A Thanksgiving feast in Cyprus

Of all the 'holidays' celebrated when we lived in American for a couple of years (1992-1994) the one we enjoyed the most was Thanksgiving. About a month before Christmas, it's a time when families get together for large quantities of food, and time to relax and think about what they are thankful for. It's traditionally related to harvest, and eating the foods that have come into season during the autumn and winter.

So we were delighted when our American friends Mark and Joan asked us to a meal yesterday evening, which was the date of American Thanksgiving this year. It would be just the four of us, they said, and they were not going to cook a feast as they would have done back in the USA... but since they couldn't be with their family, they wanted to be with friends.

When we arrived, the table was attractively laid:


The side table had banana bread, apple sauce, devilled eggs, and (since it's Cyprus) fried halloumi:


Next to the stove there was chicken, ham and cranberry stuffing:


Next to that, were dishes of butternut squash, green beans and carrots, and sweet potatoes:


And although I didn't take a photo, there was a corn bake dish too, and mashed potatoes, and a special chicken gravy which looked more like soup to me.

If this wasn't a feast, I couldn't imagine what they might have cooked at home... but Joan said she decided that she would, after all, cook all the dishes she would have made if she had been at home. Just in smaller quantities. She spent all day in the kitchen...

I took a little of almost everything:


Here are our hosts, when we had all piled our plates:


It was all extremely good. None of us could manage much more... so they will be eating leftovers for the next week.

Afterwards we played a game of Rummikub:


Richard won, although none of us had a huge number of points against us.

All in all, a very enjoyable evening.