Happy Thanksgiving!

Even if this isn’t one of your personal holidays, take a moment and have a quick think about what you are thankful for in your life. It does feel good to step back and realise that despite the daily grind, there is much to be happy about and thankful for. Next, take a moment and think of your cousins across the ocean stuffing their faces with turkey and more carbs than many of us have ever seen in one place. It’s easy to lose sight of what the day might mean when you are sleepy from your big meal and your attention isn’t really held by parades and football on television. However, the camaraderie of spending the day with your extended family and all pitching in to deliver the crescendo that the great meal provides – whether your role was producing a perfect turkey or showing people where to put their coats – is something to be thankful for in itself. It’s been a very long time since I’ve spent a Thanksgiving with my family – and every year I do miss it just that little bit….

I did, however, as I mentioned last week attend a Thanksgiving-style dinner last weekend. As our hostess was a vegetarian, I brought turkey and turkey gravy as well as plates and utensils with which to serve the beast. I also brought gluten free corn bread stuffing (I volunteered for the stuffing as I could not imagine having a ‘thanksgiving’ dinner at which I could not eat stuffing) and gluten free brownies with dried cranberries and hazelnuts (ditto, comments for the stuffing). Fortunately, I’ve invested enough effort in being gluten free – and have enough memory of a time when I wasn’t – that most people don’t realise that they are eating gluten free when I am cooking (or so they are polite enough to say!).

In true North American style, it was a meal that reflected the melting pot that was our group – delicious vegetarian mole, maple roasted venison sausages, mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables, green beans – all yum! We did get through a few bottles of wine as well - and while I had high hopes for the Beaujolais rose (pretty dull really – no hint of that intense gamay grapey goodness), and the assorted white wines that we tried (a couple of richer ones like chardonnay and viognier) were fine, the real standout was the Alsatian Gewurztraminer by Cave de Turckheim. It was dry and richly floral and spice scented but had the weight needed to stand up to meat and gravy as well as the rich spicy mole and enough fruitiness of flavour to complement the wide variety of foods we were eating. Highly recommended!