Non-Turkey Day

San Francisco was a fun trip. Though, it’s definitely different when I visit with someone vs visiting alone. I had a good time but a weekend is never enough time in the city. I do miss that place a lot.

boring update: I’ve finally decided the dishes that I will make for Thanksgiving this year. The menu is as follows:

Roast Duck with Butternut Squash, Shallots, Porcini mushrooms and Green Beans
Blowtorch Prime Rib Roast
Leek Bread Pudding
Crisped Smashed Roasted Marble Potatoes
Honey Glazed Baby Carrots
Caesar Salad with Croutons and Shaved Parmesean
Cheaters Pillsboughry Dinner Rolls
and Tracy will be making dessert.

National Day of Listening

While listening to NPR this weekend I heard some talk from a show (or segment?) called StoryCorps (which originally I thought was spelled Storycore and I thought “hardcore stories… these stories are intense”). StoryCorps was encouraging listeners to particiapte in an event called National Day of Listening. What happens is, the day after Thanksgiving you’re supposed to interview a family member, or friend, just anyone you know. You listen to them, listen to the story they have to tell, about anything. You just interview them and ask them to share a part of their life and memory with you.

I think I want to do this. I know my parents, aunts, uncles and grandma all have stories to tell. They have experiences that I won’t ever get to have, or would ever want to have really. I should get some of these stories from them while I still can.

Anyway, I encourage you to do the same. I might post some of these after I edit them. Maybe, we’ll see how it goes.

National Day of Listening

Good Eatin’

Thanksgiving Dinner

On a recent trip to Santa Cruz for Labor Day weekend, my friends and I decided to have a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner (or Christmas if you prefer) because really, one day a year just isn’t enough.

We learned that during the “off season” turkeys at the store are generally half the size of those during the holiday season. This is partly due to the fact that the turkeys don’t include any dark meat – no wings, no drumsticks. 🙁 Despite the lack of dark meat (or as I like to call it “the flavor explosion”) we still made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and I was stuffed, almost to the point where I would have needed to induce vomiting to keep from exploding. I know! That indeed does sound delicious, doesn’t it?

I firmly believe that stuffing is something one should have as a kitchen staple, like popcorn or something. You sit down to watch some tv with a glass of water and a bowl/plate of stuffing. Yummmm YUM!

Moving on, I had quite an excellent time in Santa Cruz with Julie, Danielle & Co. They’ve asked me to refer to them by that title in the future so I am happy to oblige. I always have fun with them, well, ok probably not always but I don’t think I’ve encountered anything traumatizing enough to remember right now so that says enough.

We shopped, we ate, we watched awards shows. I think it was a very successful holiday for me.