First Meal: It’s Thanksgiving! Gary and I packed up the car with all the food we had prepared and drove to my mom’s. We made it in record time, no traffic at 11am. We arrived at 11:30am and Mom unfortunately was in a daze and not ready for us. She had set the table yesterday for us but forgot this morning that we were coming. She was tired and not hungry. “Okay,” we said, “we’ll just stay a little while and have tea.” We sat down and after a bit Mom was curious about what we brought. So we brought everything in from the car and set it out. In no time she was ready for us to sit down for a meal, although she did not plan to eat very much. I put out the Almond Cheese Platter.
I mixed the Kale Salad with the Pomegranate Seeds, Kalamata Olives, Red Onions and Tahini/Pomegranate Vinegar Dressing.
I put together plates for each of us and warmed them up in the microwave. We had Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes with Mango, White Turnips, Baked Tofu, Polenta Stuffing with Tempeh Bacon and Walnuts, and Mushroom Gravy.
I put out the desserts, even though Mom wasn’t interested in eating any of them! There was Pumpkin Pie.
Apple Pie. I love leaving the peels on. They get soft when baked, they are colorful and good for you. Why peel them when organic?
Coconut Pie. I got the recipe from The Minimalist Baker. The Coconut Whip Cream did not work out at all but the pie itself and the pie crust were very good.
Tea:
We packed up half the food to leave with Mom and took the rest home. When we got home, we sat down to review the last 30 hours or so with Teeccino, Soy Foam and Cocoa Powder.
Snack:
The real excitement was about to begin. We were heading to the Upper East Side of Manhattan for dinner at 8pm at Candle 79. I nibbled on a little Almond Cheese with Sundried Tomatoes before leaving.
Second Meal:
I couldn’t wait to get there. The sad story is that Candle 79 is closing at the end of the year. We always wanted to have Thanksgiving here so this had to be the moment. We were seated at our favorite table. Here’s the menu!
First we were served the mis-en-bouche, Apple Corn Bread with Cranberry Sauce.
This was a special night. We decided to splurge on a bottle of Querciabella‘s Batar. Normally I don’t drink white wine, but this is the best white wine I have ever had and we knew it would pair well with everything.
We had seen the menu on the website week’s ago and had a good idea of what we would choose. I selected the Grilled Artichoke plate wit Roasted Tomato Sauce, Garbanzo Beans, Kalamata Olives, Broccoli and String Beans for my appetizer.
Gary had the Spinach Vegetable Ravioli with Almond Cream and Roasted Tomato Sauce.
For our salads, Gary chose the Acorn Squash with Roasted Fall Vegetables and Cranberry Dressing.
I went with the Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, Shave Apple, Oranges, Fennel and a Horseradish Dressing.
For the main dish, it was the Rosemary Walnut Crusted Seitan for Gary with Celeriac Purée, Sring Beans, Spinach and Roasted Vegetable Gravy. He said it was the best he had ever had.
Wild Mushrooms came with Gary’s dish which he requested on the side so I could have them since he doesn’t eat them. Oh, they were so good!
I chose the Porcini Crusted Tempeh with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, String Beans, Spinach, Oyster Mushrooms with Shallots, Porcin Gravy and Fennel Almond Salad. Dark “Meat” for me, White “Meat” for Gary.
I thought when I read the menu a few weeks ago we would get the Pumpkin Pie and the Apple Cobbler for our desserts. But after everything we ate I chose the Ice Cream and Sorbet Sampler. Wow! The Ginger Lemongrass Ice Cream was sensational. The Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream was incredibly delicious. The Pear Sorbet was naturally sweet and fresh.
Gary had his eye on the Chocolate Cake with the Maple Walnut Ice Cream all night. It was beyond his expectations!
It was a perfect evening. We chewed everything slowly, savoring every bite. The Batar went so well with everything and we finished it as planned just before our desserts. The service is always exceptional at Candle 79 and tonight was no different. We must return before 12/31. Candle 79 is the closest thing to heaven on Earth that I have experienced.