and turkey was had by all

before jetting off to madrid, i spent thursday night having thanksgiving dinner with my friends and nyu colleagues at the eiffel tower. i felt very…. american in paris. spending thanksgiving not on the floor of my living room at home for the second year in a row was strange, but i have to say nyu did thanksgiving right this year for us. instead of taking us to an american restaurant (which could never live up to thanksgiving at home), they took us to jules verne - a michelin-star-earning french restaurant, who put their own spin on the american classics.

we started with pumpkin soup, one of my favorite thanksgiving (and autumn/winter) meals. obviously i couldn’t stop myself before taking a picture, so it was a little nicer looking when it arrived at my place. fantastic. light enough to be an appetizer, but creamy and full enough to stand on its own. i wanted a second portion, and couldn’t resist using my bread as a sponge.

the main course - the turkey! it didn’t look like, or taste like, your average thanksgiving bird. instead of gravy and mashed potatoes, the turkey was wrapped around a sort of stuffing-like… well, erm… stuffing. On the side are (clockwise) cranberry sauce, potatoes with a roasted tomato on top, and a sort of not-quite-gravy-gravy-sauce. again, another hit. this was probably the most enjoyable part of my parisian thanksgiving meal, closely followed by the pumpkin soup.

although the definite low point of the meal, the dessert was a pretty good interpretation of pumpkin pie. a small pumpkin tart, topped with whipped cream and a white chocolate stick, the dessert was good, but a little heavy and bland. either way, i won’t complain, the rest was great!

i hope you all had amazing thanksgivings and had (and continue to have) many things to be thankful for. i know i am, including being thankful for everyone reading this! happy holidays, everyone.

(Source: benjaminfainlight.com)