Giving Thanks

I did it!!

I successfully hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for 20 people!

I have been planning this for weeks - I sent out the Evite, I planned the menu, I tested some recipes for pies, checked in with Grandma Naylor about the best way to freeze pies, learned that freezing a pumpkin pie was not a good idea, and this weekend I cooked all the elements of a Thanksgiving dinner that I could given some of the Colombian limitations (no cranberries, no sweet potatoes).

The menu

Appetizers:  

• Ham Rolls ups (family tradition) 
• Crudité with two cream cheese dips (one with bacon and onion; the other with onion soup mix and red pepper)
• Camembert cheese and crackers

Dinner:

• Turkey  
• Stuffing
• Gravy - Thank you Tiffany!  She arrived just in time to help me with this difficult task but I think I could do it on my own now...maybe.
• Vegetable Medley
• Mashed Potatoes
• Squash Casserole (mom's recipe)
• Buttermilk Biscuits (tiffany's recipe)

Dessert:

• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Crisp
• Whipped Cream 
• Vanilla Ice Cream

 Everyone seemed very happy.  The turkey was so juicy and flavorful.  I've never seen my parents marinate the turkey for Thanksgiving but I decided to stick with recipe that I found and I think I'd recommend it for the future. Soooo tasty!  The most popular item was probably the pumpkin pie because it simply does not exist in Colombia - It was so fun to introduce so many of my friends to this delicious dessert.

The whole event was quite hectic...did I mention there were 20 people in my tiny apartment?!!  Still, I wanted to make sure we didn't completely forget the purpose of Thanksgiving so I made a poster for people to write the things for which they are thankful.  I think it came out well - and it definitely showed the variety of personalities that were visiting. 

Overall, such a great day!  Definitely an event I will want to repeat in the future.