Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Thanksgiving Update


It occurs to me that I never talked about my holiday. And, really, there's thankfully not much news to report--lots of the 4-F's: Food, Family, Fun, Friends. Dinner turned out fairly deliciously (Artie) by all accounts with me being responsible primarily for the sides and Satan manning the meat battle stations. We roasted a turkey breast and baked a small ham. You see pictured there Chase and David both of whom are quite full. David has taken to "training" for these large holiday meals which is to say he fasts for up to one day in advance so as to have plenty of room and added stamina for Serious Eating. I think we can safely say "Mission Accomplished" this year.

I'll share with you my go-to Thanksgiving recipe. It's been a big hit with family and friends, isn't too complicated, and looks quite festive.

Corn and Wild Rice Pudding

2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
2/3 cup milk
3 cups drained canned sweet corn
1 cup cooked wild rice
3 scallions, finely chopped or 1/3 cup finely chopped scallions
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine egg, egg yolk, heavy cream and milk and whisk well to combine. Add all remaining ingredients except butter and mix well. Grease a 7 by 11 or 8 by 12-inch casserole with the butter. Pour custard ingredients into prepared casserole and bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until custard is set and golden brown on the top. Serve warm.
[Editor's note: Keep in mind it takes 55 minutes to cook the wild rice. This can be done the night before and then kept in the fridge if you like]

The long weekend was otherwise uneventful. I did accomplish a fair amount of online Christmas shopping. My Visa card is still sniffling and whimpering and will hardly be coaxed out of the wallet these days, but the good news is that there are many, MANY gifts in the can.

I finished my latest good read, "The Tender Bar" by JR Moehringer. I suppose you could say the book is the latest in what has become a series of non-fiction reads that began with "Angela's Ashes", with the theme being overcoming the effects of a difficult, poverty ridden childhood. The other book in the series is "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls. They are all three amazing stories and I recommend them highly.

JR's story takes place in the Long Island town of Manhassett where he grew up in the seventies. Desserted nearly from birth by his father, JR bonds with his uncle Charlie who tends bar at "Dickens" the local pub. Eventually, the bar and the men who frequent it come to stand in collectively as a father figure for JR. The book is also a sort of a love letter to the bar itself. Anyone who's ever boozily bonded at a special place will recognize and enjoy the vibe that JR has managed to capture here so well. They will also recognize the pitfalls.


I seem to have lost the thread of my Freddie Mercury story. Maybe I can pick it up again soon. My long weekend has caused me to revert somewhat to my natural tendency of being a night owl and I'm back to having to force myself to hit the sack at a decent hour. Makes me long for those endless summers of my youth when whole months were mine to while away as I saw fit.

'Til later...




1 comment:

Suzanne said...

Of course, I was thinking about "The Cafe" when I wrote that. I seem to remember a pretty good short story that someone wrote back in the day.