musings.schelley.org

"So every year, I run a 4-mile race on Thanksgiving day. Why don't you run with me?" my brother asked. "No, I'm not really a runner" I replied. "Oh, well it ends at a bar with free Guinness for the runners", valuable information that pushed me to start running (luckily, I already clock 4-5 miles on the elliptical 4 times a week, so the transition to running was easier than if I'd started cold turkey. No pun intended).

So, after taking a Jet Blue "shut eye" from Seattle to Boston, I ran my first race ever, the 10th annual 4-mile "Gobble, Gobble, Gobble", beating my 60 minute goal by 8 minutes, with a final time of 52 minutes (Aimee, the Northwood elementary school fun runs do not count). I was actually surprised at my time - there was some walking spent in between the running. Sadly, by the time I got into the bar - it turns out that runners are a very thirsty bunch considering the length of the line to get in - the Burren had switched to something decidedly non-Guinness. But the important point is that I'm now running and I finished my first race!

Ed, my brother, spent hours planning the Thanksgiving meal. He bought an 11.6 pound turkey (scientist answer, cook's answer would be 12 pounds), brined the good looking bird for 6 hours in 2.5 gallons of liquid and then air dried for 18 hours. The turkey was fabulous - juicy, flavorful, crackling yummy skin, everything that I dreamed a turkey could be and even better. Ed also made giblet gravy (took about 4 hours over two days), mushroom stuffing (using Clear Flour bread), mashed sweet potatoes, sauteed brussel sprouts (I helped with this), cranberry sauce, a green salad and wheat bread. Plus, a layered dip with guacamole, black beans and goat cheese and crudites and veggie dip. For dessert, I brought a pumpkin sage cheesecake (surprisingly, TSA didn't even bat an eye when the triple foil layered springform pan ran through securtiy screening) and Ed bought a Clear Flour chocolate whiskey cake.

I can't really say which was my favorite dish. The turkey was, well amazing. The buttery stuffing had huge chunks of mushrooms and crispy bread. The sweet potatoes were a perfect flavor combination, and not too sweet. The brussel sprouts were crunchy and garlicky and lemony. Wow.

Being Olhava's, wine was a fundamental part of the meal. We began with a Rose champagne (Spanish cava sparkling pinot noir). With dinner, we enjoyed a Montinore Estate 2005 Pinot Noir (it was ok, Ed said that it didn't have much presence) and a 2004 Mendocino Zinfandel (much better, very full bodied). And with dessert, a 1994 Porto Niepoort Colheita, very delicious, particularly with the chocolate cake. We were also joined by Ed and Phoebe's friends Jarrod and Annalisa and Gretchen. And, in a completely unrelated side note, I got to spend some time with Greg the day after and Amy the day after that!

The entire meal was fabulous and wonderful. It was Ed's first Thanksgiving dinner ever, which is a huge testament to his cooking skills. And being with family has been very nice - Eddie, Phoebe and the 2 1/2 year old very fun (and energetic) Alex. Hopefully, the tradition can continue going forward. Gobble, gobble, gobble.

PS - Jet Blue is now my favorite U.S. domestic carrier. 150K miles on United be damned - JetBlue's planes are clean and the flight attendants fun and nice and actually like their jobs (plus the young male ones are cute!). They even passed out a Bliss package. Whoa...

PPS - My brother is a chemist by trade, meaning that he is incredibly precise when he cooks. Not surprisingly, he was sitting next to me while I blogged about Thanksgiving.