Here we all are, post-feast, fat and happy.
I'm going to be honest and say that Rena did the lion's share of the cooking tonight, but I was a very capable sous-chef and chopped like a champ. Christopher Balduc and Laurence Guillod, who both work with Rena at the opera, also helped with the cooking quite a bit. I still can't believe that we all fit in the kitchen at the same time. (Well, actually, we didn't. Rena had to kick us out a couple of times!) Our other guests brought bread, wine, and other lovely foodstuffs to make the meal complete. It was truly a group effort.
Here are a few pics of us hard at work:
Chris prepping the turnips...
Laurence with her lovely pies!
Rena and me, working our fingers to the bone, clearly.
Here's what we served:
Rosemary Roasted Mixed Nuts
Stuffed Mushrooms
Gluehwein (mulled wine) with raisins and slivered almonds
Turkey (of course!)
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
Roasted Beets and Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon, and Almonds
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Carrots and Turnips (Chris)
Wild Rice Stuffing
Apple/Cranberry Stuffing (Chris)
Olive Bread (provided by Rolando)
lots and lots of wine
Apple and Pumpkin Pies (Laurence)
It was a fantastic and complete Thanksgiving dinner, especially considering that we did it all in Switzerland. Chris even contributed California wine!
As you no doubt noticed in the menu, we DID manage to find a whole turkey for the occasion:
13 pounds of deliciousness that Rena referred to as "Lady"
"Lady" was considerably more expensive than her sisters in the USA, but she proved to be the keystone of our meal. She was worth every one of the 73 (!) Francs we spent to bring her home. In addition to being perfectly delectable the first time around, Rena and I have big plans to live on turkey noodle soup for the forseeable future!
The evening was full of merriment, and we managed to send just about everyone home with a care-package. It never ceases to amaze me how we can eat SO MUCH and still have so much left over. It's the miracle of Thanksgiving, I guess!
By the time the party ended, the first real snowfall of the year in Basel had begun! A magical end to a magical evening.
Tomorrow, instead of doing the annual Black Friday pilgrimage to Macy's, I'll be doing a little heavy lifting...I'm helping my friend Iryna move. Although I will miss heading to the mall with Mom in search of bargains, it'll be good to work off some of my Thanksgiving indulgence.
Ugh, we had that meal 5 hours ago and I'm still full! Another words, it was a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving.
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