Monday, December 17, 2007

11/22/07: Happy Thanksgiving!

Not too long after my return to the States came one of my favorite foodie holidays: Thanksgiving. While many Japanese are not overly fond of turkey and its gamy flavors, I am a big fan. In fact, I have been cooking the big bird for the Big Feast for the last 6 years or so. (For the record, I use a Japanese-influenced variation of this receipe.

This year, my turkey took road trip to my parents' home. The dinner was going to be a collaboration with my sister, who prepared roasted ham, bacon and beans, mashed potato, sweet potato casserole laced seasoned with Grand Marnier, and cranberry sauce with enough Grand Marnier to get a small village drunk. I took care of the aforementioned turkey and sausage stuffing.

Of course, I contributed adult beverages well. For the wine, I opted Rizzi Barbaresco from Piedmont, which I find to be a nice, mature alternative to Beaujolais Nouveau. For the saké, I checked the fridge. My instinct pointed to either balanced Kimoto or Yamahai such as Hachibei, but I had none. (Note: Kurosawa was gone by then.)

I decided on Okunomatsu Ginjo as I recalled that it had hints of earthiness. This time, though, it was surprisingly fruitier with very little earthiness - which means I have to try again to confirm, 2 out of 3 wins - but as my dad would attest, it paired very well with the turkey nevertheless.

Anyone try turkey with saké with turkey? What would you try? Feel free to give me a shout out!

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