Thanksgiving in Sri Lanka

So this is my second Thanksgiving in Sri Lanka and I decided that I would host a nice dinner for my good friends here. Many of you know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (next to Halloween of course, but that is a different matter), and you know how I like to make a big dinner for my family or friends. We had a great evening with good food, considering what I had to work with, and fun conversation. So I though I would share some of my evening with you here since I wasn’t able to be there with you all.

The Menu:
Appetizer
Roasted Garlic Heads
Cashew Nuts

Main Course
Citrus Roasted Goose with Cranberry Sauce
Bread Stuffing with New Zealand Apple
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans tossed with Garlic and Roasted Cashews
Sweet Pumpkin Squash Curry
Slivered Carrots in Butter Sauce

Dessert
Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream
Italian Coffee

This is Gary the Goose. I found him at one of the small seaside beach resorts that we often visit. I could not find a turkey for the life of me and was pretty disappointed. But it turns out that Gary was pretty tasty! My friend Petr pointed out that this was like a real Thanksgiving, as we received our bounty from the natives and not the grocery store.

We forgot to say grace but I did get to share a little bit of the Thanksgiving traditions with my non-American friends. For most of them, this was there first American Thanksgiving. Clockwise from left: Marco and Nicola (Italy), Florian (Germany), and Petr and Jana (Czech Rep.). We were later joined by Petra and Ivo, two more of my Czech friends.

Jana had the nicest looking plate. I think we were laughing about Gary Goose…

In the end, everyone really enjoyed the food, which was a big relief. I was afraid that everything was going to turn out strange.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!