Holiday Break

Well, it's been a while since I last posted something and even now, I do not have really anything to report...and it's probably a good thing because that means my life is sailing on smoothly.

Jonathan and I just finished a crazy, whirlwind weekend with the family for Thanksgiving and I must say, as exhausting as it was, every ounce of effort we poured into it was worth it, a hundred times over; and I would do it again in a heartbeat. There's no better luxury than the luxury of having family around - Jonathan and I had a blast.

Thanksgiving has and will always be my favorite holiday of the year, hands down, with Christmas in a close second – it is a time to give thanks, appreciate those around you, and is especially a time when family members can get together and enjoy a night of bicker-less fun and that is exactly what we did this Thanksgiving.

Jonathan's mother, Lisa, eldest brother, Eric, and his wife, Sara, along with their cousin, Julie, came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us in DC this year; it is always a hoot when all of us get together. Wednesday night we went to dinner at Zaytinya, our favorite restaurant, where we sampled some of the finest Mediterranean foods DC has to offer. We drank and laughed and caught up and then drank some more. Thursday morning, at the ungodly hour of 5:00am, I was up and ready to meet up with Eric, Sara, and Julie for the Thanksgiving Trot for Hunger 5K race down by the memorials. I lost to Eric, and...that's that.

Rushing home to cook dinner, I was told later on that I had missed out on a great breakfast at the Hilton, which apparently had cost them an arm and a leg; but I was assured that it was worth it.

Jonathan and I have no experience whatsoever with cooking a turkey. For the past two years, our Thanksgiving turkey has always been catered from Safeway. I don't know how I feel about taking two days off just to cook a turkey when there are so many other options around to take advantage of, so this year, to do it up a little, we decided to have the turkey catered from Neiman Marcus (who knew, right?!). The turkey came out FANTASTIC, to say the least.

We had an overabundance of food - NM Turkey, Tynika's famous Mac and Cheese, Jonathan's Mash Potatoes, Cranberry sauce, Cornbread, Stuffing, Homemade Apple Pie, Homemade Cheese Cake, Homemade Chocolate Truffles (Jonathan was my saving grace this Thanksgiving) and my Green Bean Casserole and homemade gravy. it was to die for.
Oh and of course, the company was great too. Aside from the family, we had Tommy (a family friend), Javi (one of my best friends) and his friend, Shaunte (who's white, by the way...go figure) and with 10 people at the feast, we still have a ton of food leftover. If I never see another turkey as long as I shall live, it would still be too soon!
To make up for the lack of Thanksgiving preparation, I decided to host a formal dinner for the family Friday night and I must say, I am quite proud with the turnout.

I started out the dinner with the 1st course of Cream of Porcini Soup, followed by the 2nd and 3rd course of Proscuitto-wrapped Scallops and Ahi Tuna Tartar with Sesame Asparagus Vinaigrette paired with a bottle of German medium-bodied Riesling. For the main course, I did it up with the Beef Wellington served with Garlic and Herb Broiled Tomatoes paired with a bottle of 2003 Chianti from Tuscany and to finish it off, I made, and this I am EXTREMELY proud of, the Lemon Cloud Tart with Strawberry Compote and everything from the crust to the compote were all made from scratch!! Oh it was heaven, and I must say, my guests were phenomenal considering I was an hour late serving dinner. Ooops.

And last but not least, how can I forget the Wii, the much sought after game console that entertained my guests for hours on end during this vacation.

For those of you who have never heard of the Wii, here is a little background information. Unlike convention game consoles, gamers don't just sit on their lazy butts and merely pushing buttons to get the characters to move left, punch right, or drop kick to the moon. The Wii is so much more than that. It is a game system that gives the focus and attention back to the family because it has something for everyone and it is interactive - to play tennis, you hold the Wii "remote" in hand as if you were really holding a tennis racquet and swing to hit the ball and twist the remote to give it a top spin. Same goes with boxing - thrusting your hand at the TV allows you to sucker punch your opponent, so on and so forth. It is quite a novel invention and I, for one, am in love with my Nintendo Wii. If you have the time to check out my website, under videos, you can find a wonderful demonstration from this trip ;)

This was, by far, the best Thanksgiving I have ever had in a long time, and I have to say, it couldn't have come at a better time.

To those of you whom I didn't get a chance to see this Thanksgiving, I send my love and thanks for always being there no matter the distance; you are continuously in my thoughts. To the people I was able to celebrate it with, I thank you for making this the best Thanksgiving ever.

Happy Holidays everyone.