Thankful

Success! Aside from the consistency of the pumpkin pie being a little off..(which apparently is common when you roast your pumpkin rather than using the canned version) everything was a success!

 

Our menu included:

Roasted Chicken (There were'nt enough of us to eat a 7 kilo turkey)

Gravy

Green bean casserole

Corn Bread Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce

Mashed Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Henry had to do some calculating to convert farenheit to celcius.

We had almost everything! I really missed my mom's sweet potatoe casserole but I could only do so much. Let me tell ya the ingredient hunt was like searching for needles in a haystack. The search for the pumpkin was probably my biggest challenge - and the one ingredient I was the most determined to find. You can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie! Especially because it's Henry's favorite.

So I went to Jumbo, a big box store here that is sort of like an expensive version of walmart, with a hint of target's classyness. They are wonderful for importing things such as french fried onions, cans of cranberry sauce (because you definitely can't find fresh cranberries here) and Philidelphia cream cheese. (I added it to the mashed potatoes this year - So good!!!) 

Unfortunately they do not carry canned pumpkin which I found out in my grand search of the entire store. No where to be found in the canned or jar section. While passing the produce section I spied a large bin of orange out of the corner of my eye. Weaving through the masses of shoppers I couldn't believe what I was really seeing. Pumpkin? Small orange carving pumpkins? Are those really you?! Sure enough they were! But as I looked up to see the price, which was excellent by the way (on sale after halloween, which is just now becoming popular here, carving pumpkins is a rarity) I saw a note written "Sólo para la decoración." My heart sank. Really? Only for decoration? You gotta be kidding me!

I went to the man behind the produce counter, "Disculpa señor, una consulta?"in my sweetest little gringa accent. I asked him about using the pumpkins for cooking and he pointed to the sign, only for decoration. I proceeded to try and explain how in the U.S. we make pies out of pumpkins like these, and he gave me a weird look. He told me if I wanted to cook with pumpkin I needed to go buy the other Chilean pumpkin that was sold at the other end of the produce section.

I didn't want to give up yet, so I asked the man if there was an international food section in the store. (at a different Jumbo I had seen one and thought I could double check there for the canned pumpkin) Well I realized he totally misunderstood me when he picked up a mango and said "This mango is from Brazil, these peppers are from Peru, these bananas are from Ecuador..." and on and on. I gave a polite smile and a gracias and moved on.

I though to myself "How bad could they be? The decorative pumpkins? Maybe treated with some chemicals you're not supposed to eat? But isn't everything we eat treated with chemicals? (organic is not very popular/common here yet)" Well it was my only option. Henry was a little concerned with the idea of eating something that said "decoration only" but I told him "We can't not have pumpkin pie! His response - well let's hope it doesn't make us sick or poison us. So I bought two.

So to compare and taste test I tried to roast both types. The american import pumpkin and the chilean calabaza or zapallo. The chilean version is much much harder and darker in color. It tastes great in soups or roasted but it takes about 3 times as long to roast. And it's not as sweet as our pumpkin pie pumpkins. I ate some of the more familiar version while I was making the puree for the pie and didn't keel over so I decided I was in the clear! Thank you Jumbo for importing small carving pumpkins - but a little advice, I think you would make a killing every November for all of the expats that would buy Libby's canned pumpkin if you brough it down.

 

Look how much darker the pumpkin 'meat' is in the Chilean pumpkin in the background.

The Chilean pumpkin is much more of a greenish gray on the outside rather than an orange.

So excited for dinner!!!

While cooking,(which was a bit toasty, being 85 degrees outside and  roasting a  chicken inside) Gonzalo introduced us to a traditional chilean summer drink. Honeydew melon with white wine. At the beach you can buy half a honeydew and they fill it with white wine and you sip on it from a straw. Maneuvering half a melon while cooking was a bit much so we just enjoyed it from the glass.

 After a few weeks of preparation with recipe acquiring, ingredient hunting, and making a few things ahead, I realize how many things I take for granted in the U.S. having so many items that are ready to use. Chicken broth, bread cubes/stuffing, canned pumpkin, pie crust, and more... It has given me a greater appreciation for all of the hardwork that is put into each dish for the best meal of the year.

We are so thankful to have some great friends here to have shared Thanksgiving with.