Thanksgiving in Seattle

Vivian and Stephen offered their Thanksgiving feast a week early so they could attend their sister-in-law's wedding on the east coast.  For us, one of the highlights was seeing Yuri again.

But first, the calm before the storm.  We had a light lunch, topped off with getting the first crack at the day's cheeses.  Steve knows how much I enjoy cheeses: the harder, the better; the softer, the better; the stronger, the better. 

This year's homemade pickles go well with the cheeses.  People would eat all the pickles Vivian was willing to put on the table.

Yuri is getting teeth very nicely, growing like a weed, and by now is likely ready to crawl.  We noticed how much stronger his back and torso were than in August, reminding us of how quickly children develop.

Neither man nor dog showed fear, just curiosity.

 

After all of the stimulation, it was time to recharge the batteries for the next round.

Thanksgiving in Seattle, 2008

The Thanksgiving menu (on fridge; "TJs" = Trader Joe's)

Appetizers included two heritage cheeses from near Hoquiam, Steve's pickled red radishes, assorted dips, glorious soft cheese, washed rind cheese (the so-called 'stinky cheese'), and cukes, which make delightful "crackers" for cheese slices.

The Soft cheese, possibly the top attraction of the first course

Part of an 18-pound turkey, nicely presented by Chef Stan

This year's wines were from Argentina

Serious fresh chanterelles from Hoquiam (end of the season, frost is coming). The can is being used to convey sense of size of the box.

Steve preparing a few chanterelles

Food starts to arrive (left to right: veggies, Chinese greens, vegan gravy in hot pot, Steve's Mom's pearl onions, chanterelles, potatoes, stuffed squash, my cranberry/orange/apple relish, two stuffings--wild rice and bread, turkey)

First sitting, 5:00 p.m. (suddenly, it became very quiet, mouths were busy chewing)
Brenda, Jesse and Christine

Various pies (sweet potato, apple, pumpkin), more stuffing, several teas, whipping cream, etc. "There was no room for them in the inn."

Preparing care packages for guests. Steve likes to give away the leftovers (starting with garlic mashed potatoes). Early Friday morning, he is flying to Washington DC to see his brother (leukemia) and parents.

We just returned from another enjoyable feast put on by Stephen, with assistance from Vivian. As is his custom, Stan bought, stuffed and roasted an 18# turkey at his place and triumphantly brought it to the feast. As usual, it was done to perfection and the stuffing was excellent. Jamie's stuffed squash was pleasing to both eye and tongue, Christine's apple pie was a big hit, the cheeses were a delight.

We drove down for the day (after my Photoshop class) and when we were returning to Canada after midnight, were surprised to see a 30-minute lineup of cars waiting to get into the States. Seattle's Black Friday sales seems to be popular with Canadians. We also wondered whether some stores opened at midnight.