Sunday, December 7, 2008

Thanksgiving Dinner for 100+ on St. Nicholas Day

So what goes into the process of making dessert for over 100 people? Two crates of apples, a mini-tank of cinnamon, three boxes of cream, one very large white pumpkin, many bags of sugar and flour, three aprons, six knives, two pastry hooks, nine people, and three hours. But we did it! Our homemade banana cream and pumpkin pies and four platters of apple crisp made a big hit to top off the annual ACS Thanksgiving dinner, prepared by the internationals for the Bulgarian faculty and their families. The evening began with wine and soda, stayed strong through turkeys stuffed with sage, rosemary, cinnamon sticks and apples, garlic-cheddar mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry-apple stuffing, and green beans with almonds, and wrapped up with the fruits of team dessert's labors. Go team! My only regret was being too busy slicing and dicing with the team to see much of the dinner or talk to the guests. We did eat the food though, and it was fantastic!

Betsy and Brett, apron-wearing members of "Team Dessert"

Roxanne juggles our pie crusts

Grace and Celia Cangiano with turkey remains

John Stephens and his sons cavorting about the kitchen

Deana, Matt, Jeff, and Larry carve 2 of about 20 turkeys. See that apron? That signifies a member of team dessert!

George, Tom, Sarah, Brett, and Jess peel and slice apples for Crisp

The final stages on one of the Banana Cream Pies

Peeking into the vat of Garlic-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (this pan is about 2.5 feet high)

Mid-Crisp Preparation

Soon to be pumpkin pie (no puree available in Bulgaria, just very large and hard pumpkins to be hacked apart, boiled, and then mashed...)

2 comments:

Mary and Jamie said...

Love the Thanksgiving meal fun. I imagine you'll take a break from apply crisp making for a while?? Too funny. Seems like you had a great day. Hope the holidays are awesome wherever you may be traveling. Hugs from NorCal.

Anonymous said...

I need to find some comic book words like KALABLUMPKA!!! to express my reaction and astonishment at the zeal and self-sacrifice of Team Dessert! What a gift the faculty gave through their hard work and imagination. It must have been community building for all the staff to contribute intensely as you did. Good for B&b and everyone else! May your energies be restored promptly! It's especially nice for me to see faces. Thank you for good snaps of children and parents and co-workers. Bless Brett for bringing Greg to the airport, and I hope healing comes with adjustments and renewed efforts to make Sofia life as rewarding as possible for all.
Love and respect from mom