Thanksgiving in December

Last night we had a wonderful evening with close friends. We wanted to do something big to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our living in Germany. Yep...10 years now. It's hard to believe so much time has passed. Without the support and helpfulness of new friends, we wouldn't be as settled as we are. Since we are thankful for those special people and the good times we've shared, we decided to go all out and have a feast--we had Thanksgiving in December.

We started with cocktails and a bit of chatting, progressed to the red pepper soup, and then brought out the 8 kg (almost 18-pound) turkey stuffed with chestnut and herb bread filling, Kahlua sweet potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, orange-cranberry sauce, and salad. They couldn't believe how much food we served and were suprised to learn that a warm apple-plum crisp with vanilla ice cream would follow later.

One thing that made it interesting was that our guests had never had sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce or chestnut stuffing and though they'd had turkey meat before, they'd never had a whole roasted turkey before. We weren't sure if they would like the meal or not. We told them to help themselves to seconds if they wanted. Obviously, the food was to their liking since double portions of soup, turkey and sides were gladly eaten. Several cocktails, a few bottles of wine, a bit of old Scotch, and Lemberger liquor were also consumed. 

After eating so much, I thought no one would have room for dessert but lo and behold, second portions were also partaken. Despite all this merry consumption, there are enough leftovers to save me from cooking today.

We had a great time sharing a bit of American tradition and just relaxing with friends.  Thanksgiving in December...good for the soul, bad for the hips.