The Pork Boys Do Thanksgiving 2017

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We had a lovely feast last week, beginning with an 18-pound turkey that M. P. found on sale for only six dollars or so; two new supermarkets have opened near us in recent months, and isn't competition a wonderful thing?  When it works in your favor, that is.  At any rate, turkey and dressing is M. P.'s favorite dish, so he set to with a will, and when he was done very late that night, our menu included the following:

Hors d'oeuvres

Ham roll-ups
Beef roll-ups
Swiss cheese bits
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese bits
Deviled eggs
Green olives
Black olives
Boudin balls, breaded and deep-fried (a Cajun delicacy; M. P. had made the boudin from scratch the week before)

Appetizer

Velouté de brocolis with Velveeta cubes in lieu of croutons

Main Course

Roast turkey stuffed with sausage dressing
Cranberry sauce
Mashed potatoes
Giblet gravy
Maque choux (a Cajun corn casserole, like M. P.'s mama used to make)
Cornbread salad
Green bean casserole*
Sweet potato souffle*
Cranberry sauce
Homemade biscuits and butter

Wine

White Zinfandel (Winking Owl, California, 2017)

Dessert

Pumpkin pie
Pecan pie
Crockpot caramel cake with whipped cream and caramel sauce
Maple-bacon cookies
Coffee

* - Your Head Trucker made the starred dishes, both of which are much too simple to qualify as haute cuisine.  But M. P. ate them up just the same.

As a matter of fact, we had so much on our plates, we forgot about the biscuits until all was said, done, and eaten!  But of course we have enjoyed them since, along with a truckload of very tasty leftovers.  (Confidentially, fellas, after eating turkey for seven days in a row, I am now getting just a wee bit tired of it.  But shhh - don't tell M. P.!  I think a little talafia meuniere would be a nice change of pace, and that's another dish that requires no culinary talent to slap out.)

And so the Pork Boys feasted well and long again.  But just so you understand - these occasional feasts, along with our simpler Sunday dinners, are about the only recreation two gray and grizzled retirees can afford anymore - we never eat out, and only once or twice a year can we scrape our nickels and dimes together for a little KFC.  Other times, M. P. conjures up a homemade pizza instead of calling Domino's, and he says my cheeseburger pie - a trifling dish - rivals the taste of a good Whataburger.  So please don't begrudge us a little festivity in the kitchen now and then - when youthful charms and money have flown, food is one of the very last comforts - and one of the best. For all of which, we are truly grateful

Alas, I am too old and slow to chronicle all the kitchen doings in pictures these days, but here are a few snaps that show off M. P.'s artistry - he really loves to set a nice table and make things pretty.  I hope all my truckbuddies had a fabulous turkey day too.

Harry to Marry

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Kensington Palace has announced that HRH Prince Henry of Wales, 33, will marry American actress Meghan Markle, 36, in May at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.

Unlike the unfortunate case of the Duchess of Windsor (who, I believe, had no real idea of what she was getting into) it seems that neither the Queen, the Church of England, nor the British public have any objections to HRH marrying a divorced American this time around. Well, times change and attitudes change:  the fact that the bride's ancestry is half African-American seems likewise to have caused not a ripple of discomfort anywhere, except among the usual trolls and hobgoblins of the Internet.

I had wondered if Harry ever would marry - it's hard enough for an ordinary bloke to find a compatible mate without the pestilential reporters and paparazzi posting every little sneeze and stumble on the front pages, which must be utterly hellacious to those in the goldfish bowl of public life. But judging by the BBC interview below, it appears that Harry has made a very good choice: Ms. Markle seems poised, sensible, and grounded, very much in love but clear-eyed about her new status.

So they look to be in good starting position, and I hope they will surmount the hedges and hurdles of life well and wisely. All good wishes to the happy couple.

Royal Platinum Anniversary

A new photograph of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh released by Buckingham Palace to mark their 70th wedding anniversary today.

HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary today without any public pomp and ceremony, just a quiet dinner for 150 friends and relations at Windsor Castle, their weekend country getaway. The fact of a platinum anniversary is no more astounding and inspiring than their long, unfailing life of duty and service together.

Hats off and three cheers for the royal couple. May God bless them.

A photograph of then-Princess Elizabeth and Lt. Philip Mountbatten, RN, on their wedding day, November 20, 1947.

Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

I believe this video is mistitled, as the interior of this church, while quite nice, lacks the fan vaulting of St. George's Chapel, Windsor.  Nevertheless, the congregation does a lively job with this venerable hymn of thanksgiving.




And while we're here in church today, do have a look at the fascinating, long-lost painting of Da Vinci's that was auctioned off at Christie's in New York last week for $450 million dollars. Surely the purchaser will have the charity and good sense to lend or give it to one of the great museums of the world. I mean, you could hardly stick something as exquisite as this - with that price tag - over your living room couch, could you?

Salvator Mundi, by Leonardo da Vinci
(click to enlarge)

Waitin' for the Weekend

Australia Votes YES for Marriage Equality

With about 80 percent of the population casting postal ballots, 61.6 percent voted in favor of same-sex marriage.  A crowd in Sydney reacts to the news:




Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hopes to get Parliament to pass marriage equality by Christmas:




The New York Times reports:

Australians Say ‘Yes’ to Same-Sex Marriage, Clearing Path for Legalization

Sunday Drive: These Foolish Things

As performed by the great Ella Fitzgerald:

Waitin' for the Weekend

Waitin' for the Weekend