I’m spending this Thanksgiving at my literal home in Boston, and not my sentimental home in Pennsylvania. Normally I would not waste a four-day weekend by staying in the city where I dwell. In fact, it’s the first Thanksgiving that I have remained in Boston rather than visiting family or seeking repose. Without the ardors of travel, Thanksgiving has been a relaxing, domestic experience for my new husband and I, but I cannot help thinking wistfully of all the places we could be rather than sitting on the couch, watching the Titans neuter the Lions and then the Cowboys fillet the Seahawks (boring football!), and debating the merits of recipes for garlic-herb mashed potatoes.
Thanksgiving started early — 7:30am, when we got up to prepare for the Gobble Gobble Gobble 4-mile run in Somerville. I have always wanted to do a Thanksgiving road race because it is the perfect morning activity for a day otherwise devoted to eating and couch-dwelling. The Gooble x3 is a large race with over 2400 registered runners, but people were already walking at mile one and I passed more than I was passed. “Run faster!” a woman dressed like a turkey yelled as we neared the finish line, “and you can eat more pie!” I finished at 35 minutes and 35 seconds, and that includes the 2 minutes that it took me to get to the starting line. I think that means I can eat a pie.
Thanksgiving is all about honoring old traditions, and making new ones. I introduced Mr. P to one of my family’s traditions: Cinnamon-swirl bread, a staple of our Thanksgiving table since before I can remember. My mom would bake multiple loaves, filling the house with the blissful aroma of fresh bread and cinnamon. I found a recipe online that turned out to be more brioche-like than my mothers (see picture below left), but no matter, because what I really craved with the smell. One whiff and I was pleasantly teary with nostalgia.
As for our new tradition… witness our Thanksgiving turkey (see picture below right, with our new and still unused gravy boat). Now that’s a magnificent bird, and it will not induce sleepiness. Quite the opposite, in fact. I can’t wait to gobble it.
