Thanksgiving

Eastside Road, November 22, 2012—

FAST YESTERDAY, FEAST TODAY. And why not: it's Thanksgiving Day, and Lindsey knocked herself out, partly for me I'm sure, partly for herself and for Us, partly for the tradition. It was just the two of us, for the first time in a number of years, I think. (I'm not sure. It should be easy to check, but the Internet is slow here at home.)

Here's what we had, after an exceptional Martini (what the hell, it's a holiday). We had celery, olives, and pickles; we had stuffing, mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with chestnuts; we had roast chicken with gravy. I must say I prefer a good roast chicken to turkey, any day of the week, Thanksgiving included. I like goose, Guinea fowl, and chicken. I particularly like capon, but it's years since I've seen one. Tonight's chicken was local, organic, politically correct, and dead. We lost no time rinsing it, salting it, and roasting it according to Judy Rodgers's instructions in her fine book.

We had tasty butterflake dinner rolls from Gayle's Bakery in Capitola. They survived the trip perfectly well. We had cranberry sauce, molded in the nice heart-shaped mold Dominique gave us so many years ago.

Afterward, a particularly nice pumpkin pie. Lindsey did not buy the crust frozen at the Downtown Bakery, though that would have been perfectly fine; after all it's more or less her recipe. Instead she made it here, at home, out of ingredients.

We ate by candlelight, and we remembered to be thankful for our family near and far, for our friends living and dead, for the food we ate and the work and expertise that brought it to table. You can ask for no more. We are indeed blessed.

Chardonnay, Mazzocco "Stuhmuller" (Alexander Valley), 2007: well balanced, good varietal, more fruit than oak: almost enough to revise my opinion of California Chardonnays