A very nice Thanksgiving in Korea

Thanksgiving is a very big celebration in the US, where the whole family usually reunites and enjoys a lot of food and conversation through the day. In Europe, however, it is not a holiday. It is not even commercialized like Halloween, for instance, is. My theory is that it is so close to Christmas, the major holiday in Europe, that most retailers are already focusing on their Christmas promotions and parents are already buying the gifts for their kids, so nobody really has time for another holiday.

Being in Korea gave me the chance to know Thanksgiving for the first time. Last year, our friend Enoch organized a home Thanksgiving with friends. That time, however, we ate chicken instead of Turkey because Korean ovens are tiny. This year, it was Susan who invited us over for an American Thanksgiving. Since she works at the military base, she could buy a Thanksgiving set with a huge Turkey and all the side dishes that feeds about 15~20 people.

Overall view of the meal

Bean casserole made by Susan, yummy!

Cranberry sauce in a funny shape

Gravy, mashed potatoes, corn…

Turkey filling

Pumpkin Pie

Here are the pictures of this year’s awesome meal. I loved it! From the turkey (sure, it is a bit dry, but that’s why you have all the sides) to the cranberry sauce and the beans casserole made by Susan. The only things that didn’t excite me were the Turkey filling and the Pumpkin Pie. We also got some typical drinks like Martinelli’s apple cider (I love it). By the way, in Korea you can buy Martinelli’s at Costco.

Apple Cider from Martinellis

Alcoholic Cider

My beautiful Thanksgiving plate

After eating we chatted a bit and then played boardgames for several hours. The best thing was that this set was W110,000, very good price for such big portions. Going to a restaurant would cost you about W30,000~50,000 per person here in Korea for the special Thanksgiving meals. We even had a lot of leftovers that we made into small turkey sandwiches with gravy and cranberry jam that were even more delicious than the meal itself! Thanks for inviting us Susan, it was a great meal  and a lot of fun 🙂

By the way, I’ll be going to the US tomorrow, so expect some food pictures from NY but not many blog posts :p

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