I actually had 2 Thanksgiving dinners...pretty good for being in England.
The first, scouted by a fellow American at State Street, was hosted by a website called MeetUp. They organized an American "expat" dinner - complete with all the trimmings and of course...American football. So I got to watch the Pats spank the Lions! It was held at a 200 year old Victorian Dockhouse that has recently been refurbished with stone and marble flooring. The crowd was a bit lame (the only table that actually watched the game was mine) and there was infiltrators (Canadians). I learned that they do in fact celebrate Thanksgiving...but it's Canadian Thanksgiving and it's in October (inferiority complex perhaps?)
The second was organized by this "friend of a friend" and her husband. They live in a beautiful mews with a cobblestone street and a great group of neighbors. (A mews is row of horse stables that have been converted into homes. The horses would live in the garage area, and the drivers of the carriages would live above it - they have gorgeous barn doors, now garages, and are typically narrow houses with three stories.)
They had the most massive spread I've honestly ever seen (aside from my mum's typical dessert spread of course). Everyone that brought a dish made something from their own family's traditions - so we had a first course of calamari salad and antipasti and about 3 other salads. It was so much food and wine.
Though it wasn't my mom's cooking and a day with my family - I was surrounded by good people and good food.
