Our Thanksgivings tend to follow a bit of a routine -- up early to get the turkey in the oven and scurry around cleaning and such so that we can be ready by noon to relax with a Bloody Mary and listen to the local radio station's broadcast (also a tradition) of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," a song I loved when it was new in 1967 and which seems sadly appropriate now, forty-two years later. (Had to check the math on that -- has it really been that long? And who is that white-haired old lady in my mirror?)
In past years we've had a full house for Thanksgiving. In 2007, my brother was here, as were Claui's folks and our friends the Langsners with their daughter Naomi and her friend Matt. And of course, Ethan and Aileen (my older son and his wife) were here. We turned the dining room table lengthwise and added another to it to have room for all.
Last year it was the same cast of characters, minus my brother, but we decided to string together tables down the middle of the living room to avoid crowding.
This year's gathering was small -- Ethan and Aileen are in their new home in Atlanta and still settling in, Claui and her parents have gone to Arkansas to be with her sister, and my brother, who just visited, declined to stretch his stay into Thanksgiving. So we were seven -- and we all fit into the dining room.
Despite another oven malfunction (the turkey had to finish cooking on the grill and the sweet potatoes that were meant to be roasted ended up sauteed,) it was an excellent feast. We honored tradition -- but gave it some new twists.
Louise made some wonderfully exotic befores to accompany my usual turkey liver pate, as well as a gingery cranberry sauce. Naomi and Matt brought an amazing assortment of cheeses and Justin made the sweet potatoes. I'll share the menu below. (For my friends in the UK -- our crackers don't come with party hats -- they are what I think you would call savory biscuits,)
This year's gathering was small -- Ethan and Aileen are in their new home in Atlanta and still settling in, Claui and her parents have gone to Arkansas to be with her sister, and my brother, who just visited, declined to stretch his stay into Thanksgiving. So we were seven -- and we all fit into the dining room.
Despite another oven malfunction (the turkey had to finish cooking on the grill and the sweet potatoes that were meant to be roasted ended up sauteed,) it was an excellent feast. We honored tradition -- but gave it some new twists.
Louise made some wonderfully exotic befores to accompany my usual turkey liver pate, as well as a gingery cranberry sauce. Naomi and Matt brought an amazing assortment of cheeses and Justin made the sweet potatoes. I'll share the menu below. (For my friends in the UK -- our crackers don't come with party hats -- they are what I think you would call savory biscuits,)
Bloody Marys
Turkey liver pate
Marinated cauliflower
Cucumber and grape salsa with mint and fennel
Miso and walnut pesto
Rice crackers
Smoked almonds
Turkey basted with butter, red currant jelly, orange juice, and mustard
Dressing with celery, apples, and onions
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Cranberry sauce with ginger
Green beans with pecans
Sweet potatoes sauteed in garlic oil garnished with fried sage leaves
Green salad
Cranberry gelatin salad with celery, pineapple, and pecans
Champagne
Frozen pumpkin mousse in a pecan crust
Assorted cheeses
Crackers
Grapes
Port, Coffee, Glen Rothes single malt Scotch
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