OY! KRISTEN

Thanksgiving came in extraordinary fashion this year. This was a year of many firsts: NOT being in Atlanta, not being with family, and not sitting back and chit chatting while someone else does all the cooking. Instead, my husband and I stayed in Cambridge, celebrated this holiday with dear friends and I cooked my tail off. And you know what? We kind of loved it.

Tangent: My husband’s name is Steven – he wanted me to mention him by name… I think he was getting paranoid that I kept referring to him as “my husband” as if I were trying to protect his anonymity on purpose. We are in the age of Facebook and drones; none of us are anonymous anymore. Anywho, he answers to Steven. Or Stevie. Or Shmoopsy-poo. Just kidding. He won’t let me call him weird names. It’s a real bummer.

Well I digress. I started Thanksgiving Day off right, with a cup of Starbuck’s Christmas Blend while watching the Macy’s Day Parade. That part of the morning did not last long. Once Stevie turned on football there was little else in the world that mattered to him. The crazy part is that I loved the cooking storm I created, mostly because it was storm-free! It was such a peaceful, fun and creative process for me. I (proudly) cooked the following:

Stuffing

Sweet Potato Soufflé (the first batch was chronicled here)

I was a regular Betty Crocker (I would like to think of myself as Giada, but I don’t look that hot while I cook.) We packed up the food and drove 3 minutes down the road to dear Troy and Carrie’s place (they are officially our Cambridge family.) They hosted a crowd of 10, and the 4 of us were the only Americans. AND we were the only ones who have ever celebrated Thanksgiving. The rest of the crowd was from Malaysia, Germany and Brazil. It was so interesting being with amazing people from all over the world and coming together to celebrate this holiday of gratitude. Troy and Carrie set a gorgeous table of fanciness AND they cooked the turkey (it was ridiculously impressive.) The four of us ended the night curling up on our couch enjoying mugs of rum apple cider (my own little concoction!)

Photo Credit: The Gorgeous Stevie Hale

Weekend Takeaway

Though it was truly bittersweet missing out on family traditions, it was a merry time indeed. As I think forward to next year, I know that we will be living in a different state (location unknown), potentially celebrating with different people in a new way, so this was a nice way to commemorate our time here in Cambridge. This Thanksgiving was cozy, warm and marked by lots of sleep. Much to be thankful for.

The Food Coma Shall Commence.

Where I come from, Thanksgiving is a big deal. My family and my husband’s family are from the same town, so going home is a double whammy of love, fun, and FOOD. However, this year, we decided to stay in Cambridge in order to save money and honestly, catch up on sleep. We could use about a year’s worth of sleep. So we’re penciling that in for this week’s main activity.

Although we are not flying south, I can’t exclude myself from the glorious bought of cooking and baking associated with this holiday. I am a Southern woman, and what does that mean? I have a few recipes up my sleeve. And since I have several celebrations and dinners this week, and I am cooking up a few of my very favorites!

Sweet Potato Souffle

If you’re from the South, this is simply a staple at the Thanksgiving dinner table. This is a recipe that both my mom and my mother-in-law make, and for the past several years I’ve adopted it as one of my staple Thanksgiving contributions. Last year, I made this dish and brought it to a potluck-style dinner for my husband’s 90 classmates. Since many of the students are international (and were celebrating their first Thanksgiving ever!) they didn’t quite connect with the idea that this casserole should be on the dinner menu. They looked at it curiously, exchanged confused glances and promptly moved my pseudo-confection dish to the dessert table. Clearly these Yankees have been missing out on the CENTERPIECE of Thanksgiving supper (am I biased? Surely not. These are facts.) I had to tell the party organizers more than once, “No, it’s not a dessert, it’s really a dinner item. Yeah, it really doesn’t belong at the dessert table. Seriously.” This year? Same dinner, and I’ve got tons of people asking for the recipe. I just told them all to move to Georgia. We cook country and we do it right. (In all honestly, cooking these family recipes away from home has made me realize what grandmotherly instincts I have, like pushing my cooking on others and getting waaaaayyy too much satisfaction out of them actually liking it.)

Here it is! My favorite November dish:

Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients:

- 3 cups mashed yams (1 40-oz. can)

- 2 eggs

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1/3 cup flour

- 1 cup pecans

- 1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

Combine the drained yams, eggs, milk, 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Mix together (preferably with a beater) until fully combined and then put in a 10" casserole dish. Then combine the brown sugar, flour, pecans and 1/3 cup melted butter and mix together and spread this mixture on top of the casserole. Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins. Take a bite, and for a fleeting moment, experience Heaven.

I also whipped up this pumpkin pie and a pretzel jello salad (my husband’s personal favorite.) Hope you enjoy!