On Wednesday we left Los Angeles and drove to Santa Cruz (Aptos, actually) in the slow-moving holiday traffic, not yet knowing what we would do for Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe we would go out, maybe we would cook a fancy meal, or maybe we would have turkey sandwiches while watching football. We kinda knew a whole turkey was out of the question time-wise (and it’s just the two of us, so who needs a whole bird).

When we arrived to town, we stopped at the local grocery store (that just happens to have a liquor store next door with a decent wine selection) to find out what time they closed on Thanksgiving: 1:00pm. Hmm, so we needed to make a menu and do our shopping by then, if that is the route we choose.

It was the route we chose. We woke up somewhat early and brainstormed a menu. We then scoured the internet looking for recipes, Her veto-ing several of His recommendations: marshmallow yams, green bean casserole with fried onions from a can, etc. (He grew up in Texas). He finally acquiesced to these deletions, as long as there was beer bread, mashed potatoes, and deviled eggs.

Here is what ended up being on our menu (links provided to all the dishes for which we used another person’s recipe).

Honey Roasted Turkey Breast
Apple + Sausage Stuffing
Soy Sauce + Onion Gravy (a throw back to Her veg days)
Cream Cheese and Chives Mashed Potatoes
Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Sweet Pickle Deviled Eggs
Curry + Parmesan Deviled Eggs
Creamed Spinach
Beer Bread
Apple Pancake + Kahlua Whipped Cream

And the wine…We decided to take advantage of Deer Park Wine and Spirits’ local-centric offerings. Our selections:

Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey, Morgan, 2007 ($12.99)

Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, Storrs, 2007 ($19.99)

Carignane, Cienega Valley, Wirz Vineyard, River Run, 2006 ($18.99)

And for when we wanted to transition to hard liquor (and when does this not happen?), a jar of Limeade, Santa Cruz Organic ($4.99) to mix with vodka and top with a splash of soda.

He Said: First and foremost I am thankful for rap music. Also: the best friends and family anyone could ask for; good, local organic food on a regular basis; wine, wine & wine; the housing market and construction industry recovering (albeit slowly) so a dude can actually do some architect-ing and put his $175K education to use; a certain decadent compound in Silverlake; California in general; and more than anything, Her. Her intelligence, Her enthusiasm, Her body, Her libido, Her.

She Said: I am thankful for…artists, wine, love, beauty, my dead dog (not the dead part), my family (with special shout-outs to my mother who is the hero of my life and to Linda who I miss more than I’ve ever missed anyone or thing), cherished friends, music, the best-est (sweet-est, sexi-est, clever-est…you get the idea… but I get Him) boyfriend, and for lingering moments of optimism, joy, and purpose that come from simple things like reading Maria Kalman’s wonderful essay.