I was invited to the Great American Thanksgiving Celebration at the U.S. Embassy the other day. Thanksgiving will be on Thursday, November 22 this year.

The event was organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila, and Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney was also present to help promote American products in the Philippines. We were welcomed by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.

Here are some of the American products and their local distributors showcased in a small trade fair in the next room:

Remember this wine bottle with the Z that looks like it came straight out of a Zorro movie – it’s a pretty good wine in the $20 range, and this is what chose to I have with lunch 🙂

We were served some Thanksgiving staples like Roast Turkey with Cranberry Sauce, Pecan Pumpkin Pie, Baked Cheesecake, etc… The American products showcased above were used to make most of these dishes.

Here are some of my favorites:

Deviled Eggs with Crab and Sesame Seeds

Smoked Salmon Canapes with Monterey Jack Cheese

Cream Cheese Rosette on Pumpernickel

Cranberry and Ricotta Crostini

Of course, it’s not Thanksgiving without some turkey! This Roasted Turkey with Cranberry Sauce was delicious! I had no idea turkey can be this juicy.

For dessert, we had Baked Cheesecake, Pecan Pumpkin Pie, Fresh Fruits on Skewer with Yoghurt Dip on Shooter, and Chocolate Mud Pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Due to security reasons, we were not allowed to take photos of the facade or of the other guests without their permission.