HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It is really hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is just  around the corner and we are busy preparing for this years feast. Since I was a small child our Thanksgiving meal has been my favorite meal of the year. It is also a wonderful day for celebration with family and friends; and a day to give thanks for all the things with which we are blessed.

For this years Thanksgiving we will prepare our usual dinner and I will select a wide selection of wines to have with our meal (links to our Thanksgiving dishes and recipes as well as wine selections from previous years are listed at the end of this article). I’m thinking of Rosé Champagne to start with our selection of appetizers. Then with the meal we will have an assortment of wines that people can mix and match with their food. These will include Rosé, Red Burgundy, Cru Beaujolais, and some older Ridge wines such as Geyserville.

Our meal will remain pretty much the same that it has been for most of the last 40 plus years. This time corresponds with most of the time that my wife and I have been married. In fact, it actually begins around 1971 which was the year we bought our first house and began inviting family and friends for Thanksgiving. This tradition has continued each year since. And, over the years we have always had turkey. We have cooked turkeys every way that we know of – big turkeys up to 30 plus pounds, small turkeys down to 12 or so pounds, hen turkeys, tom turkeys, fresh turkeys, frozen turkeys, free range turkeys, stuffed and not stuffed, slow roasted overnight, roasted in a hot oven, roasted in a bag, smoked, grilled, deep fried, seasoned with various spices, basted with just butter, rubbed with soy sauce, etc. Well I think you get the idea. But for most of the last few years we have roasted small (about 12 pound) free range hen turkeys on the rotisserie. They are rubbed with soy sauce and then basted with unsalted butter as they roast. This has proven to be our favorite way of cooking Thanksgiving turkey although all the variations are also good.

For several years I have done Thanksgiving articles. In each of the last 3 years the articles cover all the wines served (along with tasting notes) and all the food served (along with the recipes). Also, there are lots of photos. The first 2011 article has our complete Thanksgiving menu including recipes and wine selections (to read that article click here). And to read the follow up article with notes on all the wines served as well as a lot of photos click here. There is also the 2012 article again with the recipes and more wine selections (to read that article click here). This is followed by the Thanksgiving past article with notes on the wines served with the food and more photos (to read that article click here). Finally, to read last years article and notes on more Thanksgiving wines click here.

These articles will provide ideas for foods and wines to include in your Thanksgiving celebration. Have a wonderful day!

THANKSGIVING DAY IN SANTA BARBARA 2011