Thanksgiving break 2009

It's 11pm, and I'm back in my cozy apartment in University Town.  I feel like I'm just warming up.

I feel like laughing.  I left the southern city of Metro a week ago, and in the past couple of days, they've gotten snow--one of the earliest snows of the season.  Here, in the northeast, it's raining, and 51 degrees, at night.  Since our snow in October, here in University Town, all precipitation has stayed liquid.   Here, we're looking at each other and saying "Can you believe it's December, and we don't need our coats?"

My Thanksgiving holiday was great.

I didn't go to a movie, but I played way too much Assassin's Creed, both 1 and 2.  I enjoyed them both, but I think the second game is superior.  The first game grew a little monotonous.  The second game had more humor, more variety to the missions, and did a far better job of incorporating the various tasks you had to complete into the plotline.  And I liked the puzzles in AC2!  A part of it, too, I think, is that my husband assisted me as I played, helping me to find hidden objects, directing me to different points on the map, solving puzzles with me, and giving approval of my cooler assassination moves.  It was just really nice being able to game together.

We mostly ate in during the week.  I did get a good steak at Saltgrass.  It was a surprise, as I had remembered it to be a middling experience the last time I went.  I would go back.

On the other hand, I had a negative experience when I went to D__'s Mediterranean Buffet.  It was one of a regional chain of restaurants.  One had opened recently near my apartment, and it had gotten high reviews from family members, who had eaten there several times.  My trip there was a wasted effort.  The food was either dry, or overspiced.  I tried to sample as many dishes as I could, to give it a fair shake, filling one plate with a bunch of options, and when those did not work out, going back and getting another plate, sampling a different variety of food.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get more than one bite out of most of what I tried.  I liked two things:  the rice, and the green beans and carrots, but even the rice had dried, and was crunchy--not in a good way.  It was not worth the $11-ish dollar price.  I left hungry, and I asked the husband take me took a grocery store so that I could buy something frozen to take home.  If I was with a group of people considering D__'s, I would actively try to dissuade anyone from going there, and if they decided to go anyway, I would get food elsewhere, and meet up with the group again later.

Despite my concerns with Thanksgiving dinner, everything turned out well, even though it turned out to be more of a Thanksgiving supper--the food wasn't ready until about 4:30pm.  Luckily, I had talked the husband into taking me to IHOP for breakfast--and for me, a full hot breakfast will last until suppertime. There was turkey, turkey Wellington, stuffing, baked beets and squash, green bean casserole, Dijon glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy.  I also had pumpkin pie, homemade, fresh from the oven.  Yum.  The others chose to wait on dessert.

I am thankful for many things.  For friends, especially for family, for the chance to just get together, to have to time to get together.  I am grateful, too, that everyone in my family has employment, that their bills can be met.  I was thankful that Thanksgiving day was nice--I joked that it should have been a bbq--it was warm enough to be comfortably outdoors, and our cooking was causing the A/C to run.  I am thankful that school was gone very well this semester.  And I'm thankful for all the support my friends, family, and my husband has given me as I slog through school.

Thanks everyone.  And I hope that everyone found something to be thankful for this holiday, as well.

Notes: Making Turkey Wellington

The in-laws purchased a frozen turkey breast at Tom Thumb (a local grocery store chain) and then took it to the deli counter to have it de-boned the next day. It came back deboned, and cut in two fillets and a small strip of tenderloin.

Ingredients:

2 turkey fillets
stuffing
1 box puff pastry dough, defrosted
vegetable oil
1 beaten egg
Also, cotton string/twine

1.  Make a stuffing of your choice.  I used an apple cranberry walnut stuffing found here.  I mixed all the ingredients and cooked it on the stovetop.  I thought the recipe lacked a little "oomph", so I added a splash of orange juice to the recipe.  Let the stuffing cool a little.

2. Flatten the fillet to about a 1/4" thickness: Place the fillet between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound it with either a meat mallet, or in this case, a cast iron pan.

3.  Scoop up the stuffing with your hands.  Spread it on top of the turkey fillet.

4.  Pull the ends of the fillet together, so that it forms a circle.  (Close the Pac-Man mouth)

5.  Roll it all up.  Yumm...raw poultry.  (I think the photo looks a little obscene)

6.  We're not done, yet!  Tie the roll in string.

7.  In a large frypan, heat some oil.  Place the rolled turkey in the pan to sear.  Turn it so the outside is cooked all the way around.  It looks like fish!

8.  After the turkey has been seared, remove from the pan and allow to cool.  While waiting for the turkey to cool, roll out one sheet of the puff pastry dough.

9.  Cut the string off the turkey roll, and carefully remove it.  We don't want the roll falling apart.

10.  Put the turkey on top of the the dough.  Bring the edges of the dough up around the turkey, and cut off extra dough if there is too much overlap.  Pinch the edges of the dough together.  Turn the whole thing over, so that the seam of the dough is underneath.  If you want, use a cookie cutter to cut decorative shapes from the extra dough.  Place it on top of the roll to make it look pretty.

11.  Brush the loaf with the beaten egg.

12.  Place in the oven at 350 F.  Bake for 20-30 min, or until internal temperature reads 170 F.

13.  Slice, eat, enjoy.   (Thanks to Mr. Turro for the photo)

It goes well with gravy, and I'm told it does well, and in some ways is better, re-heated.  Just place slices on a pan to warm up.

We didn't eat until 4:30pm...it really was a Thanksgiving dinner.  But!  People were impressed with it.  I had fun making it.  It was a group effort.  The father-in-law beat the turkey into submission, while the mother-in-law tied the turkey rolls.

I've been encouraged to make Beef Wellington for Christmas.

Good thing I know of a place in Metro to buy foie gras.  And perhaps I should go to that queen of gastronomy, Julia Child, for the recipe of  filet de bœuf en croûte ?

Thanksgiving Eve, altered state

Normally, being up at 11pm doesn't mean much to me. In my apartment at University Town, I'm by myself, and I've got two high-lumen torchiere lamps in a small living room which makes the place as bright as daylight (I have a theory that a reason I have trouble sleeping at night is that the lights are too bright.)

Here in Metro, though, there are two average lamps in an average living room. The husband is sleeping in the next room, and and everything feels quiet and sleepy and just very NIGHT-like. I'm feeling a little sad, a little lonely, a little regretful, a little homesick.

I've had a wonderful few days here. I don't want to leave. But Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I wish it weren't. I wish Thanksgiving was another week away. Oh, I look forward to the actual getting together and all that. It's just that to me, Thanksgiving marks the end of vacation. I don't want to go back.

It's always this way, of course. While I'm in University Town, I'm happy to be in University Town, happy to have my own place, and I think that perhaps after I graduate I'll wander some more. Who needs to live together, right? The world is so big--why live in a single place, why settle down? I'm happy to travel back to Metro, as I step on the plane out of University Town...but it's a happiness that is no different from going on any vacation. It's only once I land in Metro that I enter a reality shift, an altered state: Why did I ever leave? And, no, I don't want to go away again. I no longer know what is real: Of course things are wonderful--You're on vacation, you dolt, sans souci! It's not real! It's an illusion, a slice of only some of the happy moments in life. Yet it FEELS real. The happiness and the sadness, both.

So I'm awake, typing, in strange place when 11pm feels like night.

I'm a bit intimidated by Thanksgiving tomorrow. Oh, the mother-in-law has the turkey covered. Nothing will be ruined. But we agreed that I would try a mix of a turkey kiev/turkey wellington. There is filleted turkey breast waiting for me in her refrigerator. The plan--my plan--is to take a mallet to the things until they're about 1/4" thick, layer with a cranberry walnut stuffing, and roll it and sear it, and encase it in phyllo dough and bake it. Because honestly...I've had roast turkey for Thanksgiving every year for YEARS. I'm no fan of leftovers, either. There has to be a better way! There has to be a better way! There has to be a better way!

The issue is, I'm no professional cook. This turkey rollup/wellington is something I've dreamed up (though there are recipes for turkey wellington out there, they require bacon, and they have the turkey breast whole, not flattened). Add to this the fact that I get to make it while *all* the Thanksgiving stuff is going on--the cooking of sides, and gravies, and desserts--and I've no idea how I'm going to pull it off. The way I figure it, it'll be ready by supper time. On the plus side, unreasonable cooking tasks have never put me off before.

I'll let you know how it goes.

My contributions for Thanksgiving:
White wine turkey gravy
Glazed Dijon carrots
SUPER TURKEY:
Apple cranberry walnut stuffing
For reference: Turkey kiev
For reference: Turkey wellington

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

A quiet start to vacation

I went to bed a little after midnight, and was up at 3 am. I actually had breakfast--chicken tenders and gravy with Texas toast, leftovers from lunch the day before, a good Southern breakfast for a good Southern trip. I washed it down with a warm spot of tea.

The two hour drive to the airport went surprisingly quickly. The weather was fair and clear, temps in the 40's. It was my day to use fuel wastefully--I cruised at 70mph for most of the way to the airport, and then I flew across country. I flew into O'Hare, my arrival gate only a few gates away from the departure gate to Metro (I've decided to refer to my adopted hometown, which I have previously referred to as "The City", as "Metro" from now on, as the term "The City" in pop culture commonly means New York City [and yes, I know in comic books Metropolis is NYC, too, but I have to use *some* generic descriptor].) Living in University Town has let me travel through lots of Eastern airports: Detroit, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare. Next week, my return flight will be though Cleveland. It's been a neat experience.

The flight into O'Hare was also amazingly smooth. From O'Hare to Metro, however, the flight was rougher, and I was glad to land. There was also too much carry-on luggage on this flight, but I packed light--I fit all my clothes into a rolling laptop suitcase--so I was able to fit it underneath the seat in front of me: no luggage issues for me!

I had lunch with my father-in-law: Red beans and rice and pork chops at a country-style restaurant. Also, who knew that getting two watch batteries replaced would cost $151? The on-going cost of owning a designer watch?

I had a quiet evening with video games and TV. The husband is sick, so I'm looking to a quiet weekend. But perhaps I can talk him into taking me out to a movie...

End of semester crazyness

This week has been exhausting.  My school gets the entire week next week off for Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, there are only two more weeks left in the semester! Since I will be at my vacation residence (my husband's apartment in The City) all next week, and two presentations immediately when I come back, I've been trying to cram finishing everything into this week. No such luck.  There is so much still to do.  I'm about to tear my hair out, and I've already given myself a stomachache.

I'm hoping to be able to work two good full days next Monday and Tuesday, and possibly part day Sunday, while my husband is at work. It would be *great* to have everything done. I hate end of the semester!

What else? I've finished watching the Assassin's Creed walkthrough. It was entertaining to watch, and I'm looking forward to when people start uploading playthroughs of the AC II game. From a watcher's perspective, I took issue with the main character killing his informants after beating them and interrogating them, and the fight sequences seemed repetitive. There's a copy of the game at the vacation residence, so hopefully I'll get to play it a bit. There's also been mention of sending me with a copy of the game (there's a Nintendo DS prequel), or a purchase of AC II so that I can play it over the break. Nifty!

I want to give a shout out to all those taking November to expand on your creativity. I know some of you are participating in National Novel Writing Month while others are creating scrapbooks, and others taking on art projects. I read once that we are made in the image of a Creator God...likewise we too, are creators. It believe that it is not just the "arts" that count as creativity, but any movement away from entropy should be considered an act of creation.

I've been feeling inspired, but I don't know where to begin. And I don't have time to begin until after the semester. I'd like to learn photography, and I'd like to learn to draw. They are both visual media, and there were be some overlap in learning, but I'd like to take things in different directions for the two media. For photography, at this point, I'm not interested in learning about lenses and settings and such. I want to know that given I had the most basic camera--single lens, non-adjustable, disposable--how would I take beautiful pics? Once I've mastered that, lenses and settings and such would just be icing on the cake, right? Perhaps I need to start my learning on art theory?

My desire to learn to draw takes the opposite direction. I can't draw a straight line without a straight edge, and my "circles" are a joke. I've had enough drafting classes to understand perspective and the idea of converting 3D to 2D. My deficiencies with drawing ARE technical.

Photography is capturing light in a box. Drawing, in my mind, requires physical skill, and the ability to convert shapes to lines, colors to shading. For example, the photo at the top of the post. I did nothing. I simply walked past the rosebush when the sunlight was at just the right angle.

Finally, as suggested by a reader, I will include an update on my penny. I found the penny on the sidewalk a month and a half ago. I picked it up, took it up the stairs, and instead of taking it inside, I placed it on my exterior window ledge, next to the door. Since there is a common walkway along all the upstairs apartments (think motel), I did not expect the penny to stay there for long, especially since some of the upstairs residents have young children, and the window is at their height. However, the penny remains.

I travel tomorrow morning, getting up at 3 am. I still need to pack.

Women play videogames?

I've been watching an Assassin's Creed (AC) playthrough, and so on Wednesday decided to watch the mini-movie, "Assassin's Creed: Lineage", which ties in to the new game coming out on the 17th. I thought it was well done for a promo. The backgrounds looked a bit too CG-y, but I liked how the fights were choreographed to look like fights in-game.

It made me wonder, though, of what the target and actual demographics are for the game. It played on SpikeTV at midnight, and yeah, that should say it all. Every commercial break included an ad for Extenze. A majority of the commercial breaks included an ad for Burger King, with Girls Gone Wild in third place.

Perhaps SpikeTV was the only channel with an available and/or affordable time slot. But the ads really made me feel left out. Surely women play such games, right?

Which leads me to another thought--do women do voice-over narration in movies? The last one I remember was in "Madeline." Don LaFontaine, of course, was the narration master. Did that influence the preference for male narrators, or a male narrators preferred because they sound more authoritative?

My last observation: Since I have not had a TV for the past two years, I have used my computer to watch videos. This means that when I do watch TV, I find myself periodically reaching for the remote--so that I can jiggle it to prevent the screen saver from coming on.

Birds

I've been watching for the hawk that I mentioned in the last post. I've been doing a terrible job of it. What caught my attention instead was a shriek from aloft as I was walking away from the parking lot.

About a week ago, I was talking to a friend about the Prince of Persia trailer. This led to a discussion about Assassin's Creed (AC)--Prince of Persia and AC both games are published by Ubisoft. I was upfront in saying that I had not played AC, but had only seen some of it. After the conversation, I felt bad about my limited knowledge, and searched youTube for a complete walkthrough. I'm now about two-thirds of the way through the game.

What does this have to do with hawk shrieks? It happens that an eagle shriek is a core sound effect in the game. And since I have been watching too much game footage recently, what caught my ear in the parking lot was the shriek. See, video games are educational!

In game, I believe the sound effect is that of a red-tailed hawk. But from what I could see of the bird, it did not appear to me to have a red tail. The cry was similar, and the bird was quite insistent on it, so I'm going to identify it as a red-shouldered hawk, for now. And now, you have my first experience with birding!

I had a professor a couple of years ago, a member of the Audubon Society, who had identified over 1000 bird species. I find that remarkable.