Danke danke danke!

November 25, 2006 · Filed Under Uncategorized 

So our one-day-late Thanksgiving/Going-Away Party went off without a hitch. Although I was just about exhausted from all the cooking by the time the first guests arrived (20 minutes early, that’s Prussian timeliness for you). Charlie actually behaved himself, in fact, I believe he very much enjoyed being the center of attention (btw, Charlie’s my dog, not my husband!) . He wagged his butt from group to group, getting bellyrubs and probably a lot of food.

My dog walking buddies were there, and gave us a wonderful photo collage of Charlie and all the dogs from the pack. I already know where I’ll hang it in the new apartment (in the office). I know we (and especially Charlie) will really miss all of them (the dogs and the people). We had some sad news from this section of the party; we learned that Norbert’s dog Paulchen just passed away after a month-long illness.

Many Berliners made the long journey out to Potsdam, Rainer’s colleagues and four Berlin bloggers, and interestingly enough, all their blogs start with “B”: Ben of benperry.net, Ed of BerlinBites, BiB, and Suzy of Bowleserised. Ben also brought his girlfriend Yuhang and another friend from California who’s name I no longer remember - Sorry!

So finally, the menu…
I spent 5 days cooking, and maybe I overdid it a bit, because we had a ton of leftovers, but we also had a ton of last minute cancellations (there seems to be a bad case of the flu going around, hopefully it does not find it’s way to me). It ends up buying the ham was completely unnecessary. Anyways, the turkey was brined; I made spring rolls, curry turnovers, and shrimp and chicken dumplings (I got many recipe requests for this last one); there was garlic mashed potatoes; chestnut stuffing; sweet potatoes with Lebkuchen topping (the recipe called for ginger snaps, but as they don’t sell ginger snaps here I used tradition German Christmas cookies - it was delicious!); cranberry and port wine sauce; thai pumpkin-basil soup; New York style cheesecake and pumpkin pie from scratch. Gaby brought noodle salad, Ed brought cornbread and Yuhang made her first pie (pineapple and it was yummy!).
All in all, I think everyone went home with full tummies and I ate way more than I should have, but that’s what Thanksgiving is for, right? I’m thankful that I got to spend this, my favorite holiday, with my new friends here in Potsdam and I’m sad that I have to leave and move to Regensburg. I hope all of you also managed to have a great Thanksgiving!

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8 Responses to “Danke danke danke!”

  1. BiB on November 25th, 2006 11:51 am

    …and it was all utterly delicious. Danke danke danke to all three of you. It was a really nice and relaxed party, and my first ever Thanksgiving. I give thanks all round.

    Sorry about the leftovers. Don’t throw it away. You can carry on eating deliciously for the next few days! We must meet again before you leave. Let me know when’s good for you.

  2. rita on November 25th, 2006 12:07 pm

    ooh, it sounds already mouth-watering just in print. i am glad the pepper-incident didn’t have a negative impact on the over-all success.

    i guess thanksgiving is charlie’s new favourite holliday, too, what with all the attention hogging.

  3. Bowleserised on November 25th, 2006 5:05 pm

    Dank YOU! It was a fantastic spread. I think I only want to eat those shrimp and chicken dumplings from now on… Glad to hear Charlie managed to hold off too – he was SO well behaved!

  4. Ed Ward on November 25th, 2006 8:24 pm

    There were dumplings left over. I’m an idiot: I should have asked for a doggie bag — not for all of them, but for a few!

    It was a wonderful spread, and I thank you so much for it. Those Regensburgers don’t know what a gift they’re getting!

  5. Carol on November 26th, 2006 8:51 am

    FIVE days cooking?! You are even crazier than I am!!

    Carol

  6. Christina on November 27th, 2006 12:50 pm

    @BiB: We have been eating leftovers since the party. It’s been a delicious calorie-rich weekend here at Chez Christina. And now I remember why I thought you sent me an email, ignore my strange babblings about missing emails!

    @rita: It is definitely Charlie’s favorite holiday. He was an unbelievable attention hog!

    @Bowleserised: You’re welcome! I will post the recipe when I get around to it.

    @Ed: Thanks! You certainly could have had a doggie bag, but the dumplings and the mashed potatoes were the two things that didn’t make it to the end of the evening.

    @Carol: I am a certifiably crazy cook-a-holic. ;-)

  7. Ben on November 27th, 2006 6:58 pm

    Awesome dinner and get-together. My mom, even, was happy to hear that I finally had a ‘real’ Thanksgiving in Germany. Nice to meet you and Rainer in your natural habitat (even if it’s only for a few more days!). Charlie was a dear (I mean your dog this time). Thanks from Yuhang and I (and Kelly) for all the effort and hospitality you put into it (five days! my god). See, even the Brits liked it (hello, you two)! Thanks for the cornbread, too, Ed—you obviously know your midwestern cuisine. Maybe we’ll meet again in Regensburg, irgendwann. I’ll be checking the blog at any rate. And good luck at the new residence. You’ll be missed.

    Oh, yeah, I NEED that cheesecake recipe!

  8. Christina on November 29th, 2006 9:07 am

    Thanks Ben, I do hope I’ll get to see you and Yuhang (and Kelly) again in the future. And the recipe is now posted!

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