Happy Thanksgiving!

[bluestocking79]

I wish a very Happy (if slightly belated) Thanksgiving to all my American flisters! I hope that you all had many reasons to feel thankful, and wonderful, bountiful days. And I hope all the rest of you had wonderful Thursdays. ~sends love, hugs, and glittery smooches

Comments

[ideserveyou]

*wails* I want to come to dinner at your house! You are clearly an awesome cook and hostess and I'm so glad the occasion went well. I love cooking but get very stressed by catering for more than three, especially if any of the extra mouths are related to me, so I would never dare host a dinner like that. And how lovely that you've got more fun to look forward to today as well. Hope the sun keeps shining for you :)

Please *grovels* would you be prepared to share your salted caramel ice cream recipe? We had some awesome salted caramel ice cream while on holiday in France this summer and the best thing of all about it was that the rest of the family utterly hated it, so if I made a batch I would get to eat it all!

I'm right with you on the Chilean Pinot Noir. (And actually Argentinian ones are often not bad either.) Nearly sixteen years ago now I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Patagonia helping OH and friends with fieldwork in the temperate rain forests... rain was the operative word, we barely had a dry day on the whole trip, but I loved it all, it was such a beautiful place. We basically lived on steak, bread, olives and red wine... mmmm, fabulous red wine... with big tubs of dulce de leche to fill up the corners. Maybe not exactly a healthy diet, but definitely a happy one... *drifts of into happy nostalgia*

[bluestocking79]

Oh my, thank you! It would be my honor to cook for you, of course. &hearts

I definitely do understand the stress factor and what a deterrent it can be to entertaining. I'm a people-pleaser and also a perfectionist (at least in my areas of expertise), and I've definitely had a few Barbecue Breakdowns in the past, due to self-imposed expectations and anxiety. But I've learned to plan more wisely (concentrate on what I do well and don't be afraid to ask for help or purchase certain things, don't be overly ambitious, try to stick to recipes I know well and can execute under pressure), and Geography Teacher gave me a morale booster that I'll never forget. He told me to not worry about dazzling everybody with my brilliance, because they already are. It was beautiful and sweet and makes me want to cry just writing it right now, but it's also just about the wisest dose of perspective and most heartening vote of confidence I've ever heard.

Anyway. The Chilean Pinot Noir was divine, and yes, I've heard good things about Argentinian ones, too. I was quite pleased with myself, because the wine was my own pick, out of the IMMENSE and dusty and intimidating selection at the wine shop. (I'm blessed to live a stone's throw away from the best selection in the area, but the flip side is that there are so many obscure choices that it can be hard to narrow it down to what will work best for you.) I will definitely be getting it again, and a lot of our guests wanted to know the name and vintage! I can only imagine how absolutely delicious that time in Patagonia must have been. What's not to love there?

I will happily share the salted caramel ice cream recipe with you! I'll PM you. I obviously love salted caramel, too, and I also found that particular love in France. Oh, Berthillon...

[ideserveyou]

Your Geography Teacher is a keeper, no doubt about it - I admit to tearing up a bit too while I was reading that! Well done to him for knowing exactly what to say to make you feel confident. It clearly worked brilliantly!

That time in Patagonia was magic - it was OH's and my last 'just the two of us' fieldwork trip before we started a family. The biggest highlight was bathing in a glacially cold lake up in the Andes with condors wheeling overhead... the scariest moment was camping in a tiny tent in a forest that we then discovered contained a roaming herd of VERY large and enthusiastic Hereford cows with a still larger and more enthusiastic bull in attendance. There is something about lying in a sleeping bag with just a layer of canvas between you and something huge and heavy-breathing that knows you are there and that you know will trample you flat if you alarm him... still, at least he wasn't a bear. And eventually the cows got bored and wandered off, and he followed them. I guess that's the price you pay for tasty free-range steak...

And thank you so much for being generous with your recipes! *bounces excitedly* It may be a while before I'm up to actually cooking it, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy reading it in the interim!

[bluestocking79]

It did work! It was exactly what I needed to hear, right when I needed to hear it, and that really grounded me through the whole thing. I'm going to hang on to that and pull it out whenever I need that reminder. It's the best gift ever!

And yes, I agree: he's a keeper. &hearts

The time in Patagonia just sounds absolutely amazing! Slightly terrifying, with regard to the cow and bulls, but I'm glad it all turned out well. And that's the material memories are made of, isn't it? What a fantastic experience!

And it's my pleasure to pass it along! I love sharing recipes with people who will enjoy them. :D