Little Thanksgiving

I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving since moving back to London 5 years ago. Now that my mother has moved back too, and we are missing the old life even more, we decided to follow up some leads, knowing that someone must cater to the large community of American expats here.

So we went to Christophers American Bar & Grill in Covent Garden.

	3 course traditional menu - £38 Begin your Thanksgiving celebration with Christopher’s Cranberry Martini - £8 Roast corn and sweet potato chowder Warm tomato tart guacamole cream, cilantro dressing “Grand Central” oyster and scallop pan roast Traditional ‘Waldorf salad’ smoked duck, walnut oil dressing Slow cooked ballottine of Norfolk Turkey corn bread, hazelnut and Michigan cherry stuffing, cranberry relish, buttered beans and creamed potatoes Missouri roast rump of lamb, Avocado tamale, dried tomato & cilantro dressing Roast Salmon with apple, pecan & wild rice griddle cake Sauteed baby spinach, Californian raisin and pecan brown butter Pumpkin pie bourbon cream Blackberry and apple cobbler blueberry ice cream Chocolate fudge brownie raspberries, vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce

Apologies for not taking the photo before demolishing half the plate!
Waldorf salad with rocket leaves, sliced celeriac, smoked duck slices, golden raisins, and warm walnut oil dressing. Very cosy eating, that!



Missouri lamb rump in a sundried tomato and cilantro (coriander leaf) sauce, with an avocado tamale. Again I'm sorry I ate half of it first :) The medium done lamb was melt-in-your-mouth, mmmmm....



Spiced pumpkin pie with bourbon whisky cream and a sugar wafer. Just the right size dessert.



All rounded off with looseleaf (!) peppermint tea and dark chocolate truffles :P



Mum trying to figure our her new phone camera



Me going strong on the rose wine

We had a wonderful time there and wish we could go for Christmas too (if public transport is working on that day). The service was wonderful, attentive, precise, efficient - the table was even scraped between courses with a brass scoop - something I haven't seen since the Flying Dutchman on the Kemah waterfront in Texas, where we ate things like beef wellington and soft-shell crab.

At Christophers, we forgot we were in London, felt very homey, comfortable, and happy. The sort of happy where your heart rises for a moment. Neither of us have felt that in a long, long time...

Sunday Diversion

Just in case I don't blog for the rest of the week, I'll catch you up and give you a look ahead.

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Since last Thursday I have been battling a cold or something. After I got my flu shot a couple of weeks ago, the nurse said that my immune system would be so active working on the vaccine that anything else I might catch over the next couple of weeks would be shorter/less severe.

Not sure I believe her though: Since the initial telltale internal buzzing I feel before coming down with upper respiratory infections, I have had mild sinusitis, though I think the thing waited for this weekend to settle in properly. Friday night the sore throat started, and I was so very unwell on Saturday with one of the nastiest headaches I've ever had. Hopefully I'll be up to going to work on Monday. I mean, 9 days and, as far as I can tell, a couple more to go, is just ridiculous.

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This coming Thursday, my mother and I will be celebrating Thanksgiving by going to Christopher's American Grill in Covent Garden. I will be sure to share the experience with you afterwards, as the menu looks exquisite, and it's not limited to turkey...

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The Swiss Re (affectionately known as the Gherkin) near my office in Aldgate




One day, I noticed a distinct colour scheme going on




Just before tucking in one night, noticed the wonderful play of light and texture on my bed