Expat Life: Have Pecan Pie, Will Travel for Thanksgiving

This year, I was fortunate enough to celebrate two Thanksgivings – one in Düsseldorf, Germany, and one at our flat in London.

This marked our third year travelling to the ‘Dorf to celebrate an expat Thanksgiving there with a fellow American friend and our German friends. We had to skip a year in 2015 when we moved to Australia, but we managed to celebrate Thanksgivings together in 2014, 2016 and 2017. I’m sure 2018 will be on the calendar again too.

Our friends rubbed down the turkey with a BBQ-like spice rub and then smoked it for several hours outside. The turkey was delicious, and surprisingly, really moist.

The dinner table included the classic American dishes: cornbread stuffing/dressing, my cheesy green bean casserole, cranberry compote, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potato casserole, and of course, pies. Once again, I travelled with a pie in my suitcase…and landed safely in Germany with it. I’m happy no one from border patrol tried to steal my pie!

When you live abroad, friends become like your own family members.

I also made a pumpkin pie once we arrived in Germany.

A lovely autumnal view and a rainbow in Germany for our expat Thanksgiving weekend.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, if you celebrated! I’m very thankful that our expat life continues to allow us to travel and meet up with our friends all over the world.

If you like to give my boozy pecan pie recipe a go, you’ll find it below.

Cheers,

Joy

Joy’s Pecan Pie

Use my standard Tart Dough for the pie shell here.

4 ea.  large eggs at room temperature, whisked

185 g. brown sugar

60 ml. light corn syrup or Golden Syrup

60 ml. molasses

1/2 tsp.  salt

1/2 tsp.  vanilla extract

45 g. butter, melted

30 ml. whiskey or bourbon, ** (optional)

285 g. walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

In a large bowl, whisk the ingredients together in the order they are listed. Cover the bottom of the tart shells with pecans. Add the filling to right below the rim of the tart. 

Bake at 350 F/175 C until lightly browned and the filling is set, about 12 minutes total for small tarts, or 30-25 minutes for the large tart. Remove tarts from molds while still warm.

We even got to see the Christmas market being set up in the Old Town of Dusseldorf.
Of course, we enjoyed some gluhwein as well.

My first, but not my last, gluhwein of the 2017 Christmas season.