Turkey et Vin

My friend Shannon was teasing me the other day that she was only going to "follow" my blog when I wrote about cooking Coq au Vin - like the blogger whose life was made into the movie Julie & Julia.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, you should go, it has some pretty hilarious moments. Part of the movie is based on a woman who started a blog about cooking Julia Child's 524 recipes in 365 days. An interesting idea for sure, but not something I would ever want to duplicate.

So, I'm sorry Shannon but it's so not going to happen. For one thing - I didn't even know what Coq au Vin was until I Googled it (rooster cooked in wine, for those non-gourmets like myself), and for another - I don't have a passion for cooking. So consequently, I would never choose to cook my way through Julia Child's cookbook, or for that matter, any cookbook. Well - unless it was a cookbook dedicated solely to cupcakes! But then I'd have to blog about my exercise program... boring!

However, in an effort to gain readership (are you there Shannon?) I have decided to cook something on par (at least in my mind) with Coq au Vin - namely Thanksgiving dinner. And while the turkey may not be cooked in wine, the cook may need some to make it through!

For a lot of people cooking a Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be much of a problem. Usually one person in the family is always responsible for the turkey, year after year after year. I am not that person. Last year I ordered the whole dinner from Sunterra. That's how I roll!

So my decision to cook Thanksgiving dinner will be a challenge, and not just of my cooking prowess. First, there's no such thing as Thanksgiving in Australia. I guess when you come over on a boat as a prisoner of Mother England you don't have a lot to be thankful for! Since they don't do Thanksgiving here, it's proving difficult to find all of the ingredients that you'd associate with a turkey dinner. For one, the only turkey I've found so far looks more like a cross between spam and a turkey - a "spurkey"! Scary!!

Then, the pumpkin pie. Is it too late to get someone to send me a can of pureed pumpkin? I might be willing to risk a rubber glove search by an overeager quarantine official just to get my hands on one! Apparently the Aussies like to work their frustrations out on their pumpkins. The lady at the grocery store looked at me like I had escaped from a mental institution when I asked about pumpkin in a can. Couldn't they have spared a row for cans of pumpkin, or are three rows of jars of beet root really necessary?

With no pumpkin puree in sight it looks like I will be mashing up some fresh pumpkin myself. That got me to thinking - is apple pie associated with Thanksgiving? Who am I kidding?Pumpkin pie is Thanksgiving!! Just like kids jumping in leaves, family around the table, and my brother and cousin Mary moaning about how they need a nap after so much turkey! Guess I better just buck up and smash some pumpkins!

So, I will cook Thanksgiving dinner. Not because I want Shannon to read my blog, but because I love what it represents. Giving thanks for all the good things we have in our lives. This year, far from home and family, celebrating Thanksgiving is a chance for us to appreciate what we have together, while also emotionally linking ourselves with those back home. They will be eating turkey and pumpkin pie - and so will we!