Canadian Thanksgiving

I received an invitation to join some the family of one of my classmates for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.  We had the usual meal, but slightly Americanized…they are originally from Kansas City.  We had a talk about Kansas City barbecue and I related my one, insanely disappointing try during a visit there (I’m talking to you, Julie) and they made me sad describing all I had missed.

 Anyway, the one great highlight of the meal for me was the stuffing.  It wasn’t cooked in the bird, so I was prepared to be disappointed, but it was really good.  The stuffing was a bread/wild rice combination made really flavourful with double smoked Ukrainian sausage (another pleasant surprise–I thought all Ukrainian food was stodgy and bland). 

I’m off to another Thanksgiving get together today, a potluck.  My contribution will be individual raised pear, apple, and raisin pies that I’ve flavoured with a little orange zest and lots of butter and sugar.  Here’s hoping they turn out well.  It’s been a long time since I made pastry regularly, and it’s the pastry that so often makes or breaks pies.

A not-so-starving graduate student

When I gave up on the idea of cooking school and came to the University of Alberta to start graduate school, I was sure ramen noodles were in my future. Well, I’m in my second year and ramen noodles may come along yet, but I’ve had some of the best food I’ve ever eaten here….and it hasn’t been in the restaurants, either.

A lot of my classmates are from other countries and so are a lot of the people I meet casually. The best part of it all is when I get invited to their homes to eat some of their fabulous home cooking. Last Friday I was invited for an Indian meal, to which I brought a jar of mango chutney made according to my great-great aunt’s recipe. It was a heavenly combination, and the best toover dal I ever ate!

Stay tuned for the dal recipe once I get it….