Thanksgiving in England

I am thankful for...

My friends (new and old)
My family
My education
The ability to live abroad
And many more things.

Of course, we should be thankful for things more regularly than on an annual holiday; but at least we have one reminder each year that brings us all together.  You've been following my preparation so far, and it gets more interesting, I think.  For an example of my difficulties in buying ingredients:

This is double cream... apparently there is also single cream.
This is what I used for half and half and it was pretty comparable.

I went to multiple grocery stores millions of times, it seems, over the last week to get every thing I needed... or so I thought.  Yesterday, upon returning home from class, the agenda was to bake the pies, prep some other dishes, and clean the apartment.

Pumpkin pie!!!

We had lots of left over filling so we made mini pies too!!

The table is all set!!

Rookie mistake number 1: forgot to remove the pie crusts from the freezer.
Rookie mistake number 2: (or possible ex-pat mistake) When all your recipes are in American measurements, but you're shopping in metric measurements - convert your recipes before buying things so you know how much you need.  This mistake required yet another trip to the store, but luckily just for a few things.

Despite a few hiccups, every thing turned out splendidly!!  Have to say I'm pretty proud of our accomplishments.  See photos below.  We had great company, lovely conversation, and all of our British friends were able to experience a new tradition and even did some of their own research on the holiday!

Brittney basting the turkey

Our Thanksgiving spread (from L to R): macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, cranberry mold

And finished off with pumpkin and pecan pie - with whipped cream, of course!
And clotted cream for my British friends who prefer it.

P.S.  I have a deep admiration for people who host large Thanksgiving dinners every year.  And reflecting back on my childhood, great respect for my grandparents who not only prepared dinner but also hosted our entire family for 3-4 days in their home.  It takes so much effort and energy.