Orphan Thanksgiving: San Francisco

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Long ago, or sometime in the early 80's, the parentals started their own tradition of spending this holiday with their friends rather than the relatives. They called it the Orphan Thanksgiving. Over the years, the variables have included the location, menu, guest list, and activities. But one thing remained constant for all but one year. We always spent the holiday with Wendy and the Jensen Girls.

This year, three of us branched off for our own small celebration in San Francisco. MC arrived on Tuesday, Hannah arrived Wednesday morning, and we attempted our first Orphan Thanksgiving without our mothers. Although we had their support with recipes and tips, especially for the stuffing. This is always a key element to our Thanksgiving celebration.


We joined about 10 other orphans at my friends' apartment in Lower Haight. Emily impressed us all by successfully roasting a 20 lb turkey, and Natalie introduced us to a favorite new dish: sweet potato casserole with toasty marshmallows on top. Us Jensen girls made the signature prosciutto and pine nut stuffing, and a delicious green apple and blue cheese salad. There was a ridiculous amount of food, including these highlights:






I also attempted two apple pies. Unfortunately, the crust fell off the first one, but since my oven is too small to fit two pies in at once, I was able to correct the second one before it was baked. Although it didn't look so pretty, the mangled one still tasted fantastic. Just ask MC and Hannah---the three of us ate the entire thing in less than 36 hours. Starting off the weekend binge with a bang. And a major sugar high.




We ate until we were stuffed, cuddled on the couch, watched some bad reality tv, ate some more, admired the view of Golden Gate Park from the roofdeck, played some cards, made fake mustaches, danced a little, and then headed out to the bars, ending the evening at a karoake bar in my neighborhood where I found myself performing "Family Tradition" with Emily and Natalie. I had never heard the song before, but these girls knew it very well. They are from Mississippi, after all.

And so, our family tradition of the Orphan Thanksgiving lives on with the next generation. We've decided that next year we'll head to the other coast for Thanksgiving in NYC. Maybe we'll even attempt our first Turkey. Better have the moms on speed dial for that one...