Happy Thanksgiving!

This past Sunday we held our 3rd annual Hong Kong potluck Thanksgiving among our group of friends here. We hosted the event at our flat because we have a large living room, even for Hong Kong standards.

My contribution for the past two years has been pumpkin pie. As in previous years, I made the classic recipe on the label of Libby's canned pumpkin. It is always a hit, and I love it, too. One recipe actually fills two ready-made Keebler graham cracker crust pie shells, which makes it look like more pie for everyone.

Unlike the past two years, this year I decided I could actually make another dish as well as the pie, as I wouldn't have to transport it elsewhere. I opted for stuffing, because I love it, and because it is so much better to make your own than to use the kind from the box.

At home, my mother makes a yummy stuffing with sausage, celery and walnuts. However, I wanted to make a vegetarian version, as two of my roommates are veggies. So, I added mushrooms, onion and walnuts to my bread cubes, and I even bought vegetable bullion to make the broth.

As a further experiment, I made the stuffing in our rice cooker for a couple of reasons: I didn't have any more oven-safe pans of the right size, and I am intrigued by multi-purpose appliance cooking. The stuffing turned out very well, though it was slightly soggy. Perhaps rice cooker stuffing does not need quite as much liquid as the stovetop or oven-baked varieties.

We had chicken instead of turkey.