Thursday, December 27, 2007

Thanksgiving and Its Contents

I know I'm posting this late, but I love Thanksgiving. I love the traditional feast: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and that's allI really need. This year I was blessed in that the turkey had extra stuff packaged with it: an extra liver, and an extra pope's nose, probably my favorite part of the bird. And I like plain bread stuffing, nothiing fancy or gussied up: breadcrumbs, celery, onions, sometimes giblets, and I'm happy.
This winter has been good, eating wise. I had a meal recently at the Old Heidelberg, perhaps the last remnant of the German population of the Upper East Side, and ate an excellent Jaeger Schnitzel (schnitzels covered in cream & mushroom sauce), and some extremely light spaetzle. I"ve written before of my fondness for German cuisine, untouched as it is by any fads or newfangled notions of eatin'. I ate with a friend who was baffled by a bowl of brussels sprouts ("What're those?" he asked me with a worried expresssion). He also didn't recognize sliced apples or kiwi fruit, which came with our dessert of chocolate fondue. ANyway, a soul satisfying meal indeed.
I've discovered a new treat: spreadable goat chese, called Chevrion. I'm a huge fan of goat cheese, and this stuff is great. You can find it at Fairway.
Another delight this Season was a friend of mine got me a 30 year bottle of Port. I'm not much of wine drinker, or indeed a drinker, but I do love Port, and this stuff is delightful. I have no way of knowing what other fancy ports taste like, but I am enjoying this bottle.
Another Seasonal pleasure was to be found at the Time Warner Mall, where food trucks were selling dishes of food from restaurants in the Mall, for 1 to 3 bucks a plate. I had a plate of oversalted Italian food (orrechiette in a cream sauce), a really delicious Chicken Tikka Masala, and a delicious chocolate dessert from Bouchon. These trucks haven't been back, so maybe it was just a special thing.
I had a delicious cup of coffee at the Chelsea Market from 9th St. Espresso, truly wonderful, and far superior to Starbucks. Wish they were on every corner.
Anyway, that's all the food news for now, hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!!