Good Nights for Gastronomes

Thanksgiving dinner was pretty spectacular. It was one of the better Thanksgiving meals that I can recall in the past several years, which says something. It was pretty amazing to see the quantity of food and for all of it to turn out just perfectly.

We had dinner for 19 adults, 1 child, and 1 baby. The oven-roasted turkey was giant, juicy, and fabulous. The turkey from the rotisserie was smaller, but it was what left people talking. It was the first time I had done a turkey in the rotisserie. My spinner supposedly can hold a bird as large as fifteen pounds. This bird was eleven, and I have a hard time believing a twelve pounder would have fit. I rubbed the skin with a spice mix of sage, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and a little rosemary. The skinned crisped-up darkly and was probably the defining flavor of the day. Delicious. Well, maybe a touch heavy on the sage depending upon your particular palate, but very good by all reviews. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the mashed potatoes, gravy, two dressings, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, and, of course, pies - five of 'em: two pumpkin, two apple, and one mincemeat.

Friday night, while the rest of the family tended to leftovers at my siblings' houses, my father and I went to Highland Pacific, a restaurant in my neighborhood that I've been meaning to try for ages. I started with mussels and frites before moving to poached shrimp with grits and onto white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. It was excellent. The grits were nothing shy of amazing. My father had fresh New Zealand salmon followed by warm, chocolate bundt cake. The salmon was awesome, and the cake, well, it's hard to go wrong with warm chocolate cake. I drank a couple of glasses of Dry Creek chenin blanc with my appetizer and dinner that impressed me too. A nice, light wine full of flavors at a very attractive price point. Highly recommended as that white you keep in your fridge for the occassional guest who prefers white wine to your other bar selections or for those days when you just need something a little lighter as an apertif or end-of-day softener.

Saturday, we kicked it up a notch. A seven-pound, delicately seasoned tenderloin cooked perfectly medium-rare and washed down with a 1994 Shafer cabernet knocked our collective socks off. Potatoes, asparagus, and a fancy salad shared the plate. Dessert brought a 1998 Rocha LBV port served alongside chocolate lava cakes with a scoop of peppermint ice cream.

Jonathan 11/27/2006 08:18:00 AM