A CC Thanksgiving dinner

Parent Cafe
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<p>As I dig through the accumulated debris, both the literal–that left behind by D after she flew back to college Sunday–and the figurative, all the accumulated job and Real Life stuff that was suspended for a week, I’ll note we had ourselves a CC Thanksgiving. Joining me, TheMom, and D were TSDad, TSMom, and S, as well as our D-friend and D-friendMom. The menu was pretty traditional, what with a kosher turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing. The wine included two Napa chardonnays (Far Niente and Grgich Hills) with a Chassagne-Montrachet sandwiched in between…TheMom looks after the turkey, I look to the wine. Rounding out things were desserts, a chocolate decadence cake and a pear tart. I’d meant to offer port or brandy but I think we were all stuffed to the gills and I forgot.</p>

<p>TSDad and I have sparred for years about the merits of USC and it was good to finally meet him in person though nobody ever looks like what you imagine them to be…come to think of it, he didn’t remark once upon my resemblance to Johnny Depp. I don’t think I stuck my foot in it about USC more than once and then no higher than the knee. </p>

<p>TSDad and TheMom had, as I suspected, quite a bit in common as observers and unwitting pinballs of institutional politics. TSMom is shy, I mean shyer than I am, and I hope our California-ness didn’t take her too much aback…I mean, here it was a formal dinner and I was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with gold Chinese dragons over a black t-shirt…I recognize that back East such things simply Would Not Be Done. She was kind enough to invite D to make a connection for a meal and local orientation when D goes to D.C. for a five-month internship next year.</p>

<p>S is quite articulate and I am confirmed in my good opinion of the USC film school. Alas, S is on the critical side; if he had been on the writing/directing side, I might have slipped over the edge into Castroesque speeches about what’s wrong with Hollywood these days. For a while I thought there was a romance blooming between S and D-friend; it was only later, accompanied by vintage eye-rolling, that D explained that their mutal passion was smoking, not murmurs of sweet nothings,for which they had quietly excused themselves and slipped outside. A perfectly reasonable hypothesis ruined by the ugly facts.</p>

<p>I fear that TSDad did not get to bask in the sun like a lizard out in the desert in the days after they departed, the California weather being uncooperative and a bit on the cool side right now.</p>

<p>Inviting a family that we’d never met before made it a special kind of Thanksgiving, somewhat akin to the spirit of the original, I think. </p>

<p>(I am put in mind of an old cartoon, showing the women, both Indian and Puritan, standing on the sidelines with crossed arms and frowns, while the men from both sides are lined up across from each other, the Puritans in I-formation with a pumpkin under center…but I digress.)</p>

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<p>How lovely! It sounds like a wonderful gathering. I would be very nervous meeting online friends for Thanksgiving. I’ve had only great experiences with meeting online friends in person but that took a leap of faith! Truly in the spirit of what Thanksgiving means. I’d love the recipie for the Chocolate Decadence cake!</p>

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<p>Recipe for Chocolate Decadence cake: go to Paris Pastry and say, “I’d like one of the Chocolate Decadence cakes. No…the large one.”</p>

<p>I first started meeting people I’d first known from on-line back in the 1980’s. Of course, this was pre-Internet and the rocks were still cooling. It really picked up in the 1990’s. I’ve met a good handful from CC, what with various trips. I think this was only the second time we played host.</p>

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<p>Well, TheDad, we did not have a CC Thanksgiving, and the nearest thing to kosher turkey was the kosher salt used in something or other (mind blanking out). S’s suitemate came, along with his GF. They brought some sparkling cider and refused my offer of wine. So we had a very abstemious dinner as H and I did not think we could finish a bottle between our two selves. These are apparently not kids who go to college to partake of the drinking culture.
Chinese dragons? The last time I saw Chinese dragons, they were adorning S’s prom date’s cheongsam. She looked spectacular in that outfit of black velvet with red and gold embroidery. Alas, she’d told S she would be wearing a purple dress, and S had gotten her the most expensive purple corsage in the shop. It sat a while on my mantlepiece as a reminder that worse things can go wrong on the night. .</p>

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<p>Wasn’t tsDad the one ■■■■■■■■ for restaurants within spitting distance of the airport lo these few weeks ago? How did you snag him? Or do you overlook the runways ;)? I am loving these cc gatherings IRL. Doing it for Thanksgiving is the pinnacle, I’m thinking. otoh, the Christmas/Chanukkah mesh this year provides opportunities… Who will you be having?</p>

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<p>Thanks to TheDad for the invitation. It was an interesting and enjoyable experience. </p>

<p>My wife and I arrived separately at LAX and met our son at the airport Marriott. Our son drove us over to TheDad’s house on the 405, which, despite TheDad’s assurances to the contrary, was jammed. My son says that they refer to it as the 405 minutes since that’s how long it takes to get anywhere on it. </p>

<p>Dinner was great and the conversation was interesting with some fun discussions about UCLA, the University of Wisconsin, and Smith. The house is filled with lots of beautiful photographs of TheDaughter as ballerina dancer. The complete DVD collection of the PBS version of Pride and Prejudice was sitting out. The wine was plentiful and good. Keep in mind that if you like wine, it’s a good idea to have dinner at an onephile’s home. In case no one could guess, TheDad is a great storyteller.</p>

<p>We left for Palm Desert the next morning and got caught in a 50-mile backup on I-10. Our son stayed with us for the weekend and he consented to let us buy him a pile of new clothes. I suggested, and he agreed, that he has grown out of Old Navy, so we shopped in a department store, and he actually bought shirts with collars.</p>

<p>The weather here in the desert has been cooler than expected, but on the other hand it’s warmer, a lot warmer, than Madison.</p>

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<p>Marite, TheMom and I are in the same unfortunate condition that we can’t prudently split a bottle of wine between us any more unless we’re willing to disturb the cat with stereo snoring.</p>

<p>The thing with Kosher turkeys is that you can get them in the intermediate sizes. Also TheMom said something about not having to mess about with brine but the nuances of that point eluded me.</p>

<p>JMMom, it was TSDad’s inquiry about restaurants for T-day that sparked the invitation. Best T-day I ever had was some <mumble> years ago in Washington, D.C. when we had a sit-down dinner for 25 in our apartment. Most everyone was young and far away from home, there was one married couple from downstairs (they did the turkey) and everyone else brought something, and the bit about T-day far away from home has always lodged in my memory. I was hoping to give TSDad and family a more intimate holiday than a restaurant would have provided…I did have to bite my tongue to keep from saying, “May the hospitality of these humble tents be sufficient to the needs of the weary traveler”…I do speak in movie script sometimes [“The Spy Who Loved Me”], especially when around Film people.</mumble></p>

<p>TSDad, I’m still chagrined at the traffic you experienced. We’ve gotten to/from the airport in 40 minutes, round-trip, on T-day. I’m mortified.
The I-10 the next day I take no responsibility for; major accidents aside, traffic there can be wildly variable depending on the number of people heading out to catch the I-15 to Vegas. </p>

<p>I always forget how odd our house must seem to people who don’t already know us: the ballet pictures and prints everywhere you look, and all the stuffed animals. Lindy, the stuffed vulture that surveys the dining room from his perch atop the wine rack, being a case in point of the latter.</p>

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<p>What a lovely invitation and gathering. You could be going to heaven on a rocket, Mr Double for Depp. I had bleak visions of that dinner at Marriot.</p>

<p>Although I have a date to meet marite next spring, my first CC gathering will be down under! digsmedia and co are coming to town.</p>

<p>My quandry is how to explain this to S2-- who should meet digs and co because of the shared passion for animation. For years, I have warned S2 about talking to strangers on the internet–and now I want him to have dinner with a whole family of internet strangers? Crickey dick, as they say over here.</p>

<p>The merciless teasing will be unbearable <em>wrings her hands and winces at the thought</em>.</p>

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<p>Cheers, TheMom has an ABD MFA in Film/Animation from UCLA. Give a shout if you’re ever heading through SoCal. If you’ve known someone for more than a couple of years on CC, they’re not strangers…character will out.</p>

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<p>That’s what S2 says about the internet strangers he knows…LOL. We head through SoCal several times a year on our way to and fro. On layovers, I put on my tennies, jump in a cab and head over to Santa Monica. Love it. Maybe we can have coffee on one of thsoe visits. I’d want to verify the Depp Connection first, though. He’s a hottie.</p>

<p>I might pm you/TheMom with animation questions.</p>

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<p>Won’t be a Thanksgiving meal, but we will do Burmese food with cheers &Etc. Looking forward to it. Just talked to my wife and son who just landed in country about 2 hours ago. I have to wait another week and a half before I get to go. :(</p>

<p>Wish I could have been a fly on the wall at the “The’s” house. TheDad, TheMom, and Tsdad were extremely influential in helping gather info for my son - especially in looking below the covers of USC’s film school.</p>

<p>For Thanksgiving, we ate with friends. They had turkey, but our whole family has been vegetarian ever since we were married some time last century. So we had our traditional Thanksgiving entree of nutballs, which are fantastic with cranberry sauce.</p>

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<p>digs, Am I thanking my lucky stars I didn’t invite you to my house for dinner–or what? </p>

<p>It isn’t the lack of nubile ballerina photos that worried me (I’ve got a fantastic image of ‘The’s’ House in my mind now), rather it was a certain dearth of worthy vegetarian recipes! </p>

<p>Nutballs? Fuggeddabout it!</p>

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<p>dig:</p>

<p>Nutballs? I am picturing Alec Baldwin on NPR (SNL skit)…am I right?</p>

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<p>Think of meatballs, but made with nuts and cheese rather than meat, cooked with chopped onions and served with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. Yummmmm… Only problem: can’t make sandwiches the next day with the leftovers.</p>

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<p>Sounds like a lovely time. Just wanted to comment that Far Niente makes one of my favorite chards. :cool:</p>

<p>oh and btw, had I been there I would have been sure to remind you about the port!</p>

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<p>Oh my. Being at that “always looking for more naturally occurring iron” age, I read the above and thought, “swiss chard… sauteed with kale and garlic, yum!” Oops.</p>

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<p>Well, it’s not like we get too many CCer’s here in ID-ot-ville, but if any (or ALL) of you were to have shown up, I think we could have handled everyone! </p>

<p>Sure, our tastes run a bit to the pedestrian and our wines are nothing to write home about, but we have all kinds of great conversation about who just reached across whom for the home-baked bread, who forgot to bring the gravy over, and whose turn it is to let the baying beagle out.</p>

<p>Now, get this, and I DO not exaggerate! We had:
One 21-pound roasted turkey stuffed with good-ol’ down-home cornbread stuffing
One 14 pound smoked turkey marinated with a spicy blend of olive oil, vinegar salt, cracked black pepper, oregano, and a bajillion cloves of garlic
FORTY, count 'em forty, pounds of mashed potatoes
Creamed spinach
Corn
A gallon of gravy
Two loaves of homemade bread (no machine used here!)</p>

<p>And our desserts? Ordinary, but plentiful–2 homemade pumpkin pies, 3 pans of homemade brownies, an apple crisp, a French Silk pie, an apple cake, and Rice Krispy treats!</p>

<p>The wines were delectable! Let’s see, we began with some pre-dinner Boone’s Farm Apple, followed by Two-Buck-Chuck with the dinner. The kids quenched their thirst with Welch’s Sparking Grape Juice!</p>

<p>The attire was decidedly casual…Dh was wearing a t-shirt with three startled deer on it that said simply, “Eat more fish.”</p>

<p>I was wearing my beloved “cooking shirt”, complete with a few holes and various stains, that said, “Do you have change for a paradigm?”</p>

<p>Oldest son was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Science* The methodical study of the nature and behavior of the material and physical universe based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the establishment of laws to describe these facts in general terms *definition may not be applicable in Kansas</p>

<p>Oldest DD was wearing a t-shirt that said, “I attended a public school in Kansas, and all I got was a lousy understanding of the scientific method. And this lousy t-shirt.”</p>

<p>Middle DD was away in Boston <em>sniff</em></p>

<p>Middle S was wearing, as usual, a DUKE basketball jersey!</p>

<p>Youngest DD was wearing a tiara and a t-shirt that said, “Don’t let the tiara fool you.”</p>

<p>And youngest S was wearing a t-shirt that said, “I’m a little Dukie” with a picture of a small blue devil on it!</p>

<p>We also ended up with assorted guests, but I actually don’t recall what they were wearing…I DO remember who they were though…Son’s girlfriend, oldest D’s boyfriend, and some various friends of the kids.</p>

<p>Suffice it to say that GREAT food and GREAT fun were had by all, so if any of y’all are ever in the neighborhood, don’t hesitate to drop by. You might want to bring an extra chair though. ~berurah</p>

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<p>Berurah’s family wins in the Apparel: Meaningful T-Shirt Messages category. :D</p>

<p><em>wonders wear she can get the tiara t-shirt</em></p>

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<p>

Wal-Mart, but it was SO last season! <em>lol</em> ~berurah</p>

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<p>I just had a vision. A cc convention. Vegas? Mandalay? Madison? San Diego?</p>