An American Thanksgiving in Sweden

Ah Thanksgiving.  Last year I was very lucky to be able to spend the all American holiday in true family tradition at home.  It had been a long time, at least seven years; last year was like an oasis of Thanksgivings in a sea of pseudo turkeys and hotel buffets for expatriates.  But I digress; this year is the focus of today’s blog.  I am currently in Sweden and cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for two friends (Adam and Sami) and myself.  Adam and I went to the super market close to the apartment in hopes of finding something that could resemble a turkey.  Adam is American as well and we were in serious need of some good old American comfort food, a little taste of what we were missing back home.  We trekked through the snow in the dark even though it was only 3:30; it gets dark at around 3 here this time of year.  There was no turkey to be found at the market.  The closest thing we could find was a medium sized, at best, chicken.  It was kind of a sorry looking chicken, but I was determined to cook the hell outta that bird!  We also got some French green beans and ingredients for stuffing.  I made the stuffing with Skorpor; they’re small pieces of football-shaped croutons.  I mixed them with green apple, a raisin and craisin mix, celery, carrots, onions, thyme and chicken stock.  For the chicken I coated the bird with butter and wrapped the top of it with thin slices of bacon.  I then baked the chicken at 425 F for 15 min then turned down the oven to 325 F for an hour and half.  I finished off the chicken by removing the bacon and letting it cook for another 15 min to crisp the top of the skin.  Yes, it was a very fat-free dinner…. Hehehe. 

Everything turned out great; the stuffing was savory and tart, green beans lightly sautéed to keep them crisp and the chicken was very moist and rich.  We had a bottle of light Chianti called Barone Ricasoli and a little Moet Chandon to wash it all down.  It was the best I could do under the circumstances and everyone’s stomachs were very full and very happy. 

Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone and keep eating!!