Happy Thanksgiving! Our favorite holiday.
We left the house at exactly 1p yesterday. I got to work at 7:15a and left at noon. It was Very. Quiet. While I was at work, Bob hit Safeway, G & G and Harvest with our massive shopping list in hand. I had packed up the kitchen, dominoes, wine, roasting pan etc etc etc the night before and it was staged by the utility room for loading into the car.
From our house it’s two right turns, two left turns and one more right turn 21 miles later onto Highway 1 to go north about 65 miles to Sea Ranch. Stunning day, mid-60’s and sunny. Hills getting green from the bit of rain we have had the past couple of weekends — more due this weekend (PLEASE!!). In the first twenty minutes of our trip we saw 9 deer, hundreds of cows and sheep, a bunch (covey? flock? team?) of wild turkeys hanging with two huge sitting bulls and a bobcat. We saw a dozen more deer on the rest of the trip.
Stopped at Tomales Bakery about 1:30 on the hopeful chance they would have something to sell besides their Thanksgiving orders. Lo and behold, there were three herb biscuits left that Bob bought and saw as an omen. The fabulous bakery, Two Fish, about a 1/2 mile walk from our rental (Cloud’s Rest — above) at Sea Ranch is closed for the weekend. Bob had counted on getting their biscuits on Saturday (the only day they make them) and when he called on Monday to order them found out the distressing news of their closure. Big smile on his face as we got back in the car. Stopped at Lucas Wharf in Bodega Bay at 2p to get some lunch. Bob: crab louis with sourdough. Me: house salad with chunks of house-smoked salmon. Delicious! We each had a glass of OVZ Zin that we have enjoyed in the past. We sat at the bar looking out at the sparkling bay. Lovely. And Bob thought of a great idea for a book/blog. The wheels are turning.
Back in the car at 2:45 and a beautiful ride up the coast. Only a couple of dorks (who puts on the brakes going UP HILL?? When you are pulling a humongous trailer at 25 mph in a 45 mph zone and there are Plenty of pull-outs with a line of 13 cars behind you, pull over. Please.) but we made good time and arrived in Gualala at 4:05p to pick up the keys and check out the supermarkets. Bob got a tiny lemon cheesecake at Trinks (closed tomorrow, open at 7:30a Friday) which is the Go To wifi coffee spot for the town with really good baked goods and lunch items.
Thought about having dinner at a new place, the Sand Bar, that has a beautiful view of the ocean, nice seafood-centric menu, full bar… but. We knew once we got to our place we wouldn’t want to go out again. So Bob got a ribeye and I picked up some broccoli and we headed the 7 miles south back to Cloud’s Rest.
We opened a bottle of wine, activated our new iphones (6 for Bob, 6+ for me that I was afraid would be too big but hoping that it would be easier on my failing eyes….already used to it!) and made dinner. Grilled steak, baked potato for Bob, oven roasted sweet potato and broccoli and salad. Fireplace blazing and windows open!
This morning we were up at 6a catching up on news and reading and playing sudoku in front of the fire as it got light. Two deer snacking in our front yard. Put Mr. Willie Bird (thank you, GL) in its brining bath, made coffee, breakfast (Bob: two slices of bacon, fried egg over hard with the yolk cracked, warmed herb biscuit; me: one slice of bacon, egg over easy, leftover sweet potato, bite of biscuit: light, buttery sort of dry… pretty perfect). Went into town to get a few things we forgot (even with lists!!!) and decided we ‘need’: candle, matches, radishes, local Meyer lemon olive oil for the salad, a piece of vanilla bean cake, small oj for mimosas. Back at the house by 9:30a.
The rest of the day/evening was bliss.
We started at 11:30 getting the turkey ready, rinsing, drying, paste of minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh herbs (sage, thyme, parsley, rosemary), butter and olive oil under the skin and on top. Put him on a bed of chopped onions, celery, carrots in the roaster and started him on the grill at 325* at 12:30. Popped the champagne and leisurely prepped the rest of the sides while watching football and sipping champagne. We snacked on a few Fritos (champagne and Fritos is a very underrated pairing), proscuitto and jalapeno havarti. It was a stunning afternoon with just a small breeze and sunshine.
We sat down to eat at 5p, the strategy being to be done before the 49ers fell apart. A very prescient plan as it turned out…. sigh.
Sliced turkey breast; stuffing (sourdough, mild and hot italian sausage, onion, celery, jalapenos, scant pepper jack cheese); oven roasted Brussels sprouts (olive oil, sea salt, red pepper flakes, bits of proscuitto); over roasted sweet potatoes (coconut oil, cumin, sea salt); mashed potatoes (sour cream, butter, parmesan cheese); cranberry relish (fresh cranberries, 1/2 c water, zest and juice from one tangerine, chopped jalapenos, 1 T sugar, minced parsley, scallions); cranberry jelly (can…seriously; Bob loves it); and salad.
This was the BEST TURKEY ever. Moist, flavorful, beautiful. The whole meal was perfect. The Skywalker 2013 Chardonnay tasted wonderful as did the Petite Syrah, The Crusher.
I was happy to have a lot of leftovers and clean up to do while the 49ers sucked. Bob played sudoku and tried not to be bummed out.
A truly great, relaxing and fun day. It always seems like a lot of work but it’s so enjoyable to do it together. It really is our favorite holiday.
Bob and Sharon's Travel Diary 