26 November 2009 Dump closed on Thanksgiving

Those of you who are my age, or who have parents my age will immediately throw your “shovels, rakes, and implements of destruction back into the red VW microbus” and return to the “scene of the massacree” for “Another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat.”




It has been 44 years since the title event, 43 years since I first heard Arlo Guthrie perform it, and 42 years since the song/monologue made it onto vinyl. Thanksgiving still revolves around too many people eating far too much before vegetating at the altar of football. And just as then, American soldiers are stationed overseas in wars that are viewed with increasing opposition by part of the American populace.

The nation was highly polarized about the war in VietNam. The Democratic Party would have run on a peace platform in 1968 if Bobby Kennedy had not been murdered, dumping the nomination to Hubert Humphrey. Instead, Nixon rode into office on the GOP’s “Southern Strategy” that used racism and religion to mobilize a voter base that also carried Reagan, Bush I and Bush II into office.

In 2008, Barak Obama was the Democratic Party nominee, running on a platform of social and economic change supported by a base that was largely opposed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The war in Iraq is winding slowly down but Obama is apparently going to reinforce our command in Afghanistan in a move that will make Bush II’s war Obama’s as well. The racism and religion that characterized the GOP’s base in 2008 has been aimed at Obama in an effort to discredit his presidency.

We, as a nation and as a people have not learned very much since 1968 about how to govern ourselves or how to interact with other nations. We’ve allowed the GOP to essentially shut down the government in 1994 because the then-Speaker of the House felt he was snubbed on an Air Force One flight seat assignment. Now the same party has spent the months since Obama was inaugurated in January in blatant and offensive efforts to block any legislation introduced by the Administration or by the Democrats, any appointments made by the administration, without offering anything in its place but lies and obfuscation. The country is polarized to a greater extent than during the VietNam War.

Yet there is much to be grateful for this year.

Gloria and I have been a couple for 17 years now. Few people are given the ability to determine when the best years of their life begin. I know with certainty when mine began.

The duck, our guest of honor, was just escorted into the oven. It will be joined in celebratory array by sweet potatoes, Haricots verts aux amandes et noix, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, and a new spiced cranberry relish recipe. Dessert will be sugar-free pumpkin pie for Gloria and apple pie for me. That repast should be adequate to feed the army of a small Caribbean nation. We’ll enjoy the meal and the company will be superb.

There’s much to be thankful for this year and I am.



If you’ve been reading any of these posts, thank you. I hope they bring some amusement to your day. I hope your Thanksgiving days are as happy as mine. Stay well and take care of each other.

Below is the cranberry relish recipe I using today.



Cinnamon and Clove Cranberry Sauce

Bon Appétit
November 2006

yield: Makes about 2 1/4 cups

The warm spices in this version are the very essence of the holiday.

Basic Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar (sub “Splenda”)

1 cup water

2 1/4 teaspoons finely grated orange peel (sub ¼ cup orange juice)

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Preparation

Bring all ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until most of cranberries burst, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium bowl. Cool, cover, and refrigerate cranberry sauce. DO AHEAD Basic Cranberry Sauce can be prepared 1 week ahead. Keep refrigerated.



Ingredients

To Basic cranberry sauce from above,

Add

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients for basic cranberry sauce in heavy medium saucepan. Add cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. Cook as directed for basic cranberry sauce . Cool to room temperature. Stir in ginger. Cover and store mixture as directed for basic cranberry sauce.