Thanksgiving Dinner at Castello Pomodori

As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving this year was celebrated at Castello Pomodori, the magnificent riverside home of the Contessa di Pomodori. As you can see from the photo at left the dinner was a buffet (a "new" concept for us at Thanksgiving). Eleven guests gathered for the dinner with each guest/pairing bringing something for dinner. The Contessa wowed us with a very well executed roast turkey that was exceptionally juicy (thank God), stuffing, a baked glazed ham, manicotti and a cranberry-orange relish that was excellent. She also prepared Liberace's Sticky Buns which, considering they are made with Pillsbury's Crescent Rolls, were absolutely yummy! The side dishes included potatoes gratin (Bob and Tobin), creamed onions (Sarah), green bean casserole (Susan), Brussels sprouts "hache" (Kevin), and butternut squash gratin (Frenchy). The desserts included raspberry crisp (I don't know who brought that but it looked terrific), pumpkin pie, Belgian chocolate truffles, and spice cookies (Bob , Mimi's brother from Belgium),  vegan fudge (Shana), apple pie (Mimi), and ricotta pie with raspberry sauce and fruitcake prepared by the Contessa. I must say that given the disparate foods, baking dishes,reheating requirements, distance traveling to dinner, etc., the dinner was really amazing. I would like to give an special shout-out to the Contessa for the sauce for the turkey. It was magnificent with a deep turkey flavor that really  made for a quite remarkable dinner. 

Thanks to everyone for the great time, interesting conversation and warm friendship. Keep your eyes peeled for the video to come soon.