And I love it even more when Thanksgiving falls within such a window of frostiness. I't happens more often than not around here - there's something about late November that turns the water pressure down and chases the gray skies away.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Has been for a while. Whether its a SoCal backyard margarita party, drinking Sharon's Kisses in a warm New Jersey home, or staying put in our little bungalow, it never disappoints. And when we do stay put, Adrienne pulls out all the stops and makes a feast for the ages. This blog serves as the repository for the ages, showing the ages how well we ate. And how well we drank too, duh.
Adding to the thankful feasting was the fact that our good friend Emily flew up from California, our good buddy Chris joined us, and our good buddy-uncle Mark came down. Good buddy Tristan stopped by for dessert and some low-brow conversation. It all added up to 13-hrs straight of delicious eating, drinking good wine, and cracking up. We called it a night at 3am.
Below is a blow by blow of the last few days, with most of the emphasis (deservedly) on Adrienne's creations. With the exception of the Eggplant Wellington from a few years back (one of my favorite all-time AJ foodstuffs), this was the tastiest Thanksgiving yet. I hope you can experience it sometime!
Picked up Emily from the airport, bummed around Seattle for the day while AJ cooked, and then went to The Blondes for dinner - fab day!
Brussel sprouts from the garden - been growing over a year!
Emily digging Jerusalem artichokes out of the ground.
Jeruselem artichokes, brussel sprouts, and scarlet runner beans in prep. Beets and radishes below.
Marinated and grilled tofu for the main dish.
The menu, detailed below
Note: an * denotes SLOP (Super Local Organic Produce, i.e., grown in our garden)
Appetizers: Cashew Cheese with Cracked Peppercorns; Walnut Cranberry Cheese Ball; Chili-fig Jam*; Tomato Jam*; Roasted Beet Hummus; Olives and Peppers; Homemade Crackers
Wines with Appetizers: 2014 taste test of Rieslings (Oregon v Washington v Germany v Austria)
Dinner: Cauliflower Mac n Cheese; Chanterelle and Shiitake Biriyani; Roasted Sunchokes*, Beluga Lentils, Shiitake Bacon, and Truffle Sour Cream; Balsamic Tofu, Scarlet Runner Beans* Sauce, Agave Pumpkins; Pickled Radishes and Beets* with Horseradish* Aoli; Shaved Brussel Sprouts*, Pomegranite, Almonds, and Meyer Lemon Dressing; Ground-Cherry* Cornbread Biscuits
Wine with Dinner: 2006 August Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Dessert: Spiced Parsnip Cake, Cream-Cheese Frosting, Candied Meyer Lemons; Maple Pecan Pie; Vanilla Coconut Ice-Cream
Wine with Dessert: 2011 Homemade Blackberry Port
A plate of deliciousness...
Everyone at dinnertime!
And then, we laughed!
Marko and AJ pontificating, as usual.
Tristan joined the fray....
A new Thanksgiving tradition? We went for a hike to find our Christmas Tree, just like last year.
That's not snow - just frost.
AJ in the frost-snow.
A frozen lake in the Cascades.
Ice!
Icicles.
John J fellin a tree.
Adding the Obama Christmas Tree Topper - a tradition in our household!
And now, on to Christmas.
