Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is always an interesting time in Geneva as the city is full of Americans and expats from all over the world; however, Wednesday is not a bar night, it's difficult to find Turkey, and there isn't a general expectation that very little work will be getting finalized the entire week.
As one of the more memorable American holidays; many of us are eager to find others to celebrate with. During the prior year, I hosted fellow coworkers at my apartment and in the current year, I celebrated a US partner's apartment in Lausanne. There were 38 of us in total so quite a large group of people for dinner.
Everyone brought a dish or two to pass and there was no shortage of food; I think we had 7 kinds of stuffing! It's always fun to try to make an American recipe while in Europe as not all ingredients are available; for example, I made green bean casserole and the following ingredients don't exist here:
1) French cut canned beans - Replaced with fresh beans
2) French style fried onions - Replaced with actual fried onions
3) Sour Cream - Replaced with Creme acidulee
4) Cheddar cheese - Exists, but hard to find and definitely grated!
Casserole turned out great and it's fun cooking as I enjoy the small challenges that are my grocery store scavenger hunts.
All of the food was delicious and definitely a fun night!
Verbier - Wkd Nov. 26
I spent the the weekend skiing in Verbier and renting a Chalet with friends. Always a fun city that I've been to several times the past ski seasons. Slopes were great for this early in the season and kept the Swiss tradition by getting the first raclette of the season.
CAT Team Cook Off - December 1st
Beginning with 2015, our team started the an annual tradition of having a team potluck where each person must make a food from their home country. I feel a bit disadvantaged as an American with few options outside of grilling and tailgate options while competing with the French, Italians, Swiss, English, and Canadians. Only rules were you must make the recipe and we were assigned a category to avoid all desserts; the menu:
Starters
Foie Gras*
Salmon Tartar with Avocado
Mushroom Soup
Entrees
4 Cheese Pasta
Sloppy Joes*
Desserts
Macaroons*
Cheesecake
Chocolate Mousse Cake
I made the sloppy joes with a Swiss twist of adding Gruyere cheese and brown sugar imported from the US (also doesn't exist in Europe). Everyone voted for their favorite within each category, which I've noted with the *s above. Always a fun event with the team and looking forward to next year's!
Zermatt - Wkd of December 3rd.
As my last trip of the year and to kick off the formal SCIG (local ski club) ski season, I spent the weekend in Zermatt. I did the same trip during the prior year as well.
Skiing was great although I purchased new boots that were a bit too tight and could barely walk the following day so I was only able to ski for 1 day. I did go to the Dr. and luckily no break, but pretty sure I'll have no nail in about a week.
In addition to skiing in view of the iconic Matterhorn, this is also a fun weekend as it falls close to my birthday so I was able to spend the weekend and Saturday night out with friends.
Last update of 2016; let's see what 2017 brings!
Last update of 2016; let's see what 2017 brings!
