Week of November 20: Our First Thanksgiving

This year Andrea and I hosted our first Thanksgiving as a married couple at our home. I'm not sure how this happened but somehow my side of the family decided that we were in charge. "Geu Nyang... Dae Chung", advised my mom. This is a very common Korean phrase. It translates to "just roughly", or more colloquially "just enough to get by". I've always wondered why this phrase and mentality was so common in the Korean culture. If you don't believe me, just take a drive in a Kia or Daewoo.

"Dae Chung?" There was no way our first Thanksgiving was going to be Dae Chung. So Andrea and I planned ahead, laid out the menu, researched the recipes, shopped early and even drew up a cooking schedule. Our meal would be simple yet elegant, natural yet flavorful. Our planned menu was as follows:

Roast Turkey with Shallot Butter and Thyme Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole (used canned green beans instead)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts (plus grated lemon peel)

Bread Stuffing

Kim Chee

Creme Fraiche Biscuits, and

Pumpkin Pie

A perfect meal for a well planned out Thanksgiving right? Well almost. Not everything was perfect.

The Thanksgiving dinner was set for 2 PM. All together there were 9 adults (my parents, my uncle and aunt, my cousin Andy, my brother Brian, Andrea, myself and our friend Kathi) and 3 dogs (Blackberry, Cody and our dog Kodi). However, the dinner ran a little late... 3 hours late. The main reason was that the turkey took a lot longer to cook.

Everyone was in good spirits waiting for the turkey to be done. A few glasses of wine didn't hurt.

We estimated about 2 1/2 hour for the bird to be done, to reach 170 degrees. However, it wasn't until about 5 PM until we were finally able to sit down at the table and begin our dinner.

My mom catches Brian "inspecting" the brussels sprouts and Kathi and Andrea show off their smiles as the turkey arrives.

And after an hour of gorging, the last man eating, my uncle finally threw in the napkin. I think Andrea was rather shocked that my uncle who's about 5 ft 4 and maybe 100 pounds ate probably enough to feed a small country. With our stomachs filled and our belts loosened, we retired to the living room to stretch and catch our second wind for dessert.

Another unplanned imperfection was the dessert. I had attempted to procure a pumpkin pie the previous night from a local bakery, Bakesale Betty. Betty had made 300 pumpkin pies but by the time I got there, all the pies were spoken for. As I added my name to a waiting list, which eventually was unsuccessful, an elderly woman picked up her reserved 2 pies. She even opened up the pie box to show me her prize. It was then I realized that I was having a Seinfeld moment. Remember "The Rye" episode? I refrained myself from calling the 2 pie lady "an old bag" as I knew that my aunt had volunteered to get the pumpkin pie. However, when my aunt showed up, she had a chocolate cream pie and a boysenberry pie. It seems that her local bakery, Heidi's, had run out of pumpkin pies as well. What was this world coming to?

All in all, our first Thanksgiving was a success. After the dessert, everyone began entering into the post turkey coma syndrome that not even a strong cup of Joe could prevent.

Put a fork in us... we're done!

One by one, my family left and Andrea and I , along with Blackberry and Kodi, all laid about in the living room, half asleep, full bellyed and completely content.

Week of November 13: Bollywood In Our Hood

Our friends Sharon and Simon (picture on left) hosted a Bollywood party on Saturday, November 19th, at their apartment in San Francisco. For those that have yet to experience the true magic in motion picture, Bollywood is the name given to the Hindi-language film industry in India... Bombay (now called Mumbai) meets Hollywood. Bollywood movies are filled with songs and dances, love, comedy and dare-devil thrills, all mixed up in a three hour long lavish musical extravaganza. Gone With The Wind, Citizen Kane, Gladiator... these movies are nothing compared to such Bollywood classics as Do Bigha Zameen, Pyaasa, and Rangeela. Did Russell Crowe burst into a random song and dance with the lions in the middle of his epic fight against the masked gladiator? I don't think so!

While I have never been to India, Andrea has been there for work on several occasions. And while I lacked the threads to dress up in traditional Indian garb, Andrea was able to dress up like she was going to a banquet at the Taj Mahal (picture on right). In fact, Andrea claimed that while she had nothing to wear for a night of clubbing in San Francisco, she had everything to wear to a Bollywood Party! Besides having the pleasure of watching Bollywood movies, the party gave everyone a chance to get together, dress up, and experience Indian culture. There was lots of great Indian food and Indian beverages. The hit drink of the night was an Indian wine called a Coconut Toddy (also known as malachi feni) made from fermented Coconut sap. Yum! I can't wait to present a fine bottle of the Coconut Toddy to Rick, my father in-law, as a stocking stuffer for Christmas! Another drink that was a big hit (at least for me) was a bottle of an Indian Rum called Oldmonk. It was very delicious especially as a much needed chaser for the Coconut Toddy.

Overall, it was a very fun and educational night. Everyone enjoyed themselves and best of all, no one randomly broke out into a song and dance routine. I guess Bollywood in San Francisco isn't quite as real. Hats off to Simon and Sharon for hosting such an original and fun event. Thanks.

Kalvin lends a helping hand

while Rob goes for his third plate

Here's me lending a helping hand

after a few Toddies and Oldmonk

Bollywood dance moves on Simon's new flat screen... so real!

You can easily mistake this picture for regular night out in India.

Week of November 6: The Non-Crab Boil (posted by Ray)

On Saturday, November 12, Andrea and I co-hosted with the Whitemans (picture on left: Brandon, Max, Shannon), the first crab boil of this season. Like so many "firsts", our crab boil had some issues... no crab. It seems that someone (surely not me) had misread the crab season posting (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/index_calendar.html#1105). Recreational crab season started on November 5th. Commercial crab season would not start until the 15th! So we had all this stuff for a crab boil... potatoes, corn, and kielbasa but no crab. Brandon was in a panic! I think I actually heard him yell, "Why, God why?!!!" I don't like to toot my own horn but I'm fantastic at problem solving... it's a burden I've learn to live with. So I slapped some sense into Brandon and suggested that we do a clam bake instead. With that suggestion, I was able to turn Brandon's frown upside down. Brandon, Andrea and I drove down to Costco and picked up some clams, mussels and jumbo shrimps.

We returned to the Whiteman house for our first Clam Bake... ever! Any mere mortals would have been daunted and intimidated by the task at hand. Instead Brandon and I turned to our trusted cooking bible, The Best Recipe (http://www.cooksillustrated.com/bookstore_detail.asp?PID=265). This book has never once failed any one of us. And we use it very often. Here is the actual recipe we used http://americastestkitchen.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=2081&iSeason=4.

While Brandon and I were busy cooking, we sensed a disturbance in the force. My sweet, lovely wife had succumbed to the dark side of hunger and had gone mad. "Drea Vader" had already devastated the pita chips and hummus and was now eyeing Max's Gummy Drops.

Soon the rest of the gang started arriving one by one (Leslie&Todd, Ed&Laura&baby Sean) and the house started filling with the smell of kielbasa, steamed clams, mussels and shrimp. After about 25 minutes of steaming, it was time. Drea Vader took off her mask and wiped away a tear from her left eye as she gazed at the beautiful sight before her. As if the starter's gun in each one of us had gone off simultaneously, eight adult pairs of hungry hands grabbed away at the pile (notice the 12 oz bottle of beer as a scale of reference). We stuffed ourselves like it was the last meal on death row. Man! It was good! Especially when washing it down with a cold beer! Even Leslie and Drea Vader, who merely wanted to "try a few" out of politeness soon forgot about their prejudice for the "slimy creatures" and repeatedly reached for pile. I could have sworn I head Leslie drop an F-Bomb when she realized she had just refilled her plate from the empty shell mound instead. The eight of us ate ourselves silly but could not beat the pile. Rest assured, if you know the Whitemans (actually just Brandon), not one single morsel would go to waste. Can you say "Pasta with Clams?"

We ended the near perfect day just chillin by the fire in the backyard and drinking a few adult beverages. But Todd next time when you make a Makers and Ginger, remember it's Makers and Ginger and not Ginger and Makers!!!

(from left to right: Leslie, Andrea, baby Sean, Laura, Ray and preppie Brandon)

Our Circle

Welcome to our Circle of Trust. We are hoping to start posting interesting (to us anyway) events and stories to share with our friends and family. We're gonna try to keep it updated. Your positive feedback and comments are appreciated while your negative smart ass remarks will result in finding yourself outside the Circle of Trust. :)