Day after Thanksgiving and I’m full of scraps of conversation, images of friendly faces, the memory of good food and plenty of it. We had seventeen around the tables, not folk who would normally have been hanging out together, which made it all the more fun. At my end we had a librarian, the owner of a bookstore and my agent, stories lively and snarky, with plenty of laughter.
Turkey brined with soy sauce, maple syrup, fresh ginger and garlic. Ham with pineapple and cloves, onions in several modes, parsnips kumquats and pears baked together. The classic string bean casserole prepared expertly by our neighbors, with their home-grown beans. Fat home-made rolls to tear open and slather with butter. Mashed potatoes, salad with pomegranate seeds like tiny jewels. Quarts of gravy. Cranberry sauce. Then a lemon meringue pie by our neighbors, two pecan pies, two pumpkin and a pair of apple pies from our own trees. No one left hungry.
Nice to have a long room that we can make over into a dining hall! The cats received the giblets chopped up for dinner, and so they were happy too. I’m ready to pull up some cats for a day spent in a long winter’s nap….
