Counting down two days...

For a non-American, I have to say that for some reason, I really look forward to Thanksgiving. It's not like I identify with the historical or cultural significance of the day, nor do I think that you should set aside just one day out of a year to give thanks for the blessings in your life as if the rest of the days of the year don't count... I think it has to do with the time of the year that Thanksgiving comes round- deadlines are always looming, the weather's turning dreary, and you just need a breather to relax and come to terms with the onset of the 5-month long winter. And everyone knows that nothing says decompress or numbs you from the weather better than a four day long starch-induced coma... Or it could be like my friend, Sarah very astutely pointed out, Thanksgiving is just a huge excuse to cook and eat masquerading as a national holiday, which makes it the perfect day for me :)

This year, we'll be at Rick and Emilee's again to recreate the awesomeness that was last year's deep-fried turkey goodness. Our contributions this year to the potluck are going to be green bean casserole, stuffing and dessert, which was kinda intimidating initially- I mean, these are traditional Thanksgiving staples and not to be messed with by any means. The thing is, I don't relish the idea of just throwing a can of condensed soup into processed beans and baking it into a dour, greasy mess, nor did I want to go all overwrought with something like smoked-oyster sticky rice stuffing in lotus leaf. And pumpkin pie after deep-fried turkey, two kinds of potato, brussel sprouts, green-beans, stuffing and gravy? Really? So I did what all helpless grad students do in a time of crisis. Research (or so I called it...)

In the end, this is what we settled on: a more traditional stuffing recipe from Simply Recipes and a slightly reinvented green bean casserole from Cook's Illustrated. And instead of a treacly, heavy dessert that no one's going to have room for, Jude's making a yummy Thanksgiving dessert drink with spiced apple cider and butterscotch schnapps. We had it a couple of weeks ago and my dear husband has been dying to recreate it ever since.

Thursday will be a day off for all of us and we're deciding between staying at Rick and Emilee's after to watch DVDs and play Wii till we collapse in a pile of tryptophan-induced bliss, or do a movie marathon at the theatres since there are so many awesome films out right now. Either way, I'm just looking forward to taking the day off from work. And that's one thing I'm definitely giving thanks for :)