#59 - Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for all of my lovely family and friends; the opportunity and time to come to London on such a huge adventure; to being able to find the silver lining in almost any situation; living in London and getting to enjoy all the pretty lights along so many of the streets; winter thermals arriving just in time for it to start really getting cold...


Thanksgiving in London
Couldn't do practical on Thursday (venison).  Unfortunately Cuisine classes require knives for almost everything so even if it was just to stir sauce with the uninjured hand, you have to butcher/trim meat to be able to make sauce.  So went and had Thanksgiving dinner with LM instead - she leaves in just a few days so it's our last dinner for a while.  She found a bar where we could get Thanksgiving dinner!  I have to say their chicken wing starters were so delicious and I was glad to see they are part of the regular menu.  The crab cakes were a bit dry and made from (not super great) frozen crab meat - adequate, but couldn't stand up to the chicken wings.  No pics of the starters because we started eating as soon as the food arrived.

Crippled hand version

Normal version

Turkey was pretty good although mine was a little cold around the edges. LM liked the sauce/gravy/whatever better than I did. Not surprising since it was quite sweet. The bar and waitress were really kind. I explained that I had injured my hand, so they were happy to cut up the turkey and stuffing.


Then dessert.  Not sure what was going on with desserts - pumpkin pie was missing something and the NY cheesecake seemed a bit too ricotta- y.


Have noted we are really spoiled for ingredients and things because of school (hence comment about freshness of crab meat or desserts, etc.) as well as what we have sampled in demos.  Must remember that we have been tasting food prepared by absolutely amazing chefs.  Our own efforts don't come close to matching their dishes so we shouldn't expect anything close in our meals unless we are at Michelin starred restaurants (or something comparable).  Similarly, shouldn't expect same quality frozen crab at a BBQ joint where they charge you GBP4 for two crab cakes.


Hand is still out of commission.  Swelling has gone down a little so fingers no longer look dislocated but still looks bad from the uninjured side.  Blisters haven't popped yet and am in no hurry to do so - the little bit of extra cushioning really helps with lessening the pressure on the burn site although the muscles in my arm havebeen affected by the swelling.  As long as it gets better in time for me to finish my assignments and get through finals, it's all good.  Recovery a bit late for Cuisine portfolio which was due last Friday, but luckily that one was mostly finished.  At the moment, that's looking a bit doubtful as I still can't hold a pen or spoon, much less knives.


So until next time, may any injuries be minor and pain free.