1. What could be better? I woke up this morning with the house to myself (well, along with Charly), much cooking to do, a basketball game to watch between the Zags and Ducks, and knowing that Patrick and Meagan would be arriving around 4-4:30.
I started by taking out the bowl of unbaked chicken and cornbread dressing I put together on Tuesday and let it warm up to room temperature before baking it. Meanwhile, I peeled a bunch of potatoes, cubed them, and put them in the crock pot with some water, turned the cooker on high, and initiated my first attempt at making mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. Once the dressing finished baking, I let it cool and set up, and I cut it into irregular rectangles and put them in my other crock pot so the dressing would stay warm all day.
2. Happily, the Thanksgiving stars were aligning in our favor today. The Zags/Ducks game aired at 1 p.m. and I had plenty of time to watch it next door at Christy and Everett's and return home to roast tonight's turkey breast and three turkey drumsticks. I buttered them liberally and seasoned them simply with salt and pepper. By now, the potato cubes were tender. I poured half and half over them, added a generous amount of butter, and about half a block of cream cheese. Then I mashed them. I kept them warm in the crock pot.
Within an hour of having mashed the potatoes and putting the meat in the oven, Patrick and Meagan arrived. On Wednesday, they drove from Portland to The Dalles and then came on up to Kellogg today. They took about fifteen minutes or so to get the beer and seltzer water they brought in the fridge, to find a place for the wine they brought, to get their freshly laundered bedding upstairs, and to get settled into their room at the top of the house.
Now, things really got fun for me. It was time to juggle my self-assigned responsibilities as cook and bartender. I needed to start taking the meat's temperature from time to time and fulfill Patrick and Meagan's cocktail requests. To my delight, to begin, they both wanted a dry martini up, stirred not shaken, with olives. My resolve to buy martini glasses strengthened, but I felt pretty good about serving their martinis in the handsome cocktail glasses from Adrienne and Josh's wedding.
Before long the turkey pieces were done cooking and I put them under aluminum tents to rest and, finally, took a shower. Cleaned up, I texted Christy and Everett and told them the coast was clear to come over. Christy brought over her offerings: a heavenly cranberry, orange, ginger compote, her soon to be famous in our family orange carrot dish, and a pumpkin roll for dessert. Now, I got to really have fun! Christy and Meagan both wanted a Manhattan, Patrick wanted a Chelsea Sidecar, and Everett ordered a dry martini up, stirred not shaken, with an olive.
Everyone had a drink in hand. I sensed a brief lull and seized the opportunity to shave (finally) and put on a pair of slacks and a proper shirt and returned to the kitchen to slice up the turkey and make the gravy.
I fixed a plate of turkey slices, put the gravy in a bowl, opened a bottle of Merlot, made sure the bread dish was full, and announced that it was time to come to the table, the table that Christy so handsomely decorated with tablecloth, bunches of flowers, and candles. I brought each dish of food over from the counters, one by one, and everyone filled their plates and we all dove into dinner.
To my great relief, everyone loved the meal. Our dinner conversation was relaxed, easy, and punctuated with frequent laughter and good cheer. I loved the comfort of the five of us enjoying our meal together around one table, being able to easily hear each other tell stories and reminisce. I was very grateful for the good fortune of having meals on back to back days in the company of, first, Travis and Molly, and, today, Patrick and Meagan. I can't emphasize enough how much I enjoyed that our Thanksgiving gatherings were small and afforded us a comfortable, low-key way to get to better acquainted and take delight in one another.
It was also fun to end our dinner with a Stinger as a Thanksgiving tribute to Mom and Dad.
3. As if I weren't already fortunate enough to get to spend three straight days in the kitchen preparing food and cocktails for great company, this afternoon I also got to join Christy and Everett to watch the Zags and the Ducks play a breathtaking basketball game.
I have spent the month of November wondering just how good Gonzaga's team is -- they are working in several new players and they've been playing mediocre teams. Today's game erased any doubts. The Zags got off to a torrid start, put the Ducks in an early and deep hole, and then, when the Ducks made a comeback and eventually took the lead, the Zags didn't fold. The game went into overtime and Gonzaga triumphed, 73-72.
The Zags are a multi-dimensional team. They are strong inside where their big guys are agile and versatile. Today Filip Petrusev scored 22 points from the inside post. From the outside both Corey Kisbert (17 points) and Joel Ayayi (13 points) made it impossible for the Ducks to pack their defense inside with streaks of sharpshooting.
Today Gonzaga defeated a very tough and deep Oregon team. At one point in the second half, I thought the Ducks' depth was wearing down the Zags and I thought the Zags' fatigue would cost them the game. But, Mark Few called a time out, instructed his team to pound the ball inside, and this short rest and this emphasis on running the offense through the big guys seemed to rejuvenate the Zags. The Ducks never built a very big lead, despite brilliant play by Payton Pritchard and the quickness and length of their inside players. In the overtime, the two teams played evenly, so evenly, in fact, that the deciding factor was free throws. Gonzaga made theirs and Oregon didn't.
Okay. Confession time. I quietly rooted for the Ducks. I was ever so slightly disappointed they lost; but, at the same time, I was happy for Gonzaga and look forward to their game Friday against Michigan. The winner will be the 2019 champion of the Battle 4 Atlantis preseason basketball tournament.
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