Not gone
A) It's getting to be time for a visit to the optometrist. Now that I spend part or all of four days a week staring alternately at a computer screen and very fine print (some of you perhaps know and probably hate the Red Book) my eyes complain bitterly if I do anything of the sort after work.
B) I'm taking solace in being a sorta-kinda Thanksgiving traditionalist, at least where stuff under this roof is concerned. This prevents me from having an inferiority attack after reading some of the Thanksgiving fare readers have served. You (or y'all, as the case may be) may feel free to post your menus here: I can take it.
As usual, I went out with the in-laws for Thanksgiving day. They have a saying in that family. "There are two kinds of people in the world: Martha Stewart, and not exactly. We're not exactly." We go to the York Harbor Inn in Maine which puts on a buffet, a splendid mix of gourmet and traditional fare. Features included turkey, white and dark, prime rib, lobster newburg, baked haddock filet, bread and sausage stuffing, oyster stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, orzo with asiago sauce, baked butternut squash with walnuts, baked glazed yams, spinach casserole, several salads, and a decadent dessert table.
Even in this house, that doesn't happen. Cooking for two in a small house is constraining. Still, we have a post-Thanksgiving feast over the weekend. Fare this year was a half turkey, sage rubbed, cornbread stuffing supercharged with chopped red onion and extra celery, swedes (aka rutabaga) mashed with Greek yogurt, my wife's favourite peas and onions. I would love to have seen this turkey alive. The half had an enormous leg and thigh, an equally gigantic wing, and a relatively modest breast and ribcage. Nevertheless it roasted well.
Dessert was a single small pumpkin pie. After York Harbor's offerings (pumpkin pie, Maine wild blueberry pie, flourless chocolate cake, Indian pudding and a few other dainties) it seemed prudent not to go overboard with dessert.
The question before the house is what to do for December 25. For the first time in five years, my clinician daughter got the short straw and will either be on duty or on call until New Years, so that is when the family is getting together. Because of family gatherings, we've already done several Jewish christmases (Chinese food and a movie), and we're exploring alternatives, especially those that don't involve overeating.
Thanks? Well, good friends, a roof over our heads and food to eat. In addition, it was the second Thanksgiving in a row that the Beast didn't come to call. This allows me to have dinner without an embarrassing scene, and to join in the traditional post-prandial walk along Maine beaches.
We count only the gifts we have received, and look no further.
B) I'm taking solace in being a sorta-kinda Thanksgiving traditionalist, at least where stuff under this roof is concerned. This prevents me from having an inferiority attack after reading some of the Thanksgiving fare readers have served. You (or y'all, as the case may be) may feel free to post your menus here: I can take it.
As usual, I went out with the in-laws for Thanksgiving day. They have a saying in that family. "There are two kinds of people in the world: Martha Stewart, and not exactly. We're not exactly." We go to the York Harbor Inn in Maine which puts on a buffet, a splendid mix of gourmet and traditional fare. Features included turkey, white and dark, prime rib, lobster newburg, baked haddock filet, bread and sausage stuffing, oyster stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, orzo with asiago sauce, baked butternut squash with walnuts, baked glazed yams, spinach casserole, several salads, and a decadent dessert table.
Even in this house, that doesn't happen. Cooking for two in a small house is constraining. Still, we have a post-Thanksgiving feast over the weekend. Fare this year was a half turkey, sage rubbed, cornbread stuffing supercharged with chopped red onion and extra celery, swedes (aka rutabaga) mashed with Greek yogurt, my wife's favourite peas and onions. I would love to have seen this turkey alive. The half had an enormous leg and thigh, an equally gigantic wing, and a relatively modest breast and ribcage. Nevertheless it roasted well.
Dessert was a single small pumpkin pie. After York Harbor's offerings (pumpkin pie, Maine wild blueberry pie, flourless chocolate cake, Indian pudding and a few other dainties) it seemed prudent not to go overboard with dessert.
The question before the house is what to do for December 25. For the first time in five years, my clinician daughter got the short straw and will either be on duty or on call until New Years, so that is when the family is getting together. Because of family gatherings, we've already done several Jewish christmases (Chinese food and a movie), and we're exploring alternatives, especially those that don't involve overeating.
Thanks? Well, good friends, a roof over our heads and food to eat. In addition, it was the second Thanksgiving in a row that the Beast didn't come to call. This allows me to have dinner without an embarrassing scene, and to join in the traditional post-prandial walk along Maine beaches.
We count only the gifts we have received, and look no further.
Labels: Thanksgiving
posted by Uncle | 01:40
3 Comments:
Happy the Beast did not come to Thanksgiving dinner. :-)
Where does one buy half a turkey? I didnt know that was an option. Hmm. Cuz Im missing the leftover turkey sandwiches. I fixed some yummy turkey noodle soup with some wings I bought the day before. And I had a couple pet sitting appointments, not too many, but enough. :-)
Trader Joe's supplied this half bird. The only fault I found was their instruction to cook under foil...I've never known that to work. We have a v-shaped roasting rack meant for whole birds. I put the half critter in that, tipped one way, and tipped it the other way after half the cooking time. I suspect you could improvise anything along those lines.
Absent Trader Joe's, you could always ask a butcher or meat dept. All they can say is no.
Oh, no. You put this awful image in my head with the half-bird description. I see a freaky turkey with a much smaller other half. It surely could only walk in circles then. The family who got the small half would have much tougher, more muscular fare.
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