Talking Turkey...

Adrian Belew and Eric Slick at The Vault two weeks ago

Hey, you didn't think I was going to post a picture of a pilgrim, did you?

Okay, this blog has been around for three Thanksgivings and now, as has become my yearly tradition, I am stoked to post what the whacked-out Slicks are having for dinner.

But first...

Much to my considerable relief, we decided years ago that the best way to spend holidays is to hide and basically stay hidden until Christmas.

And so we celebrate Thanksgiving by not inviting anyone over and enjoying the company of our immediate family and the dog, whom I secretly think we all love best...and yeah, yeah, okay, really digging the food.

This year is tricky because it's the first holiday both kids are vegetarians but I do believe Julie may be starting to crack. She instructed me to buy an organic, free range turkey breast for like $99.00 a pound at a gourmet butcher shop as opposed to a generic .88 cents per pounder at the supermarket.

"If I do this will you eat some?" I asked her through narrowed eyes.

"Err...maybe," she said, obviously dreaming about delicious, moist breast meat and her father's famous fresh orange rosemary gravy.

Aha! She's caving! I can tell!

But why oh why when I hear the term "free range turkey"...though in this case, turkey breast...do I have a mental image of a headless, legless turkey wearing a pair of Nikes running wild and doing somersaults all over some farm?

Okay, enough musings from my sick mind though let me add that I will be reporting back here on Friday just how good a $99.00 turkey tastes and if Julie doesn't at least sample it, she may also know how it feels to wear one and I'll be reporting that as well.

Oh relax, I'm just joking. At least she's not in the kitchen right now trying to fashion a bird out of tofu.

Anyway, here's the rest of the menu, which will be a joint effort between Gary and Julie (think Iron Chef with two totally insane people who really, really know how to cook) while Eric and I fight over the computer in the living room and take turns yelling the football scores in to Gary as he slaves over a hot stove.

"Who is winning the Dallas game?" he'll shout while banging pots and pans.

"Psst...Eric...are we watching Dallas?"

"I have no idea, Mom. Are their uniforms yellow and black?"

"Err...I think they must be red, white and blue. Wait. Let me check on line."

"Mom, I can look. You've been on all day!"

"Do you two knuckleheads know the score yet?" Gary will holler again from the other room.

Eric and I will exchange guilty glances while one of us frantically starts changing channels on the television and one of us starts googling football teams.

Woo, I just really went off track, didn't I. Okay, I'll stop. Here's what we're having for dinner:

Wild mushroom soup featuring five different kinds of mushrooms, fresh herbs, vegetable stock, pureed and finished with mascarpone cheese;

Roasted beet salad with feta cheese, pistacchios, and mixed organic greens tossed with a roasted garlic dijon dressing;

Truly sick homemade biscuits with organic honey;

Stuffing made with toasted whole wheat baguettes, fried onions, baby carrots, celery and about a pound of butter;

Fresh string beans stir fried with crispy shallots and sliced almonds (no, sorry, no Campbells cream of mushroom soup or god forbid, canned onion rings);

Buttery mashed potatoes made with heavy cream and baby yukon golds;

Traditional lattice top mile high apple pie topped with Bassetts cinnamon ice cream and yes, Julie taught herself how to do lattice tops (picture to follow);

Sweet potato pie with brown sugar pecan streusel topping served with fresh whipped cream...and here's what a dork I am -- we have a real whipped cream dispenser which requires nitrous oxide cartridges and I go in to buy them at Williams Sonoma making all kinds of strained stupid small talk with a bored, pimply twenty year old clerk because God forbid he thinks I'm a junkie and am going to use them to get high.

Well, okay, I did consider it once...but that was the year I didn't buy enough wine.

Kidding, kidding.

Maybe.

Well, that had to be the one year we did have company...

We do have this one lame tradition right before we eat where we go around the table and each one of us says why we are thankful...okay, yes, I know, I did say it was lame, didn't I? But this year I have so much to be happy about that the family is going to start looking at their watches when I start talking and the free range bird is going to hop out of its roasting pan and make a getaway. I'll spare you all the details of what I'm probably going to say, though.

You can thank me later.

Now. On to some writing news.

Both Susan Henderson and I are nominated for The 2006 Web Blogs Award. Sue is nominated for Best New Blog and I'm nominated for Best Diarist.

I was actually a top ten finalist for the Best New Blog of 2004 Awards though of course I came in 10th and was actually cranky about that. I didn't realize the odds when I was nominated two years ago...it's pretty freaking incredible I managed to even make the finals but that was the year I blogged an entire novel. Now the competition is even more intense - there's something like 50,000,000 blogs out there. But seriously, if Sue and/or I do make it to the finalist position, I have no choice but to undertake a serious campaign for your votes. Cool?

Cool.

Guess who is not nominated? I know because I checked. Missing from the lists I checked, anyway...though admittedly I did not check them all, just Best Blog, Best Individual Blog...is Neil Gaiman!



Happy Thanksgiving, Susan.

I notice that I was nominated by some guy named Mike I do not know so Mike, whoever you are, I thank you...and I was also nominated by Susan. Too funny. Mike writes in the nomination that my blog is "A hilarious daily diary of a baby boomer mother with two rock star siblings.

But yeah, it's true. I can't find Neil Gaiman's blog listed anywhere. I guess it's up to me, huh. Okay, I'll do it. How embarrassing. I am now a certified uber-dork. Oh well, in case you want proof, I have just nominated him for Best Blog right here.

But only because I don't want him nominated as best "diarist". Ha!

Hey, I'm up for a blog award. Cut me a break. From now on I have to play dirty and post my best stuff!

How about my kids on stage in Amsterdam following a brilliant concert with Adrian Belew?



Oh, I am so shameless.

How about my son the drummer, sporting Gaiman locks?



A pic of my beautiful daughter?



My son and daughter hanging out together pre-Belew show in San Diego?



Oh God. I really am bad. Offering up my kids, Adrian Belew and Neil Gaiman for a Best of Blog Award. God forbid I actually do make it to finalist. I'll be setting up a webcam.

Ahem. This time I am kidding.

Maybe.

Whatever.

To redeem myself, I also just nominated DGM Live as Best Music Blog, 2006. And it is.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Later,
xo