Wednesday, December 07, 2011

A Real Thanksgiving - finally!


Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, but having lived in the US for a while and being a US citizen now...I couldn't help it but learn to appreciate Thanksgiving. It comes with less stress than Christmas - no presents, no cards to mail, but it is an equally lovely holiday to get together with family and friends, and simply sit back and relax... with plenty of food on the table, of course!
After 3 years abroad (with relation to the US) and no, the turkey nuggets at the Reading Movie Theater do not count as real turkey, I was already craving a real turkey meal for Thanksgiving and that's how it all started.
Steph, my Canadian friend and a passionate cook, and I started planing a cozy Thanksgiving dinner for 6, or 8, or 10 people ... at most. But one thing led to another and before we knew it we had a list of 20+ guests...Thanks to Pete and Ginger, an American couple with special 'connections', a day trip in the countryside secured a 21.45lb turkey and half that weight chunk of ham! Way to go!
For those of you who know me...I am not a great cook...nor am I keen on waking up early, especially on the weekend...but on that choosen Saturday, in the name of Friendship and Good times, I got up at 6:30am to heat the oven and start baking the turkey!
I went back to bed with the alarm set for an hour later, but the anticipation of having a real Thanksgiving bash and friends around kept me up. The rest is history! See the photos...
The Turkey cooked perfectly! Everyone brought some food, so we had tons of side dishes and deserts! And drinks! And happy people :)
And a Real Thanksgiving - Finally!

Beer Tasting Party - Reloaded


Beer Tasting Party 2010 (The Original) took place in October 2010.
Because of its success and attendees' interest the Beer Tasting Party returned! :)
But what is a Beer Tasting Party?
In a nutshell - everybody brings 3-5 beers - as exotic and rare as possible! Then we try and enjoy the variety of 'liquid gold'!
For the full story...click HERE

This year's facts:

Beers emptied : 116
Smallest beer : 250ml
Biggest beer : 2 liters
Lightest beer : 3.5%
Strongest beer : 11.3%
Attendees : 26 people and 2 toddlers (the little ones did NOT drink!)
Average beer intake : 4.46

Beer came in glass bottles, cans and one plastic bottle.
The list of names is long, but worth mentioning 'Tasty Lady' and 'Iki' :)
There was beer from Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaia, Greece, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Jamaica, The Netherlands (rather large variety!) and...of course, BELGIUM!
Special guest was Bart Van Kuik's Home Made Brew! Tasted by many and liked by all! :)

Goof up: 1) A beer from last year's party was kept in my fridge - sentimental value (Praght's Extra Stout). Well, it was not spared :) Pieter claimed it tasted well! O'right then! As long as ambulance is not needed ;-)
2) Poor Birsen traveled to Brussels for her beer contribution...only to find out she has to be in Paris on the night of fun and beer ;-)

Cheating: Quite a lot of cheating happened this year...4 bottles of wine, 1 Bacardi Black, 1 Bombay Gin...but the Liquid Gold Gods are forgiving :)

Closing line:
Dear friends, thank you all so very much for joining the party with genuine enthusiasm, specially selected beers and the perfect attitude for a good time! It was a night to remember and it will be remembered! :)

Photos: Click HERE

See you in 2012!
Cheers!