Just Another Turkey

I was reading LENNDEVOURS very entertaining Thanksgiving column and realized that I must write a Thanksgiving post. All the other kids are doing it.

I haven’t had many traditional Thanksgiving meals over the past couple decades. I live far from my family and hate holiday travel. The years that I wasn’t taken in by friends, I always made due with my own culinary talents. Or I had frozen pizza.

At some point I realized that Thanksgiving was a great excuse to cook something that I really love and open a bottle of great wine. Sometimes I even invited someone else to dine with me.

For the past several years, I’ve been cooking the largest, primo fillet mignon that I can lay my hands on. I’ll whip up a couple extraordinary side dishes to go with and open something extra special.

This year, I’m not sure what I’ll be cooking. Fillets? Pork tenderloin? I’m only cooking for three, so a turkey seems a little excessive.

For me, it’s really not about what you cook—it’s all about taking time to sit down with friends, family or just yourself, and enjoying something that really makes you happy.

And take time to count your blessings.


As a former retail wine salesman, I have dispensed gobs of Thanksgiving wine advice. Here it is distilled to its essence:

1.) Drink what you like. If you like white zinfandel then it really doesn’t matter what the “proper” match is.
2.) Use some common sense. Delicate flavors need delicate wines. Bold flavors need bold wines.
3.) For a fairly traditional meal, I like Alsatian pinot blanc and Cru Beaujolais, particularly Morgon.
4.) Drink something sparkling. The ability of sparkling wine to pair with food is vastly underappreciated. A sparkling rosé is particularly good, or try NV Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut Cuvee—a really tasty sparkler with great fruit that’s inexpensive enough for company.
5.) Review Rule #1.