I am a day late but I would still like to wish anyone reading this a Happy Thanksgiving!
The history behind this holiday is rather problematic (like most of American history), but like most Americans, I still love to celebrate it because I get to spend time with my family. My family and I have very busy schedules year round so we don’t get to spend much down time together. On this holiday, we love to just take it easy, have some food, watch some good movies, lay back and enjoy each other’s company.
This year was rather rough on my family and I. My step dad lost his brother and father only a few months apart. My mom has been an emotional and financial crutch for my brother and grandma (who live in Mexico) as they continue to adjust to living without my grandpa who lost his life to cancer last year. And as for myself, I’ve had to juggle being a full time student and working thirty hours a week between two jobs. Needless to say, this year has chewed us up and spit us out.
For these reasons, my family decided that for this year’s Thanksgiving we were going to treat ourselves. So instead of staying home and doing what we typically do, my family and I decided to vacation in a luxurious resort far away from home. So far, it has been the perfect distraction we all needed.
I could tell you in detail about how the lobby of this resort, with its luxurious fish tank and exotic fish, is the fanciest I’ve ever seen, or how the shops near the resort sell nothing less than top notch clothing, or how our room has a beautiful view of the lake outside the resort. But I’m not going to tell you much more than that. After all, I run a food blog and Thanksgiving is a holiday that revolves mostly around stuffing your face with turkey and pumpkin pie. Therefore, in this blog post I’m going to focus on the Thanksgiving meal I had last night.
Believe it or not, the resort offered an all you can eat buffet as a Thanksgiving meal. The word “buffet” to me means nothing other than “personal challenge to eat as much as I can.” So, I decided to fill my plate up to the rim.
What do you see on the plate beyond a beautiful mess? Yes, I know… it’s a rather interesting combination of food items. To be quite honest though, as soon as I grabbed the empty plate, it was game on, sis. I’m pretty sure I went feral. All decency was thrown out the door and I began shuffling around the busy room, shoving old folks out of my way and screaming in the face of hungry children. Okay… maybe not exactly. This is a five star resort after all, so I had to keep the face and pretend I have manners.
The first food item I put on my plate was the one that caught my eyes first: paella. When prepared correctly, paella is one of my absolute favorite dishes. It is a Spanish rice dish with a variety of seafood in it such as prawns and oysters. If you’ve never had paella before, I feel truly sorry for you (writing this makes me feel like a real food critic). In the picture, you can see the paella on the bottom left side of my plate.
Next to the paella, there was a platter of fresh salmon. Eating salmon during Thanksgiving seemed like an incredibly pretentious idea, so naturally I grabbed a few cuts along with a spoonful of lemon butter sauce and lemon wedges.
In the middle of the buffet, there was a variety of meat cuts with turkey being the most prevalent, of course. I’ve never been a huge fan of turkey and since I had several other meat options, I chose to go with a thick slice of pork loin (pictured right in the middle of the plate).
Right after selecting my meat choices for the night, I grabbed a spoonful of vegan stuffing.
Last but not least, *drum roll*, I got a big spoonful of mashed potatoes – the only Thanksgiving food I really care for other than the Hawaiian roles.
Like I said earlier, the word “buffet” to me means “personal challenge to eat as much as I can.” My goal for the night was to eat at least three servings, all the same size as the first one. I don’t mean to give you guys any spoilers but… I tapped out after eating only ⅔ of all the food I got – my stepdad ate the rest. BUT, I did leave enough room in my stomach for three slices of cheesecake.
This year, I’m grateful for the phenomenal family I have. The hardships we’ve endured this year have only brought us closer together and I’m more grateful for them than anything else in this world. I’m incredibly happy to be spending this holiday with them, away from everything. I’m also grateful for all the lovely friends I have because each day, they inspire me to be a better person. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to work two jobs that I love. I’m grateful that I have food to eat and clothes to wear. I’m grateful that my family, friends, and I are in good health. I’m grateful to be alive.
This year, what are you grateful for?
Happy Holidays!
Marina Must Eat 