Thursday, November 24, 2005
Spent the whole day preparing for Thanksgiving. This year, Patrick and I had his mom and a bunch of our friends over for a feast. The menu: Southern Biscuits, Shrimp-Stuffed Merlitons, Good Luck Black-Eyed Peas, Stewed Okra, Boiled Corn on the Cob, Maple-Glazed Yams, Bourbon Glazed Turkey with Cornbread Stuffing, Southern Pecan Pie, Mamere's Bread Pudding with Creole Hard Sauce, Tangy Cranberry-Tangerine Relish. Patrick had started cooking 5 days ago. Mom Ryan came over yesterday and assisted with the cooking. I rented a 6-foot table and 6 chairs and was a little surprised that it all fit in my little car (with no other passengers). I rented from Abbey Party Rents (415-715-6900, 411 Allan St near Geneva), which was a bit of a long drive and in a neighborhood in which I didn't feel that comfortable, but the pick-up and drop-off was both fast and easy. In attendance: Peter, Galen, Remi, Jesse, Yan Hui, Phil, Danny, Drew, Hao, Tony, Mom Ryan, Patrick, and me. Perhaps even more amazingly, that table and chairs all fit into our front room, which we informally referred to on occasion as "living room #1." Everything was tight, but we all fit for a buffet-with-seating dinner. We don't remember what everyone brought because we were concentrating on getting dinner ready, but here's what we remember (corrections gratefully accepted): Hao brought a dracaena bonsai, Tony brought a bouquet of flowers, Remi and Jesse brought chianti and raspberry rum (Bacardi Razz), Galen and Peter brought an Anselmann Ortega Trockenbeerenauslese dessert wine and (a 2004 Marqués de Cáceres dry rose rioja?). ? brought a 2003 Smoking Loon merlot. ? brought a Foxhorn merlot. Yan Hui brought a 2002 Santa Ema merlot. Mom Ryan got plenty of laughs with her pecans joke, and everyone was interested in the stories she had to tell about all the jobs she has held in her 71 years of life.