After expecting eleven guests to my Thanksgiving Brunch, I entertained just one. That's right...ONE. Nearly everyone canceled in the two days previous and one party called me two hours after the table was cleared to apologize for not making it. After I was over my initial shock and sadness I got to work, pouring my whole heart and love into our
gemütlich(cozy) little celebration. And seeing as I don't ever host parties here, I am oh~so~excited about it and wanted to share some shots of the details with you. It's not as
evolved as a Martha Stewart celebration, but I find it quite charming and hope you do to.
I love the silver tealight "log" I found for 99¢. It's pretty, sweet, and slightly elegant. And I made some whimsical little blooms out of yarn leftover from previous projects.
Paying homage to some staples. No pecan pie, but I did set some out to be crushed and sprinkled over our delicious pumpkin pancakes. And I managed to find fresh cranberries here, though they were ridiculously expensive. Aside from the maple-cranberry butter I made some
sugared cranberries that sparkle like small jewels a pop delightfully with flavor when bitten into. In fact, excuse me for a moment as I move the bowl of them away from me... I just can't stop.
The sweet little "happy" tags I found and downloaded from
this blog over a year ago. Though now I can no longer find the original post and download. It's a shame as they come with coordinating round tags featuring leaves and acorns that could be used as stickers or to make a garland. Hmmm..
Oh and the potatoes. The potatoes! Were so delicious. They were sprinkled with tiny bits of butter, sea salt, toasted coriander, and creme fraiche.
I would say about 99.5% of you didn't know me in my childhood so I think I should clue you in on something. I have always HATED potatoes. As a child I was told I had to try everything. Not clean my plate. Just take a bite of each item offered at the table. And every evening it was a ten minute dramafest as I took the smallest possible bit of potato, maybe the size of a coarse grain of salt on the tip of my fork, looked at it with the most deep and true disgust, eventually putting it into my mouth. What then followed was a series distortions of the face and grunting sounds which would only end when I chased the potato down with half a glass of milk. I can tell you, my heart would still be racing from the stress for many minutes after I had a "try" of the potatoes.
So back to today...
A happy face and one huge chunk of potato. I had
three servings. And later, at the Christmas Market, I ordered a giant plate of bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) and cleaned the plate. What do you say? Can I claim "mission accomplished" on integrating fully into Germany?
Thanksgiving isn't just about the food/meal. It's about the people you spend it with. I am happy that I got to celebrated this Thanksgiving with my rockin' roommate, Anne. She is kind, funny, and easy going. I am thankful to have her around, she always inserts a bit of sunshine into a gray German day. We had a fantastic morning eating then "working it off" by walking through the city for hours and hours. Stopping for my first Gluhwein of the season. :)
I am thankful for you too, dear readers. Thank you for joining me along the way.
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