Back home blog: November 2008

So, tomorrow is the big ol' Day of Turkey in the U.S. and of course, in France they don't celebrate that holiday, so I almost had forgotten it was so soon! Usually, I would be in Sarasota, Florida with my family and helping my mom in the kitchen prepare for the eating festivities. In years past, she would have to beg me to help with anything ("please help me peel the potatoes at least!?"). But then I wasn't interested in cooking and baking, but would usually try to escape the craziness in the kitchen and go out for Margaritas with my dad on our boat. But, now I have morphed into a tyranical little chef once I enter into a kitchen. (actually, this only occurs when I am with my mother in a kitchen.) I begin commanding my poor mom around, like it was me that was putting out these fantastic Thanksgiving dinners for the last 27 years. I, for some bizarre reason, think I have been reincarnated as Julia Child and need to give these crazy people around me some proper cooking lessons. But my mom is one maja' good chefette and she does not need me to help her cook any meal ever; especially her amazing Turkey Day one.

I remember how much I always adored her Crispy Green Beans, as I lovingly called them. I thought from the time I was little that my mom had invented the most amazing Thanksgiving side dish. To me, those Crispy Beans were perfection and I imagined it must have taken her at least 2 days of planning and preparing to make them. Well, as my mom was cooking one Thanksgiving I was in the other room watching tv. And on comes this commercial for Frenchy's Fried Onions (the ones in a can...) and here's what goes on in this commercial:

A family is having people over for a Thanksgiving dinner. The doorbell rings, and the hostess answers the door to a guest holding a baking dish full of steaming hot Crispy Green Beans!!

Seconds later, there is another knock at the door and another and another and ALL the guests are arriving with the same damn thing! My mom's Crispy Beans!

"Mom!! "I yell, as I run into the kitchen..."Turn on channel 8; they stole your recipe! The secret is out and everyone is making your Crispy Beans!" And she's like, "Well, yeah, Heather, the recipe is on the back of the Campbells's Cream of Mushroom soup can. "

I was crushed.

Another change to our Thanksgiving menu came one year when my mom was short on time. Normally, her stuffing is all homemade. No mixes or ingredients from a can. For her it was, buy the bread, tear it up into little pieces, chop up all your apples, walnuts, celery, chuck in some raisins, and add whatever other goodness she put in there. Yeah, as I kid I liked it. I liked all the food on the Thanksgiving table, with the exception of the Sweet Potato dish. (My grandma Esther was obsessed with these sweet potatoes and every year she would be in utter disbelief as to how a child could not like any potatoes that "taste like candy!".) Ok, back to the stuffing... So, the stuffing one year was replaced in top-secret by my mother, who thought no one would notice the change from her original recipe to a box of Turkey flavored Stove Top Stuffing.

As, everyone piles up their plates and begins eating, the conversation turns to the fact that somethings different about the stuffing this year. Yes, we all agreed; yes, something was very strange and different about it. My mom began squirming around in her chair looking nervous, hers eyes darting around to all her guest's faces. "Did they see the Stove Top box in the trash can outside?", she thought to herself. This stuffing, we decided, was strange and different in an amazing, please-never-go-back-to-your-old-stuffing-recipe-again kind of way. And as the truth came out of her mouth, we were all surprised and shocked (in a good way) that something from a stupid box could be so delicious and yet so time efficient. So, Stove Top Stuffing is now a part of our family's Thanksgiving tradition. Hey, why take the hard and time consuming route when we all enjoy the cheap, preserative-filled stuff much better?

Yes, I will miss Thanksgiving this year, but I have so many great memories to think back on, it will be ok. I have the greatest memories of my Grandma and Grandpa Plass there, along with my aunts & uncle and brother and my dad (always at the head of the table and always dribbling gravey on his shirt). Normally, it was this same group every year, and now the years have gone by, and the some of those beloved faces aren't with us anymore. But what I am Thankful for this year, is that we did have so may precious years together as a family. Laughing around the table, listening to each other tell the same stories over and over again, but no one really getting sick of hearing them. Cuddling with my dad and watching a football game after dinner. Playing with Sugarbear & Snowball, our 2 dogs growing up, on the carpet in front of the fireplace. And having exciting thoughts about how close Christmas was!

I am Thankful this year for so many reasons. My life has really changed so much in the last year and a half. I met the love of my life and got married. I am so incredibly thankful for this man, who is the one who completes me and makes me so very happy. I could have never dreamed of a more perfect person for me to spend my life with. So, I thank God for sending Yann to me.

I am Thankful for the chance to live in a foreign country. There have been so many good things about living here, but I cannot lie; there are some very annoying parts too. Please, don't think my life here in Marseille is a perfect, 'living in France' fairytale. There are lots of things that I am NOT thankful about this city I live in, but since it's a day of giving thanks I will really try to see all the beauty that is in this crazy, massive, one-of-a-kind city.

I am thankful that the people of our country saw the need for Change in America! I am so excited for this new year and this new beginning. I am thankful that the United States has made history and elected our first black president. I am thankful for Barack Obama and I really believe in him and that he will lead our country in a positive direction. I am thankful for being American and now that I have lived in another country, I can say I am even more thankful for how our country works and for the rights that its' citizens have.

Finally, I am so so so so so thankful for my dear family and friends. I don't know what to even say about it, other than you all have been such a rock and a support for me always. I think I must have been blessed with the best friends and family a person could ever have. When I'm feeling bad, instead of only having one or two people to call and talk to, I have many wonderful, loving people in my life I can call on. My hope is that everyone is blessed with such a strong, and true group of people around them, a family. I am thankful most for a gracious God, who has given me so much strength through the tough times and one that is always with me and with those that call on Him.

So, whew! I feel like I just gave my acceptance speech at the Oscars! Ha! I know, I'm getting all soft and touchy-feely in my late 20's! I kid, I kid...but I think it's important for me to share that with all you guys! And in conclusion...Happy Cooking, Happy Eating, and Happy Thanksgiving from France!