We decided to do Thanksgiving a little differently from last year. Instead of splitting the day with both the Dernicks and Kongs, which is what we did last year, we thought it would be better to rotate spending Thanksgiving with our family each year. This way, instead of barely seeing everyone and rushing to and from both families; we could actually spend time helping and enjoying our meals. Since Dan's sister and her family weren't coming down for Thanksgiving this year, we followed her schedule and spent Thanksgiving Day with the Kongs. Kong Thanksgivings are VERY big with LOTS of people. We had over 70 people this year! The more the merrier, right? It was a lot of work, but definitely well worth it.
We had a bi-cultural Thanksgiving meal. Dan and Joy (along with Lilian and our 'American' friends) were in charge of the American foods, while Mama and Papa Kong (along with our 'Chinese' friends) took care of the Chinese foods. Dan had the most important job - frying two turkeys. Nobody (other than Dan and Joy) had tasted a fried turkey before, so expectations were high. We told everyone, and everyone in Texas agrees, it is the best kind of turkey. We had a few hiccups that morning - mainly that our turkey fryer (which we just purchased brand new) didn't work. Luckily, after trying multiple stores, Walmart was open and we found a turkey fryer. Dan was able to fry the turkeys, and they were a HUGE success. For the first time ever at a Kong Thanksgiving party, there were no leftover turkey! Chinese people don't usually like white meat, especially turkey, so Dan was quite the hero. It was a great start to the turkey frying tradition, but we now have very high expectations for the future!
After pictures were done, it was off to work! Here is our first attempt
at preparing the turkey for frying.
We had a bi-cultural Thanksgiving meal. Dan and Joy (along with Lilian and our 'American' friends) were in charge of the American foods, while Mama and Papa Kong (along with our 'Chinese' friends) took care of the Chinese foods. Dan had the most important job - frying two turkeys. Nobody (other than Dan and Joy) had tasted a fried turkey before, so expectations were high. We told everyone, and everyone in Texas agrees, it is the best kind of turkey. We had a few hiccups that morning - mainly that our turkey fryer (which we just purchased brand new) didn't work. Luckily, after trying multiple stores, Walmart was open and we found a turkey fryer. Dan was able to fry the turkeys, and they were a HUGE success. For the first time ever at a Kong Thanksgiving party, there were no leftover turkey! Chinese people don't usually like white meat, especially turkey, so Dan was quite the hero. It was a great start to the turkey frying tradition, but we now have very high expectations for the future!
Started off the day with family pictures for this year's Kong family Christmas cards.
After pictures were done, it was off to work! Here is our first attempt
at preparing the turkey for frying.
We were very proud of our accomplishment already.
Discussing safety and strategy before frying our turkey.
Posing for a quick picture before implementing our strategy.
Yes, we know Dan looks like a Home Depot guy in these pictures. :)
Success! We didn't burn down the house AND the turkey is cooked.
The very crispy and very juicy fried turkeys.
Now, this is what we call a feast!
Our 'American' friends who joined us for Thanksgiving.
LOVE the turkey frying pics. Looks amazing!
ReplyDelete