Northern Anchovies at the Monterey Aquarium

I like pizza. If anyone ever suggests ordering pizza, I’m instantly onboard with it. Immediately after someone suggests ordering a pizza, then the next logical question is what do you want on it? I’m pretty easy-going about this question, I’m fine with almost anything, anything but anchovies that is. Tomorrow is Turkey Day. Cooks all around America are slaving in the kitchen, preparing for tomorrow. So, what to you do for dinner tonight? You certainly don’t want to overburden the already stressed chefs. Typically there are only two possible answers. Either everyone goes out to eat or you order in. If kids are around then the only real choice is to order pizza. Just be sure that you don’t order any anchovies on it.

We’re going out tonight. Dave is motoring down from Purdue as I write. When he gets here, we’ll head on over to South Grand and have dinner at Lemon Grass, our traditional pre-turkey meal. Unfortunately, the originator of this tradition, Dapper Dan, won’t be joining us this year. He’s staying in LA. Even so, we’ll all carry on. Anne had the day off and spent it in the kitchen. In addition to all of the other things that she did today, she baked a ginger snap crust that will be filled with pumpkin. She had enough leftover dough to make ginger snap cookies, including two large hand turkeys. A hand turkey is made by tracing around your hand. I didn’t know this until last year, when my boss marshaled all of us to make paper hand turkey cards for his boss. I decorated the ginger snap ones. And I helped. We wrapped them up and presented to the neighbor kids, along with a few of the more plebian cookies for their parents. They seemed to like them, at least while we were speaking with their mom; they were munching on their parents cookies. Gracie remarked within earshot, “They’re warm.” No mean feat considering how cold it is here. We had to break-off this front porch conversation when Anne began to shiver.

In lieu of hand turkey cards, this year my boss had me present some results to his boss. Things went well. My boss’s boss even liked my jokes. I was rewarded with more work, for which I am thankful. It was a skeletal crew at work today. At one, I saw my boss’s boss’s boss, as he was headed out for the holiday. He wished me a happy Thanksgiving and I tongue-in-cheek expressed my admiration of his leadership. He was leading us out the door. I soon followed his lead and began my Thanksgiving holiday.