What I learned from Thanksgiving 2005
· My mom is a great houseguest. She cleans up after herself, she makes daily trips to Happy Donut and she pays for like EVERYTHING.
· The ABT Thanksgiving (Anything But Turkey) is the only way to go.
· Inevitably, following every visit by our friend Dave, I will have to make a trip to Crate & Barrel to replace broken glassware (this time, it was a champagne flute; last time it was two martini glasses. I fear the coffee table is next.)
· My mother is a friggin TALKER! She was like a speed junkie at times, talking incessantly about anything that popped into her head, changing subjects with such speed she left Tom and I behind, exhausted.
· Route 1 in Marin County, while sounding all beautiful and picturesque, is really rather tedious. Especially after a day of wine tasting.
· Mashed potatoes with garlic, mascarpone and caramelized leeks are probably the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had in my life. I will never make another recipe ever again.
· I am my mother’s son: by 10pm each night, the two of us were snoring in unison on the couch.
· Two thumbs up for both The Slanted Door and Bacco, which are both just awesome. Bacco's chocolate amaretti torte made me swoon.
· A well-timed Xanax will make for a very calm, manageable Princess.
· General Tso’s Chicken from Eric’s is the meal that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving until you finally want to give it back.
· Drunken goat cheese + Carr’s cracker = heaven.
· Mom apparently doesn’t like halibut - which is the mildest, lightest, most lovely fish you can find, IMO - yet she loves mackerel and bluefish (eeew). Go figure. I think she’s been living alone with cats too long.
· Even though I spend a holiday with friends and family who I adore, I’m still sad about the friends I didn’t get to see and didn’t spend the holiday with.