Thanksgiving? Yes We Can!

I had a couple people over for Thanksgiving this year, marking the first time that I have ever hosted a Thanksgiving dinner ever! And they said it couldn't be done. Or shouldn't be done.

All the guests chipped in to help out, and it was amazing. As is my way, I threw pretty much every course onto the plate at once. And then I snapped a photo:
On the menu:

1. Cranberry Ginger Compote (courtesy of K.C. Recipe unknown. Delicious!)
2. Roasted Root Vegetables (courtesy of K.C. Featuring carrots, sweet potatoes, and... parsnips huh? I didn't know they still made those...)
3. Salmon steaks (courtesy of Little John*)
4. Turkey (I cooked it... And it was still edible, too!)
5. Rolls (I got $2 off the $2.99 rolls at Harris Teeter on Thanksgiving Day. Awesome...)
6. Herbed Oyster Stuffing (Recipe from Epicurious.com. Delicious! Also led to my first ever attempts at shucking oysters. Comic.)
7. Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes (recipe from 101Cookbooks.com. Possibly too garlicky. I never thought I would say that.)

... And of course everything was thoroughly drenched in turkey gravy, as it should be.

I love Thanksgiving!

Is it just me or is Little John enjoying his slicing/dicing of the turkey a little too much?

* Sorry buddy. But when you work with Big John, you're gonna get stuck with Little John. Dems da breaks.

A Raki Roads Reunion

My Turkey blog ended a year ago missing a very important post: could it be that our Turkey journey ended with my traveling partner Jennie beginning a romantic relationship with a fine Turkish fellow on the very last day of the trip? It is possible...

Ah, the troubles of blogging about people you know. There is so much I would like to say, and it makes for a very fine story, but for the sake of discretion I won't say too much about her relationship except to say that one year later it is progressing well. Jennie has continued to learn Turkish, and Fatih is now able to understand my Pacific Northwest English much more easily (or whatever accent I have... who knows?). Fatih was also in town when I came to visit D.C., and the couple made an appearance at the Fourth of July party. The three of us were able to catch up on things together for the first time in over a year.

Moments before the epic, bloody ATATURK Championship.

This was all well and good, but what Fatih failed to anticipate was that while he was continuing to learn English, I have been continuing to delve deeper into the dark arts of tavla (backgammon). And so when we played Round 2 of our Annual Tavla American/Turkish (The "ATATURK") Championship, I was prepared to defend my title, established last year by a dramatic come-from-behind victory at the Istanbul Airport.

I was again able to beat the Turk at his own game, but in defeat Fatih did raise the important point: I had infact learned some of my greatest gambits with the help of an esteemed tavla champion during my journey through the southern coast of Turkey (true!). And that distinguished pedigree, after all, makes me an honorary Turk!

I don't fully understand the logic, but I will accept his gracious offer of Turkish citizenship. After all, the country treated me very well.