very time I walk through our town's Christmas market, which has been open just a week now, I experience this feeling of giddiness that rises up in me and I must contain with a smile in the hopes the Germans don't think I'm crazy for literally laughing out loud with delight. I've become of those people revels outwardly at the changing of the seasons and most importantly, the start of my very favorite time of year: Christmas.

For those of you who think I'm just another crazy going off the Lorelai-Gilmore deep end of holiday-ness with an unhealthy obsession with something as simple as the first snow (which I am anxiously awaiting), in my defense, I come from the season-less, scaled-back, oh-so-PC land of California where any of the feelings of the Christmas season came mostly from inside our house (and no, Black Fridays where people pepper-spray each other don't count). Here, not only is there snow (again, I'm waiting...), but it's like all of Germany just goes Christmas crazy as soon as those leaves start hitting the ground - the street lights, the Markts, the window displays (the only half-decent ones in Europe all year!). Just think - another whole month to go...

(Forgive some of the image repetitiveness for those that follow my TwitPic feed - I couldn't help sharing them again! They really help me capture the old-timey, traditional holiday spirit I feel here.)

The city begins to celebrate the season (in mid-November)...

Somehow my weekly walking buddy looks even cuter when bundled up against the cold

Special eggnog latte (courtesy of trip to the military base) 

- 1st in two years!

Der Sternschnuppenmarkt beginnt!

An early Christmas present to myself - a super-warm, wooly hat that makes me feel like an Eskimo snow princess

The season of the Schokokuss

And since Christmas begins over here before the American holiday of Thanksgiving, here's a peek at our Thanksgiving celebration this past weekend...

New recipe of Herb Biscuits (sage & thyme) from Real Simple - amazing!

My Thanksgiving plate *stuffed*

...and the dessert spread: cherry, pumpkin & chocolate bourbon 

pecan pies + brownies and cinnamon cream

Here's to a glorious holiday season!

*Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

It all started with a Turkey...

hh, Thanksgiving... the turkey, the traditions, the family. But when you're an expat, holidays often mean family is half a world away and a big part of tradition is lost - and I wasn't even certain I could get a turkey. I'd been waiting all year to make up for our shoddy first holiday here (Christmas - no furniture, no tree, no presents - quite sad, to say the least) and our first Thanksgiving married (which was spent with us on separate continents). So you see why my expectations were set pretty high.

Wanted to make sure every last detail felt special, including the take-home placecards

In addition to never hosting my own Thanksgiving, let alone roasting any kind of entire animal, I had never cooked for more than about 6 or 7 seven people at a time. Realizing our guest list had grown to nearly a dozen, I fell into a mild panic. Half of our guests would be American. Would my Thanksgiving menu hold up to their beloved traditions? Could I successfully juggle one giant bird and five side dishes, with the end results making it to the table not only moist, but also still nice and warm? Needless to say, I put a lot of pressure on myself to bring all our wonderful new friends a welcoming, tasty and traditional Thanksgiving feast. 

Felt like paparazzi. (I think they were impressed...)

When it all came down to it, I had the help (and patience!) of all my friends - and of course, my wonderful husband - and everything made it to the table hot and delicious! All my fears that we would run out of food were completely unfounded. We still have a huge container of turkey in our fridge (almost a week later!). 

Sure sign of success - 

the vegetarian piling on the meat gravy!

Even better than the food for Thanksgiving was the company. We are amazingly lucky to have found such a wonderful group of people here in Germany. Like most European expats, most will likely continue to move around, or even head back to the United States, but I hope we will get the chance to spend at least a few more holidays with them all. A huge thank-you to them for making holidays without family not feel like such.

But then this arrives today, and I can't help but miss my family...

thanks Mom!

Three more weeks till my family arrives to celebrate Christmas the proper way with the Germans - the Weihnachtsmarkt, Christmas trees and sparkling lights everywhere you look, strangers sharing a table with their Glühwein! The countdown has begun...

*Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

**Turkey basting photo courtesy of Y. Ormen

ith our first German, er, 'American' Thanksgiving fast approaching, I realized I had taken for granted all the ingredients that make up the traditional indulgent feast. Here, a turkey must be ordered from a butcher (not just picked up at any grocery), cranberries and sweet potatoes are few and far between, and most notably, pumpkin does not come in a can - it comes, well, in a pumpkin.

Hokkaido Kürbis - not just for jack-o-lanterns

When I came to the realization that I would not be able to order the ubiquitous canned pumpkin I was so used to in the states in time for our Thanksgiving festivities, I got into a bit of a panic. I thought: "Pumpkin from scratch?! Who has time for that?" With a bit of courage, I discovered if you have time to open a can, you have time to cook pumpkin. Sliced in half, dropped on a baking sheet, these babies will just fall out of their shells as the mush you're looking for in about an hour. 

Fresh cooked pumpkin

I will admit that there is something nice to the consistent consistency one gets from the canned stuff - my first was smooth and took only 50 minutes, my second was stringier and took nearly an hour and a half - and many pumpkin recipes have noted as much of a preference. But in the absence of convenience, the real deal works. And there's something nice about getting something that comes as it is - no additives, fancy packaging or outrageous health claims - and using it to cook up whatever you can while it's still in season.  

Which then becomes Pumpkin Curry Soup!

And the next morning - Pumpkin Spice Pancakes!

And so I forge on with hosting my first-ever Thanksgiving, basking in the glow of from-scratch recipes. My stuffing will be made from fresh-baked bread from my local Bäckerei, my sweet potato casserole will not use yams from a can (no wonder I always hated them!), and of course, my pumpkin custard tart (with red-wine caramel sauce - yum!) will be made from one of the gleaming orange pumpkins I see at every fruit and vegetable stand I pass. After all, isn't Thanksgiving about celebrating the autumnal harvest? All hail seasonal cooking!

* Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische