Traditional Thanksgiving... or as close as possible...

I have been the WORST at keeping updated on my blog this year, but I am hoping to be clearing out of that fog.  And I have a wonderful post regarding Thanksgiving.  :)  So... 


This year, my very close friends the Stocketts and I decided to host a traditional Thanksgiving meal for some of our Austrian friends.  They are unaccustomed to the vast quantities of deathly rich foods we as Americans eat with a spirit of gluttonous thanksgiving.  Why wouldn't we share that gift?  


The menu:
Butterball Turkey 
Stuffing 
Gravy
Green Been Casserole
Rolls
Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry Sauce
Something orange to add color, which later ended up being a carrot dish.
Apple Dumplings
Cinnamon Rolls


No pies, we decided to forego them, partly because you can't get canned pumpkin here and what other pie could you possibly serve without pumpkin?  


The plan:
Eat at 2pm
sit around lazily
play games
watch the game on a projected screen
eat more
play more games


And the evening was a success.  :)  Allow me to share my experience through pictures.  




My apple dumplings with Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

Here is my rolling pin.  I didn't realize I didn't have one until after I already started making the pastry dough...  So, pasta container it is...  :)

 Our table and place settings...  :)  A little thrown together but I like to think of it as endearing.  

 Part of the Stockett clan.  I just love this family so so much.  :)

And here we all are... I am behind the camera but there none the less.  A sweet little gathering and a live stream of the football game bigger than life on our wall.  :)

One of our Austrian friends went to the store specifically to find American treats to bestow upon us on this day of Thanksgiving.  Mountain Dew and Doritos, along with Reese's Pieces and Hershey Kisses.  They may not be part of a traditional feast but they may make an appearance from now on in memory of Austria.  :)

Food.... SO MUCH FOOD....

 And the post Thanksgiving coma.  Inevitable, uncomfortable, and yet welcomed.  

One of our Austrian friends said that if we told him that he had to eat again, he would leave.  I assured him not to be downtrodden for he was but a rookie.  This kind of eating behavior cannot be accomplished by just sitting down one day and doing it.  We as Americans have been carefully groomed and bred to withstand this kind of caloric intake.  The full feeling subsides and then you look forward to next Thanksgiving...  After the 3 days of leftovers has commenced.  

And thus was our Traditional American Thanksgiving.... or as close as possible.  

I hope you were blessed on your day of giving thanks.  And know that my thoughts were with you.  :)