2002-11-30 - 6:35 p.m. making merry so baby please kill me no baby don't kill me but don't bring that ghost round to my door I don't wanna see him anymore please kill me no baby don't kill me but don't go on about yesterday I wouldn't know about that anyway -- The Libertines, "Death on the Stairs" from their super happy, Mick Jones produced album "up the bracket" that I purchased at Amoeba today. ** Before you proceed, please note today's entry is link-o-rific, and full of rampant consumerism and gluttony. Proceed with caution ** My holiday shopping typically goes something like this: 1 for you, a few for me... So far, this year has been no exception to that rule. I finally broke down and ordered a shiny set of knives to replace my mishmash of mismatched cutlery. To celebrate making this cutlery commitment, I bought a pair of cute little black shoes with an aerodynamic rubber wave of a sole and white stitching accents, plus an emily strange "bad kitty" pin and a tee which I'd thought about giving to my friend in London, but it's hard to buy clothes for friends you only see once a year, especially when exchanging it would be a major bother...perhaps that verged on being naughty? At least I picked up a little something for Maira-Rose (a very cool something I obviously can not mention since she reads this. Darn!), the cool new They Might Be Giants CD "No!" for the friend who is still adjusting to being a mommy, and a Mooney Suzuki CD for the friend who went with me to see the Strokes for Halloween...not a bad start, I think. PLUS, I made a starter batch of double chocolate pistachio biscotti, to hand out w/holiday cards at work next week... Although I started out in the Haight at Amoeba and Villains, I spent most of my shopping/browsing time in Hayes Valley, the little stretch of Hayes Street that stretches from Laguna to Washington Street. When I lived closer, I used to come over here regularly for window-shopping and dinner of good German beer and spatzle at Suppenk�che. Now, the only thing that draws me here is the rare fancy, carnivorous dinner at Absinthe. It was a downer to see so many empty storefronts, but, honestly, I could never rationalize the high prices many of the boutiques were charging at the height of the dot com boom. It's cool they featured local designers, but $200 isn't what I consider to be affordable for a sweater or an every day dress made from some sort of synthetic fabric... The store that would be a one-stop resource for anyone who knows me and wanted to delight me with presents was Flight 001. Their eponymous line of travel bags is unexpectedly stylish and smart. I wanted one of the large rectangular carry-on bags with the window on the side for your address/artwork/whatever. The plastic toiletry cases that depicted wicked spins on the laminated safety instructions you find in your seat back pocket were also very cool. What I nearly snatched up though was their fabulous travel journal/trip planner. Unlike your typical blank book, or journal with inspirational quotes about travelling, this baby was designed to help you plot out your must-see items and to then prompt you to do a good job of describing what you ended up doing... I may go back for this if it continues to stick in my brain. I typically do a good job of taking notes when travelling, but think it would be fun to have something a little more structured to prompt me along... Thanksgiving dinner was bountiful, as all dinners at Maira's tend to be. Maira fetched me and my buttermilk biscuits, cheddar cheese straws, the last half dozen chocolate chip cookies I had from last weekend (I forgot I'd set aside a bag that I was considering sending to a friend) and brought me back to her place. Her husband busted out some previously gifted Veuve Clicquot and a huge pitcher of hand-squeezed juice so we could continue the tradition started last year of pre-cooking mimosas. Somehow, mimosas just always start any afternoon of cooking off right. I paused when I saw the brand though, since my ex had sworn to his girlfriend he'd never drink it (since it was her favorite) with anyone but her... of course, he told me that right before we downed a bottle of it... but I digress. My point here is he would have been floored that we were using it for mimosas. Ha ha. After a few guests arrived, we started in on the cheese course, dipping in some spicy Lucca sausages, granny smith apples, and La Brea Bakery baguette slices into gooey warm fondue goodness. Our stomachs settled, and our heads buzzing, we retired to the living room for some South Park episodes on the TiVo before the final dinner push. I felt like such the American at about this point. Belly full, surrounded by happy people, enjoying unnecessary modern technology... In addition to the turkey, which was perfectly juicy and bronzed and full of a cornbread stuffing, dinner included way too much gravy (I tend to get carried away since I personally love to have lots of gravy left over), smashed potatoes, baked yams, green bean/French onion casserole, spanikopita (sp?), a beautiful salad that no one ate since we all started pigging out on the turkey, my buttermilk biscuits, and some cranberry relish. Dessert brought with it a pumpkin pie, a pumpkin and Dutch apple pie, and a blueberry pie, served with pumpkin ice cream, vanilla ice cream, or freshly whipped cream. Beverages included a Hess Collection Chardonnay, an Adler Fels gew�rztraminer, and two bottles of burgundy that I'd brought (Ch Haut Chaigneau 2000 and Ch Cambon La Pelouse 2000) since pinot noir is what I associate with Turkey Day dinners...the Pelouse could've done with another year or two of aging, while the Chaigneau was *perfect* as is. I think I may have to schlep over to the wine club to pick up a few more bottles of it. Oddly enough, all this writing about food hasn't made me hungry...must be some sort of residual fullness kicking in! A big "thanks!!!" goes out to Infrequency for helping me with my music habit� Here�s hoping Mr. Mailman doesn�t snap the CDs in two� P.S. I finally answered my food survey. any comments? (1 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09