them
Peas and Carrots --Self explanatory.  Peas. And. Carrots.  Nothing too fancy. (Very good though!)
Yorkshire Pudding --not a pudding.  See previous post.  Kind of like a biscuit??
Pigs & Blankets --These are the epitome of Christmas dinner.  It simply isn't Christmas without them.  Lest you think they are sausages wrapped in dough, these are tiny little sausages wrapped in BACON.

Also we enjoyed our Christmas crackers, Har-de-harded at our awful puns included in the crackers, and wore our lovely paper crowns as if they were made of gold and sapphires.

Needless to say, much fun was had.  Are you jealous yet?  Good.  You should be.

Photo by Jenny

Thanks Garvins for the CUTE Indian & Pilgrim finger puppets