Happy Thanksgiving - Russian style

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Since we are away from home this Thanksgiving, we decided, along with another American friend, to introduce that holiday to some of our Russian friends. There's no Thanksgiving Day in Russia on Thursday, so we decided to hold it last Saturday. We had a total of only seven people in our small apartment, but it turned out fine in the end.


We managed to come up with chairs for six people, but had to use a stool for the seventh person. Our furnished apartment isn't furnished with much when it comes down to it.

We didn't have enough dinner plates for everyone (we only have 2) so we had to to get along with disposable plates. At least we had enough water glasses.


Of course, making traditional American food in Russia can be tricky. Fortunately, I brought back some contraband from the States on my recent trip over there to pull it off. After all, how could it be Thanksgiving dinner without Green Bean Bake? Cream of mushroom soup and French Fried Onions are very integral for that dish. My husband also insisted that a can of cranberries was essential.



Since there were only seven of us, we used half of the 24 pound turkey (there was no choice in the size of the bird). The whole bird would have been unreasonable. Cutting a raw turkey in half was a trick, however. It still tasted just as yummy as always, though.



I used every possible pot in my kitchen to cook what we needed. It took planning to coordinate the oven space, burner space, and counter top space, but we managed to get the potatoes mashed, gravy cooked, turkey cut and vegetable casseroles done pretty close to the correct time.


The dinner was a success by all accounts, but the clean up looks the same no matter what country you're in. Maybe I'll wait until I have a dishwasher (which won't happen in Russia) before I attempt such a complicated dinner again. Many thanks to my wonderful hubby who helped me with the KP duty.


We hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with your families and friends. God deserves our thanks for all the wonderful things He gives us. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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