Behind the Vines

Second Thanksgiving at The Villa

by Farley on December 19th, 2007

The dinner party I went to the other night didn’t follow the average prototype.  We were at the 3rd Annual Second Thanksgiving with the Teeter’s be followed by a white elephant exchange. They like to get together with friends for a Thanksgiving dinner, even if it’s almost a month late.  Speaking of being late, I was there over an hour past the appointed arrival hour, as I was driving from the East Bay after work.  And with the day we’d had, I needed one of the cocktails everyone else seemed to be enjoying when I did drag myself in along with wine, salad dressing, and cupcakes.

It didn’t take long for the food to make its way to our plates, to go with the wine that had already filled our glasses. There was turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, Ellie’s brussel sprouts, Joe’s mac n’ cheese, and one of the best versions of dressing I’ve ever tasted–with venison sausage and sliced truffles. For wine, I focused mainly on the bubbly and then went back and forth between the magnums of 2001 Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir and 2004 Bonfire Vineyards Fuel Barbera. While Pinot is often spoken of as a great Thanksgiving wine, I found myself coming back to the full fruit of the Fuel, which stood firm against the big flavors in the meal.

After our bellies were full, it was time to draw numbers and let the stealing begin. BK and I had quite the run, as we picked towards the end of the round. He stole Sara’s adjustable marshmallow skewers for the fire and I stole Ryan’s travel kitchen kit. Now we just need to go camping again… Turns out, though, that David was quite close to taking my cooking supplies, but luckily, he recognized the potential irony and did not force me to end up with the Thomas Fogarty Skyline, which I used to have to pour on a daily basis.

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POSTED IN: Thanksgiving, especially good meals, holiday spirit