Aftermath

It's all over but the cleaning!

If I may say so myself, I think, the dinner was a success. My friends came over (with a friend in tow) and we had a glass of wine while waiting for the turkey to finish roasting. The sides and accompaniments were all prepared the day before and lined-up in oven-ready dishes on the counter, ready to pop in once the turkey came out.

We had played a few games while waiting for the last of the cooking to complete and then it was time for the serving. It was a traditional five-course dinner:

Soup:
Puree of Sweet Potato and Squash

Salad:
Spinach and Herb salad with Bacon and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Main:
Roast Turkey
Wild Rice Stuffing
White or Sweet Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Green Beans Almandine
Scalloped Corn
Cranberry-Orange Relish

Dessert:
Parfait of Pumpkin and White Chocolate Mousse garnished with Candied Pecans

Coffee:
Coffee or Tea
Cheese Board
Assorted Biscuits

As is my wont, I cooked WAY too much food. Perhaps it is just the Minnesota-Swede background that does this to me; the biggest offense a host can perpetrate is to run out or to send people off hungry. At least that is the way I was brought-up.

So last night, after a lovely time with conversation, wine, and friends, I spent a while getting the leftovers arranged into the 'fridge. I hate to say this, but realized that nobody looking into my refrigerator would have any problem guessing my gender even if they didn’t know whose house they were in. I may not be the stereotypical guy; I cook for myself, I don't watch sports on TV, I rarely order a pizza. But the 'fridge is clearly a guy's 'fridge: a disproportionately large percentage of it is taken-up with beer. I'm not even that big a fan of beer! I have one every now and again, but people bring it over when I have parties and leave the leftovers. It accumulates faster than it is consumed! But I digress…

With the food put away, I loaded the dishwasher for the first (of what would clearly be many) load and then sat down with a glass of wine and watched the news. Saga came up to sit next to me (presumably on the off-chance that I had something to feed her) and we watched the news before going for one last walk and then turning in.

It was a lovely evening and I still have three days of the weekend ahead of me. Yeah!

Wherever you are, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.

Don Bergquist - November 26, 2010 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA