Postings from Germany

Thanksgiving in Germany
2006

Thanksgiving is a state of mind, and this time of year, my state of mind is fixated on -- Thanksgiving. It is THE holiday I miss most. Nothing replaces family, but friends come closest, so I have recreated Thanksgiving here.

Our friends have been very willing co-conspirators from the beginning; after the first feast, they didn't need to be convinced to re-celebrate year after year after year ..... We invite the usual crew (Ulli, Ilsemarie, Klaus, Johanna, Ursel, Michel) and then a different couple each year to add interest to the mix.

Preparations take a full two days - that doesn't count menu planning and shopping and clearing out the fridge and freezer (they are minuscule here by American standards) so we can handle a dinner for 10. Usually, it's fridge temperature outside this time of year and we can use the terrace as an ersatz fridge. Not this year! The doors were open all day - practically 70° out there! Ridiculous for north Germany.

So here we are, cool and collected, table extended and set, everything looking good, including us. We'd collected leaves some weeks ago and pressed them (sounds too-too, but it was really a spur-of-the-moment thing collecting them - the leaves were so pretty this year!) Menu: Ruby sippers (cranberry syrup with sparkling wine), green bean and roasted almond soup, turkey with cornbread and apple stuffing, gravy, Brussels sprouts (very popular), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with orange sauce and cranberries, cranberry compote. Desserts: apple rosemary tarte and of course something pumpkin - this year pumpkin pie from Ginny's famous Baltimore Sun recipe.

I am always in charge of carving the turkey. Germans think that Americans have two special genes that they don't - a grilling gene and a turkey-carving gene. Thankfully, I am able to perpetuate the myth.






And here, our honored co-celebrants - what a handsome bunch!

























Lots of food and wine and Schnapps later, this was what was left: one gone bird. The red stuff is pomegranate. The orange stuff is - orange. What you can't see is turkey - it's gone.

And then there's the clean up. Though Americans usually have this feast in daylight hours, we've always done it here in the evening. That means late kitchen duty. I think it was even later than usual this year - a bit after 3 AM when we got to bed. That would explain the face. Werner regularly threatens he's never doing this again, but he knows better.



But let's end with something a bit more upbeat. Here, some random shots of this convivial bunch.






Till next year - same time, same place.