A day of Thanks

So, yesterday Josh and I joined our neighbor, Marion, on an excursion to Vevey. A town on the North side of lake Geneva right next to the resort town of Montreux. This area is apparently considered the "Swiss Riviera". As it was nearly 7p.m. when we got there, dark and rainy, I really have no idea if it's a cute little town or not. But, my suspicions are that it is and that we should go there in daylight to really check it out. Anyways, we went there to partake in a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with a group of Marion's friends. They were so nice and welcoming and it was very kind of them to invite us seeing as we'd never met any of them before!
It was a very international crowd, but we ate a very American dinner. Let's see there were 4 of us Americans, a Canadian (Marion), a Mexican, a Swede, a Peruvian, and an Iranian. It was wonderful! A good time was had by all. And dinner, naturally, consisted of a huge Turkey (cooked with the add of a pair of old boxer shorts covered in lips), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, and applesauce.
You want to know how ridiculous I am? I took my camera with the express purpose of taking pictures so I could post them here, but I left my camera in my purse and didn't take a single picture all night! Then I left my purse in the apartment and almost drove an hour back home without it. Luckily, someone noticed it and stopped us before I left. The things a turkey food-coma will make you forget. Seriously, by 11:00p.m. all I could think of was getting home and into my comfy bed.
Our contribution to the Thanksgiving feast was garlic mashed potatoes and chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, yeah I know that cookies really aren't a Thanksgiving tradition, but I just didn't feel like making apple pie. It seemed such a hassle, although if I had bought a pre-made crust it probably would have been quicker and easier than making cookies. C'est la vie.
I have to give you the roasted garlic mashed potatoes recipe because it is just THAT good. So, here it is: for a serving of 4

• 4 Russet potatoes
• 2 heads of garlic
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tblsp dried thyme
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel the garlic leaving the cloves whole. Place them in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with oil making sure to coat all the garlic. Sprinkle with the dried thyme. Bake at 350 degrees covered for 20 to 30 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Drain and save oil (great for sautéed vegetables).

Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters. Boil in salted water for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile in a pot heat the milk and the butter. When the potatoes are done drain and return them to the same pot. Add the garlic then add the milk and butter a little at a time while mashing until desired consistency is achieved. Season potatoes with salt and pepper to taste.

My DH found this recipe on-line and he is a master at making it. The actually recipe also calls for a 1/2 cup of buttermilk added to the milk and butter mixture but we don't know how to find that here so we just eliminated it - everything still tasted great. I wonder what the buttermilk does? Isn't it usually added for reasons of acidity? Hmmm... I don't know and really who cares?

Oh, a funny thing happened. We met Marion in Nyon, a town about the halfway point between here and Vevey, left our car in the Migros parking lot and drove with Marion to Vevey. Migros, by the way, is a grocery store chain here. Anywho, when we went to get our car we found the parking lot closed - literally with a large red and white barrier that swings down and blocks the entrance and therefore also the exit. We stood there stunned for a minute staring at out little white fiesta sitting all alone in the middle of the deserted parking lot. We were thankful, at least, that it was still there and hadn't been towed away or something! We soon discovered that with a little forceful persuasion we could lift up the gate and get our car out. whew! what a relief. It would have sucked to have to drive a 1/2 hour back there this morning to get our car! So, we had lots to be thankful for despite the fact that it was a rainy, dreary day, and we were far from our families and close friends. We, thankfully, were surrounded by new friends and able to indulge in an orgy of comfort food, stuffing our faces till we hit the food-coma wall, then forcing in just one more dessert. All in all it was a day to be thankful for.