So, the Chairman of the BCC was kind enough to let me and 12 of my friends use his ski lodge in Myto! God knows why he trusted us, but he did and I was really excited because Erin and I decided to make this trip our version of an American "Thanksgiving"! We dubbed it "Amerialia Thanksgiving Weekend". Amerialia is the name of our apartment. I hope I don't have to explain why. I have made a nametag for our buzzer. Its colorful, and Erin and I are astonished everyday that it hasn't been taken down by the housekeeper or something.
Ok, so here we go with some descriptions! Many of the pics are self explanatory, but there are some great details from them, so I have to let you in on it.
First off, the drive up there was incredible. John's brother in law Miro picked up Pernille, Malene, Kristian (Pernille's friend from Denmark) and me from the city center in John's CADILLAC SUV, and drove us the 3 hours to Myto, which is in Central Slovakia, just north of Brezno. When we arrived I nearly cried because its so big and beautiful, and perfect for what we were planning. The kitchen was fully stocked and included 2 ovens, 4 burners, and a "grill" type stove section. Plus, there was a charcoal grill outside, a custom made picnic style dining room table, a Finnish sauna and a hot tub. Heavenly? I think so. So, the Danes and I readied as much as we could so that when everyone else showed up things would run smoothly.
Erin, Pedro (Portugal), Beatriz (Spain), Maxime (France) and Helene (France) joined us later that night.
Here is our fully stocked fridge! We set that part up. Here is some of our shopping list: 30 eggs, 8 liters of juice, soft drinks, 4 lbs of yams, 2 lbs of potatoes, 2 ducks, 1 chicken, and 2 pumpkins. I mean serious business (and could probably set up a small catering company now after all the multinational dinner parties ive helped with)
We had a real fireplace! I haven't had a REAL fireplace in awhile. When we moved to Perry the parents installed a gas one...so I think the last time I've even touched firewood and a poker is when I was in upstate NY approximately 3 years ago.
The cabin had games! This one is called Mikado, and I happen to be quite talented at it. :) Pernille is one of the best though.
Multi-lingual Scrabble! Nene is the French equivalent of a naughty version of "tatas".
The peeps playing FREE RICE and FREE POVERTY!! I have them hooked! They needed some serious help when it came to US geography.
The next morning, after sprawling ourselves among 6 bedrooms, we decided to take a walk around the village! This is the outside of the cabin (which happens to have 3 stories)
Technically not "stealing" apples, because the tree branches hung over the property line. Loopholes people, loopholes. We also were barked at by around 30 dogs. Seems as though everyone had some sort of retriever or shepard mix. Loud. So much for trying to "blend in".
As we were walking we accidentally witnessed 2 men butchering a sheep. We were fascinated and grossed out at the same time. Noticing that we were essentially staring at them, the 2 men invited us in. Goodness village people are nice. We got to meet their dogs, chase the sheep (inadvertently of course), inspect all of the organs and limbs they had borrowed from the carcass, then they handed us one of the legs! Mind you, the whole time we were speaking with them in broken Slovak. Erin was the leader, as she has had formal training. The jist of what we understood was that they were preparing the mutton for a little girl's birthday. Hence, we felt really bad about taking some of the meat away from the party, but were really excited to cook it later that day. I mean seriously, it was still warm. After presenting the spoils of the walk to the rest of the house, we decided we should buy them some Borovička (juniper brandy) to say thank you. They were so happy that they bestowed yet ANOTHER leg into our care. Amazing.
Here are the boys, preparing it! Rosemary and whole garlic cloves. Fresh.
Again. Fresh.
The dinner table! We all fit perfectly.
Peeling potatoes!!!
As if we needed to add any more meat to the menu...
Erin and me cleaning the duck by removing any remaining quills. Talk about satifying any physical neurosis you have.
Silly Danish people playing with poultry.
Kristian and I had some very serious discussions about how we were going to tackle the birds. I had chosen a port-wine and a balsamic/honey recipe. I was really interested in the process, since my parents usually take care of the birds. Usually we have a 20something lb turkey (thats around 9-12 kilos for you metric people). As you can see, black was the color of the day. We didn't plan that.
Prepping the pumpkin because it is impossible to find ready-made puree here. Oh well, homemade tastes better for sure.
I believe I was making this face because food products kept disappearing! This includes 1 liter of milk! HOW DID IT GET LOST?!?!? Still a mystery. This is post "Where the hell is the bread?!?!" I found it.
Saffron Potatoes!!
Green Beans with garlic and lemon!
Finished product mutton legs!
(continue salivating)
I even made some of "Stuarts Special Secret Salad Sauce"
The finished ducks...just ready and waiting to be cut apart!
Pedro with the chicken!
Time to eat!
Not one, not two, but THREE homemade pumpkin pies. All from one pumpkin. Outrageous.
Pedro brought another dessert! Hide your scales ladies.
The damage:
Max, our ever petulant Frenchman, even helped with the dishes!
In honor of my late Grandma Lorraine Harper, we did a craft project. Its the one where you cut out a turkey in the shape of your hand. We decorated them with country colors!
Bunnies! Oh the joys of left over art supplies.
We locked out the smokers :)
Dance break! I think this one was "Move your Feet" by Junior Senior.
Breakdancing!!!
It's the "horizontal running man". Duh.
The next morning I made pancakes for everyone! Just like a typical Sunday in my house in Ohio.
Vegemite on pancakes! Sounds gross, but is actually tasty with some butter! Plus, large amounts of Vitamin B!
3 comments:
What a glorious and beautiful place! The setting is absolutely charming. And although a drawn and quartered lamb hanging in the doorway might give the casual observer pause, I understand the reason for the picture - the fresh leg of lamb, seasoned and in the pan, ready for roasting, looked sublime. I'll bet it was yummy.
Two things I hope: (a) you all didn't break anything; and (b) everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, signs a thank you letter to the owner. Entrusting that lovely retreat to your merry band was a most gracious (and somewhat risky)thing to do. Especially with a refrigerator full of beer and multiple bottles of wine.
The weekend looks like it was a culinary extravaganza. Did you leave the "hands" for the owner as a gift? And it appears you made real pumpkin pie, from scratch! Bravo!
What's with the bunny tail - you and Maxim? And why, pray tell, are you and Erin on the floor?
Fantastic.
Wow, those are really big sausages! I am sure you will answer all of dad's questions when you add the captions.
you dont even need text...the pictures tell it all.
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