Adventures of Cameron & Emma in Buenos Aires

Thursday marked our first holiday in Argentina. We, along with two other americans from cam’s class (Preston and Zach), decided to host an “orphan thanksgiving.” Cam and Preston managed to get a turkey the wednesday before—weighing in at 10 kilos (over 20 pounds) for 4 people, which we christened “john adams” as tribute to the pilgrims. While securing a turkey turned out to be easier than we had thought (demand is obviously a bit lower here), the preparations proved to be a bit more difficult.

First, we had no recipe to follow, so early morning (well, 2pm) calls were made home to get the step-by-step directions from the “Joy of Cooking.” Second, the bird barely fit in our compact oven (and we are still relatively unfamiliar with it, which made temperature control an issue as well). Then, we needed to find a pan that could contain the meat– we were forced to borrow from our “encargador” (roughly- super), and stuff john adams into it. Then, we had to be attentive enough to remember to turn the turkey every 30 minutes (this was combined with our newly invented tradition of pina coladas on thanksgiving, which made sticking to such a strict schedule a little more difficult). Finally, we had to prepare the rest of the meal- stuffing, garlic smashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, salad and pumpkin pie- in a relatively small kitchen packed with four people, and one tiny oven. Needless to say, we nixed the vegetables and pumpkin pie. Luckily, the turkey turned out to be golden and juicy, the stuffing perfect, and the potatoes an ideal texture.

Because the weather has been gorgeous, we decided to eat the meal on our roof. We moved our table, cutlery, and candles upstairs, and sat down for dinner. However, after about 20 minutes, a giant gust of wind blew over our wine glasses and brought with it a literal downpour. We moved back to the apartment (now covered in turkey grease, vegetable remains, and other debris) and settled in to finish our meal. Later, a French girl from Cam’s class and Emma’s three new Swedish friends joined us. Marion (the french) declared that it was the best meal she had had thus far in Argentina!

Now, if only we didn’t have to spend the next month trying to finish the rest of this turkey…

what a mess… notice the remaining turkey… yummm

Here is a link to a few more pics… Sorry Russ, I was the one taking pics.. none of me

Thanksgiving