Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving

For our first Thanksgiving in Germany, Kevin and I invited over some of our new friends. For our second Thanksgiving in Germany, Kevin and I used the holiday to invite some of those same friends over for one last hurrah. It was amazing to consider how much had changed in the year.
I remember how hard it was to plan the dinner in 2007. Would I be able to find cranberries? Where could I get a turkey? Could I find enough sweet potatoes?

Though my mother mailed a package of cranberries in 2007 just in case, this year I knew that they would show up in the larger supermarkets by the end of November. I have developed a relationship with my butcher, so I knew I was able to order on from him and pick it up on Thanksgiving morning. (And, even though we purchased a bigger fridge, it still wasn't large enough to store a turkey and all the other fixin's.) Also, I knew that the halal shops in Bad Godesburg each would have a few sweet potatoes. It would be no problem to gather enough.

Because my family was visiting the week leading up to Thanksgiving, I prepped all of the desserts ahead. This meant - much to the surprise of some - there was no pumpkin pie since the custard doesn't freeze well. Instead I made a three layer pumpkin cake. It was filled with a rum raisin and walnut filling and iced with cream cheese frosting. The Germans generally really like cake, and this one was a hit. I also served a classic apple pie with vanilla ice cream (it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without at least one pie) and chocolate pecan bars.
One of the best parts about Thanksgiving this year was that I had three kitchen assistants who helped me get everything prepped and in the oven on Thursday morning. I even had time to put up my feet for a bit while the turkey cooked.

All of our guests really seemed to enjoy the evening and everyone claimed to have eaten too much.