The first thing was to ask Estelle to order a turkey. (Anna always specifies a “naked and empty”
turkey since we’ve heard it’s not usual to get a turkey that’s dead but still
has all its feathers and all other body parts untouched by human hands.) Whole turkeys are not as popular in France as
they are in the US and generally are served at Christmas, so Estelle’s special
order was a key part of the preparation.
She even went in to check with the butcher the week before our feast to
make sure the turkey would make its appearance.
That done, the rest of the planning and prep began. Dominique and Roger were coming as guests so
we planned dinner for eight. Here’s the
menu: deviled eggs and California (onion) dip with chips before dinner; turkey,
mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing (a special favorite for Laurent and Paul),
corn, cranberry sauce (hard to find in any form in Lyon), and rolls and butter
for the main course; lemon meringue and pumpkin pies for dessert. Very basic and traditional. Each course would be served with the
appropriate wine choices, of course!
The catch is that dinner and all the preparation happen at
the Neveus since they have a full kitchen.
We provide all the ingredients and do all the preparation, but all chez
Neveu. This involves transporting a few
odd items – disposable pie pans, for instance – from the US. (The tart pans in France are much shallower
and just not the right shape for basic American pies.) And, since our apartment is a metro ride
followed by a bus ride away from the scene of the crime, that means planning
carefully to make sure we take everything we need when we go to the Neveus.
We arrived Saturday and Sunday mornings to make sure
everything would be ready for the feast.
Anna had prepared the “overnight mashed potatoes,” the dip, and cooked
the eggs at our apartment so she got right to work on the pies Saturday morning. Meanwhile, David and Estelle went off to retrieve
the turkey. Then David prepared the dressing
while Anna removed the remaining insides from the turkey, cleaned it, and got
it ready for the oven. Sunday morning
was spent doing various last minute things.
For instance, preparing the eggs was teamwork with David shelling them
and Anna transforming them into deviled eggs.
We actually had everything ready with a little time to spare! |
| Our every move was monitored by a certain kitty. |
At noon Roger and Dominique arrived with Champagne, and we started
in with the appetizers. It is always a
bit of a surprise that those simple dishes are such favorites here, but there
was not a morsel remaining. Then we
moved on to the dining area and the main event. It was time to get down to some serious feasting and continued conversations. David chose Dehlinger Pinot
Noir from our cellar in the US (this is always a huge hit when we serve
it in France!) and Pouilly Fuissé from our cellar in France to serve with our
meal. Both went beautifully with the dinner. Everything, with the possible exception of
cranberry sauce, was a big success. Next
came dessert. Estelle had given Anna a very
nice bottle of dessert Gewürztraminer (a special favorite of Anna’s) which went beautifully with the
pies. Then came coffee and the typical
Thanksgiving groans of amazement about having eaten so much. (With the exception of Paul, who never seems
to run out of room for food.)
 |
| Taken by Roger. L-R: Anna, Victor, Laurent, David, Estelle, Paul, Dominique |
 |
| And, taken by Anna - with Roger in the picture. |
It just doesn’t matter where it’s celebrated – there’s
something very, very special about sharing a Thanksgiving meal with good
friends and family. We are indeed
thankful for all those who shared Thanksgiving with us – especially the Neveu
family who so graciously gave us full use of their kitchen and were such
wonderful hosts.
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