week 9: Ben E. King - Stand By Me

T-minus 10 days until I return to America's Dairyland! 10...

Thanksgiving dinner went well -- definitely my most successful one to date (of the three I've managed without motherly presence). A couple of my friends and friend's friends came over, which was quite fun because most of them, not being from the US, had never celebrated Thanksgiving before and were just amused by its novelty. I tried to explain the holiday to them as best I could: Pilgrims, family, food, football and shopping. Accurate, no?

My friend and I decide to take it easy on the cooking, so our menu consisted of:
- 1 store-bought, pre-stuffed, pre-seasoned chicken
- 2 frozen pizzas
- 1 French baguette
- pre-packaged Caesar salad
- store-bought cookies
- store-bought cheesecake
- store-bought tiramisu (which is made with wine?? who knew.)
- Coke and sparkling lemonade
I think of this as a training session... I'll do more work next year. The pièce de résistance this year, however, was our home-made mashed potatoes, which was a big hit. I knew Food Channel Youtube videos had to be good for something one day. Note to self: While cooking poultry in oven, cover with alumninum foil and remove shortly before removing from oven so skin does not crisp. Roasted garlic is always a good thing. Also, remember: food + damp, warm cabinet = mold in places there shouldn't be.

In other, completely unrelated news: As I was walking home one night, I saw a double-long city bus hit a couple walking across the street. Thankfully, the driver wasn't going too fast. Both came out basically unscathed, although upon impact, the guy rolled over himself a few times and before stopping in the middle of the street. IAll I could think was, holy shit -- he's dead. Needless to say, extremely traumatizing.

I'm excited that Hillary Clinton will be Secretary of State. But I'm waiting for Inauguration Day with tepid anticipation. There's a lot to be done... everywhere.

- JT -