Okay, so I have been slacking as of late with the ol' postings. Could be laziness, could be lack'o insight, could be too much goin' on in the ol' brainpan to sort through and make sense of...Who the hell knows?
First off, I had the distinct pleasure of sharing a wonderful Thanksgiving groaning board of a meal with some great friends up in the big city (that's Portland, OR - for those of you who are unfamiliar with my whereabouts yet. From now on said city will be known as PDX in these here rants...kayo?). We (that is the family and I ) had a lot of fun cooking, conversing, playing with the new pooch, drinking wine (and later hot buttered rum!) and of course stuffing ourselves to an almost comatose state. What a blast.
The Hosts - Ms. E and Mr. S - provided the big bird (nicely brined, and incredibly flavorful), a cornbread stuffing, Mashed potatoes (mmm, garlicky!) and various snackies. The other honored guests - Ms. L, Mr. D and the other Miss H - brought the perennial favorite Green Bean Casserole (but notably better for the use of fresh beans and a truly homemade creamy sauce!) and Ms. L made her first ever pie!!! (a very respectable, delicious traditional pumpkin one at that. In fact, it was so good that at first I thought Ms. E -a professional pastry chef - had concocted it! Good show!) My offerings this year were some homemade southern style cheese crackers (a new recipe I tried for the first time...Very good, though I think I may have over done it with the cayenne pepper a bit - suprisingly, OUR Miss H. Loved them, and she usually turns her nose up at anything spicy!) I guess with enough butter and cheese, even spicy is good to a five year old. My other dish was one I had been perfecting at work for the past month or so...Roasted Butternut Squash with Caramelized Onions, Candied Pecans and Bleu Cheese...all baked together into a delicious sweet, salty, richly decadent casserole of autumn flavors. Yum! (if I do say so myself) Ms. K, as is to be expected, provided some equally delectable wines to augment the selection offered by our gracious hosts. All in all a very satisfying and quite memorable meal.
Due to our having to work the next day at the famous traditional Oregon Thanksgiving Winery Open House Tasting Event, (way too early in the morning, if you ask me!) we had to depart before the big Boys Vs. Girls Cranium contest. (Bummer, I have been waiting a long time for my chance to have a go at that wacky game...Alas there is always next time.) Well, I'd best be going...Ciao for Now.
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