Friends and Orphans Giving Thanks 2018

I cannot have a food blog without a post on Thanksgiving. It's a major food holiday that usually brings people together. So I'll write about mine.

Thanksgiving is more of a Friendsgiving for me. This year's was particularly interesting because I met some new friends and got to know an existing one better. It also gave me a chance to break out of my semi-introverted comfort zone without feeling like imposing as a third-wheel family guest. 

Being a member of the Seattle Foodies, I posted a question on what single transplants do for Thanksgiving. Not solely asking for myself, I was asking more for many in that category. Seattle always has new residents who come here for work and educational opportunities because it's such a great place. Fellow foodies suggested restaurants that were open, volunteering at food banks, even roasting a Cornish game hen which I found adorable and accurate. Even more wonderful were the sincere open invitations to private dining events and an Orphan Thanksgiving. Being that I've been to neither, these invites really got me curious. Addo:Incubator hosted one that same night I posted which was on the Monday before Thanksgiving, but because it was on a work night, I could not attend. And then my friend Amy who(m) I met from being in the same Facebook groups messaged me about the Orphan Thanksgiving that she and her partner Ryan were hosting.

The next day, I received a message request from Pascal, a Seattle Foodies member, who invited me to a private dining event down in Federal Way that he was jointly cooking for where other professionals would be attending. It sounded very interesting, and it was a few hours before Amy's invite in Everett, so I could attend both.

Dinner One

Fast-forward to Thursday: Thanksgiving Day. It was a dark and stormy night ... just kidding. It was actually a dark and rainy afternoon, but warm for a fall day compared to prior years. I drove south for about an hour to the address I was given, ending up at a bike shop obviously closed for business. This is weird, I thought. I wondered briefly if I had been pranked, but gut feel told me no, that's ridiculous. So I called Pascal and asked if I had the right place. Turns out the bike shop just gets me closer to where I needed to be since Maps will lead people somewhere more confusing. After clarifying directions over the phone, I reached a very big house with a series of steps leading to a set of huge wood-framed glass doors. The host and co-chef Richard greeted me, and I was seated and served a glass of wine. "Red or red?" 'I'll take either!' There were just five of us at the table, and everyone was very nice. I met a makeup artist and stylist from Russia and a property manager from Puyallup who told me about a destination dining company that will fly you to an undisclosed location somewhere in the state where you're served a multi-course meal with wine pairings. (That is very intriguing and something I want to participate in sometime if I can.) The conversation overall concerned culture, language, food, and our respective industries.

Chefs Pascal's and Richard's

Chefs Pascal and Richard are quite skilled in the culinary arts. The herbed and brined turkey was roasted just right, and the prime rib baked in the oven for a good four hours at 190 degrees, resulting in a tender and rare flavorful roast upon serving. I also had pumpkin soup with bacon and creme presented beautifully. In addition to the home-brewed wine that did not give me an allergic response because it's sulfite-free, there was prosecco and Riesling. I would have stayed for Pascal's panettone bread pudding, but just driving to Everett takes an hour, so after saying farewells, I got back into my car.

I encountered holiday traffic getting to both destinations, but it was a smooth flow, as most drivers were mindful of the rainy conditions and thankfully other drivers.

Dinner 2

Amy's and Ryan's place was easy to get to, and the parking goddess blessed me with one available spot around the corner.

I come in and there are a handful of people standing around talking, all of whom I do not know. Ok Girl, break out of that shy shell and talk to people! I told myself. So that I did. It turns out they all work for Sprouts, the Arizona-based healthful grocery chain now in Washington, in the same category as PCC, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's. Many of the guests relocated from out of state since Sprouts opened their first store here in Mill Creek a few months ago. Amy now works there and hosted an Orphan Thanksgiving for all of us to talk and eat.

There was a bunch of food here, too! A stately Serrano ham towered over a charcuterie board with several types of cheeses and pate. Dishes, casseroles, and food projects in progress adorned the countertops. Chef Amy was in the midst of cooking and had her hands full, cutting up or stirring things, mashing potatoes and drizzling them with oil, checking on vegetables roasting, peeking at her turkey, yet she still managed to converse with all of us without looking noticeably harried which I found quite impressive.

While waiting for the food to complete, I talk to Ryan, Amy's friends from work, and say hi to their dog. Gogi their rescued Korean jindo is grouchy in his crate and barks intermittently, but I read his face and see that he's but a restless teen wanting to go play. He's so cute.

The food comes out in phases. The two cuts of prime rib are smoked and prepared sous-vide, served with roasted brussels sprouts—one bowl with bacon, another without—and smashed seasoned potatoes with optional dashes of black garlic or truffle salt. There is a huge tray of sushi and a big turkey that we all forgot about and were too full to eat, so we ended up cutting it toward the end of the night to take some home for leftovers. There was dessert, but I favor the savory in terms of consumption priority, so they were forgone by me. (My brownies were popular. :)) We had Tibetan singing bowls and Oracle card readings, even an impromptu "Bohemian Rhapsody" singalong and a humorous critique of bad music videos from the early 1980s, before producing and directing music videos were a real thing. A couple new friends and I discussed music genres, instruments, science, beliefs, work histories, and the metaphysics. This was awesome. Everyone was so damn cool.

I ended up going home at a bit past 1 with a full belly, take-home boxes, and a happy heart.

Thanksgiving 2018 was, to me, pretty epic in my small corner of the world. Thank you to those who opened their homes to share and break bread. You are appreciated well past the holiday.  

Chef Amy's and Ryan's

Steps of smoked prime rib sous-vide

The doggos. :O)