Thanksgiving, Costa Rica Style
For many expats from the U.S., the first Thanksgiving in Costa Rica comes as a small shock. There’s no long weekend, no parade on TV, and your Tico colleagues will be at work as usual on Thursday, November 26. But with a little planning, and some flexibility, you can put a very respectable Thanksgiving dinner on the table here. Many longtime expats will tell you that their Costa Rican Thanksgivings have become some of their favorites.
First, pick your day
Since Thanksgiving is an ordinary workday in Costa Rica, many expat families and groups of friends move the celebration to the weekend. A Saturday dinner gives everyone time to cook and lets guests who work locally join in.
Finding the bird
Whole turkeys are not part of everyday Costa Rican cooking, but they are easy to find in November and December, since some Tico families also serve turkey at Christmas. Most are imported and sold frozen at the larger supermarket chains and warehouse clubs, with the best selection in the Central Valley and the main tourist areas. A few tips:
- Shop early. Supply grows as the holidays approach, but the most popular sizes can sell out in Thanksgiving week, especially outside the Greater Metropolitan Area.
- Measure your oven. This is the classic expat mistake. Many Costa Rican kitchens have small ovens, and some have only a stovetop. Check that your roasting pan, and the turkey, will actually fit before you buy a large one.
- Consider ordering it cooked. Many hotels, restaurants and caterers sell roasted turkeys or full Thanksgiving meals to take home.
The trimmings, and some local swaps
Some classic ingredients are imported, expensive or hard to find, depending on where you live. That’s where local produce comes in.
- Pumpkin pie. Canned pumpkin can be found in some supermarkets, but at a premium. Instead, many cooks use ayote sazón, the mature local squash, roasted and puréed. It makes an excellent pie, and many guests can’t tell the difference.
- Sweet potatoes. Look for camote naranja at the farmers’ market or the supermarket. It works perfectly for a casserole, marshmallows optional.
- Cranberries. Fresh cranberries are rare. Canned cranberry sauce and dried cranberries are easier to find at larger supermarkets. Another idea is to make a tropical relish instead, with local fruit.
- Stuffing and gravy. Bread, celery, onions and herbs are easy to find everywhere. Packaged stuffing mixes and gravy are available in stores that carry imported goods. You can also make your own stuffing from days old baguette bread broken into pieces.
- Pies to go. If baking isn’t your thing, ask at your local bakery or pastry shop. Some take Thanksgiving pie orders in November.
Or let someone else cook
If you’d rather skip the kitchen entirely, plenty of hotels and restaurants around the country, especially in areas with large expat communities, serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and some do so on the weekend as well. Reserve early, as these dinners often sell out.
Make it a Friendsgiving
Far from family, many expats celebrate with friends instead, and the potluck “Friendsgiving” has become something of a tradition here. It spreads out the work and the costs, and it’s an easy way to bring together new and old friends from different countries.
It’s also a good opportunity to invite Costa Rican neighbors, colleagues or friends. Most Ticos know about Thanksgiving from movies and TV, but few have experienced it firsthand. Explain the tradition, share the food, and don’t be surprised if someone shows up with a dish of their own.
Whether you roast a bird yourself or let someone else do the cooking, the most important part of Thanksgiving travels well: taking a moment to be grateful. For many of us, gratitude for life in this country is not hard to find.
Happy Thanksgiving!