Thanksgiving

It seemed to me that I shouldn't let November slip away without some mention of Thanksgiving and a few event around the holiday. NO, I didn't get up at 3 AM on "Black Friday" to buy something I didn't need. And, YES, we did have a Thanksgiving dinner, but more on that later.
Going back a week ago we had dinner with another couple( our age who are getting married today) Friday night, Nov 20 at "Oriental Wok"-Regency. As those of you know, who read this Blog with some regularity, we go there a lot. It is easy, not overly crowed or noisy and they have very good food and excellent service. After the Bombay and appetizers I had a mixed plate of two of their specials, scallops and eggplant in a rich, slightly sweet and spicy, sauce and oysters and shredded green vegetables in a light ginger sauce. I don't know which I enjoyed the most but they complimented each other and I'm glad I had the split order.
Our Granddaughter arrived late Saturday night, from Bates College, and she joined us as we helped a young friend prepare for an after Thanksgiving party by making a Costco run. Herring, Cheese, Crackers, Cashew Nuts, Pork Tenderloins, Rolls, Napkins, etc. Later we sat with her and her 6 year old twins while they had Pizza and Hot Dogs at the warehouse, we declined the invitation to join them.
The three of us went to, "Vincenzo's" 11525 Chester Road, Cincinnati 45246 513-771-0022, for our own Italian dinner. We divided two main courses, quite large, an a special salad.
The mixed salad was fresh greens and romaine plus artichokes, tomato's, dried cherries, sweet peppers, croutons and Gorgonzola with a very good balsamic dressing. The main courses, equally as good, were Cappellini Bolognese and Gnocchi Dante, consisting of small Gnocchi, al dente, in a light cream and wine sauce with shredded prosciutto and mushrooms, delicious. Needless to say, it beat Costco, but maybe not if you are 6 year old.
Still with our Granddaughter we had lunch Wednesday, Nov 25 at "Wild Ginger" 3655 Edwards Road, Cincinnati OH 45208 513-533-9500.The three of us again divided orders of Pot stickers, Won ton Soup and a very large Ocean King sushi roll, soft shell crab, "fake crab", shrimp, avocado and shredded carrots and scallions. The rice is wrapped in a crust of shredded, fried, filo dough. it is one of the better sushi dishes in the area, in my opinion.
At last Thanksgiving. Our son-in-law's Mother took over the holiday meal replacing Marilyn. That was a very nice gesture as Marilyn is still not up to major cooking, or even minor for that matter. She did the roast turkey and got help with all the sides and appetizers. Everything was traditional with the addition of a wonderful baked apple casserole and Key Lime Pie in place of Pumpkin. I supplied several kinds of white wine and a fine time was had by the 6 of us, all family.
Friday, for lunch, I met a friend at the "Oriental Wok" where he had wonderful "twice cooked pork" and I settled for their first class combo Pad Thai. That night was the "after Thanksgiving party" held at "City Cellars" a wine store and party room at 908 Race street. The hostess left home without the Costco Purchases but realized her mistake and corrected with a stop at "Fresh Market" for replacement items, including sushi. Luckily the Pork Tenderloins had been cooked elsewhere and that plus the roles and cashew nuts(hurrah) made the scene. The wines were all Spanish and I was taken enough by the white, a Gordello, to purchase some for our home use. We, of course, raised the age average, as we do often, but a fine evening of the day after was a nice closer .
Some friends from Nashville, Marilyn's home town, were passing through so we met them for lunch today at "Arthur's" on Edwards Road in Hyde Park. The place was packed and we all had fairy light lunches, soups and salads, before walking around the corner to "Graeter's" where they purchased Cincinnati's finest.