I ate a cold slice of apple pie while standing in front of the refrigerator this morning.  I felt like Diane Keaton in Baby Boom, in my robe, leaning against the fridge, tired but hungry.  I dug through containers, deciding.  Ultimately, I piled up another plate, bigger even than last night’s.   Ribbons of giblet gravy.  Creamed spinach.  Cubes of acorn squash.  Truffled Mac ‘n’ Cheese.  Now I’m full again.  It was one of those magazine dinners, where you examine the menu thinking, who needs eight side dishes?  I have too many leftovers and need to do the whole thing again, this time in Turkey Shepherd’s Pie format.  But I’m too tired to do it again.  Thankfully Philip took some photos >>

I got a taste for what motherhood is like with a three and four year old running around.  There was twirling upstairs.  Toy Story.  “Playing nicely together” with trains.  Harper, the adorable little girl, was excited there’d be someone her own age.  “When is the boy coming?” she kept asking.  And I rubbed my belly and thought, not until January or February.  Not that I know if there’s a boy in there or not.  Her mother, Wendy, is pregnant too, due in a month.  We’re about the same size.  There’s a photo of our bellies kissing.  Wendy is having another girl.
“You never know, one of my boys in here can end up marrying your girl.”
“Or they could have a menage,” Wendy said.  Then she thought about what she said and covered her mouth in mock-shock apology.
“For now, let’s leave incest out of things.”  We’re not even drunk.  We both have pregnant brain, which means we go slightly stupid and blame it on our pregnancies.

There’s no excuse though for the slightly stupid who shop today.  Lea is here and wants to.  I need to stay home and write MOOSE.  I also don’t understand what the draw is to shopping on Black Friday.  You burn calories, certainly.  But there will be other sales; there always are.  There’s online shopping.  Walking into a store on Black Friday is like running with the bulls in Pamplona.  I’m all about the movie theater.  Movie hopping is what Black Friday is for.  Forget about getting stores back into the black.  Get yourself into a black movie theater, then emerge when it’s still dark out for more leftovers.  I feel slothful, and I’m okay with that.

Stephanie & Philip’s First Homemade Thanksgiving

spiced pumpkin soup with acorn squash

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deep fried organic turkey
porcini mushroom gravy & turkey giblet gravy
fruit-laced cranberry sauce
bourbon candied sweet potatoes
horseradish-sour cream whipped potatoes with chives
traditonal mashed potatoes
truffle-baked macaroni & cheese
gruyere and aged cheddar macaroni & cheese
creamed spinach gratin
parsnip pear puree
pureed maple carrots
steamed green beans
grilled herbed brussel sprouts
sausage, apple, and sage cornbread stuffing with pine nuts and golden raisins
wild rice cranberry pecan stuffing
gina’s pumpkin bread
gina’s cucumber salad

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deep dish pecan pie
jen’s baked apple pie
pumpkin dessert bars