pre-Thanksgiving panic!

It's just been one of those weeks. I knew I might be getting a bit in over my head when I cooked up the idea of making Thanksgiving dinner, and this week so far has definitely lived up to its predicted stress level. Between it being the end of the month (and thus me all too eagerly awaiting my next paycheck) and needing to gather/prepare all the ingredients while still staying on top of lessons, there's been a lot hanging in the balance. This morning I had two classes, and then dashed over to the Tuesday marché to pick up the turkey and a bunch of other fresh veggies and just barely made it back in time to drop off my purchases before running yet again to the nearby middle school for class.

So it was quite a welcome surprise when I walked in the teacher's lounge and found they were having a Beaujolais Nouveau release party/luncheon, and before I knew it I'd been poured a glass of wine. However, because of the rush from the market and me just barely being on time as it was, I didn't have time to drink it before needing to go to my class of 8th graders... so I brought it with me. Sadly I had no time at the end of class to enjoy it either, since I had to run -- literally a dead sprint -- to get back to the high school in time for my next class (why oh why I agreed to teach a class that ends at 1:50 and start another at 1:55 when the two are halfway across town from each other, I will never know). So sad. It sure smelled nice, though... le sigh.

Now begins the real intensive Thanksgiving shopping and cooking. I've already made a few recipe-hindering discoveries, such as that there's no corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar, or canned pumpkin/sweet potatoes in France, but so far I think I can work around them. Runny maple syrup can replace molasses, riiiight? And fresh sweet potatoes ought to be better than canned ones anyway? We shall see... So far my shopping has been limited to the smaller supermarkets within walking distance, so I'm hoping that tomorrow when I go to the monstrously huge Carrefour that I'll be able to find more of what I'm looking for.

On a more positive note, today's Thanksgiving market shopping showed me that I'm starting to be recognized around town. When I went to the butcher this morning, they knew before I said anything that I was the one picking up the turkey. I also usually go to the same fruit/veggie seller who has the best selection, and he asked why I was buying more than usual today (suffice to say I don't usually buy fennel bulbs, celery and a kilo of sweet potatoes). Maybe it's just my foreign accent that gives me away, but it's still nice to see friendly faces.

Tonight I have the brine to prepare and then leave out overnight; hopefully it won't freeze tonight, since there's absolutely no room left in the fridge! Even though it's small -- really more like a big chicken -- the turkey takes up quite a lot of space in our tiny fridge. Tomorrow I'm cooking as much as I can since I'm off class, and then Thursday is turkey/gravy day. Here's hoping I don't burn anything...