"Tender, juicy, moist, and delicious... Gordon Ramsey would approve."

Thanks, Ali, for the review of the turkey!

So thanksgiving in Scotland was a HUGE success if we may say. It was a very international event. Scottish representatives were Kaye, Ali, and Keith from work at Nevisport. Simon (from work) and Tash are from New Zealand and were also experiencing their first thanksgiving. Kaye wins for being the most enthusiastic. I think the whole town of Fort William knows that Kaye came to thanksgiving tonight. And if they don't know yet, I'm sure they'll hear about it tomorrow. Unfortunately Arwen and I have different work schedules, and today is not a holiday here... so Arwen was unable to join us.

Menu:

Roast turkey with gravy made from the drippings/stock that we cooked.

Mashed potatoes

Roasted potatoes, mixed regular and sweet but mostly sweet.

Green beans, steamed broccoli (thanks Simon & Tash)

Butternut squash

Home made cranberry sauce

AND

Home made pumpkin pie.

Oh, the pie. Real pumpkin pie. As in it started from a pumpkin, not a can. We baked the first pie last night and it was pretty interesting because we managed to get two sets of recipes that both lacked actual baking instructions (such as what temperature or how to long to bake it). We were also unable to connect to the internet at the time, so there were no online recipes to help. However we just watched it very carefully and it all worked out. There was a little bit of challenge when I somehow managed, unbeknownst to me, to create a complex equation of gravity, counterweight and levers which resulted in a half-baked pie crust splat on the floor upside down. The real challenge came trying to use the reverse equation to get the pie back on the counter. Turns out gravity doesn't work in reverse. Anyways, we got it back an fit it back together and it all worked out.

Pumpkin pie was a brand new experience to all guests at dinner. They really had no idea what to expect from a pie made from a halloween decoration. Tash was expecting it to be some sort of vegetable pie (instead of a meat pie, but cooked the same way) and Kaye was certain she wasn't going to like it. Everyone tried at least a small piece with some whipped cream, the only item of the evening not home made. We probably could have made the cream ourselves, but since the best tool we had for the job was a whisk and an arm, we decided we could come up with a few more productive ways to spend an hour (5 hour turkey).

The turkey was made with much love (basting every 20 minutes or so after the first hour) but it was well worth it. Ali's review was that it was "tender, juicy, moist, and delicious... Gordon Ramsey would approve." I agree. It was good. 'nuff said. Even Kaye liked it, despite her previous experiences with un-tasty turkey.

Butternut squash was great and I don't even like squash. Kaye was, again, convinced that she wouldn't like it, but of course she did (and commented on how good it was). One of the biggest hits on the menu but definetly the easiest to make!

Stuffing - yay, it worked! Also good. Some people mush it up in a blender, no wonder they think its gross.

We had a great time around the table. We ended up with 7 for dinner and it worked perfectly as we only have 7 plates. We were giving some new wine glasses for the flat as a gift which was nice. Overall, success. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We have lots of be thankful for, we are absoulely loving Scotland.