Capon and Pinochle

I meant to post this last week, but Thanksgiving was not so long ago. This year, my husband and I hosted the holiday for the first time. We were a small gathering of four, and not one of us were related. It was a beautiful thing, not being relatives on Thanksgiving. It was relaxing, entertaining, and a joyous occasion. Thus far in time and in my memory, it was the best.
My husband did more cooking than I did, somehow, impressing us with Brussels sprouts cooked with pancetta, herbs, mushrooms, and chicken stock. But it was I who cooked the capon! Of course, my ex was attending, and he assumed the capon was a subtle comment on the men in my life (a capon, if you aren't informed, is a castrated male) . Touche. But still, this bird was an excellent choice for the four of us. Not too big, not too small, with leftovers for soup the next day. It was moist and flavorful despite not having been brined., and I'm beginning to think brining may be overrated. I simply salted the rooster well, tucked a fair amount of local butter under the skin, and doused him with fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme. I stuffed the inside with a simple stuffing and more herbs, and added a sprinkling of juniper berries.

For the wine: we had a pinot blanc with our pre-dinner cheese platter, brought by our new friend, who is either a. a pure genius and a cheese savant b. psychic, and therefore knows I love triple cream goat cheese and parmesan more than any other cheeses, especially procured from Murray's or d. has good taste and is dating my ex, who shares my fondness for certain cheese plates. I bet you'll never guess.

We moved on to the reds with Masciarelli Montepulciano, an old Italian friend I used to buy by the case...and didn't realize I had missed so. After a nice long walk to the water, we were pleasantly surprised by a sweet potato pie that was brought by Fresh Direct. Sauternes was sipped, but being us, when we moved into the pinochle game, many more bottles of red wine were opened and consumed.

I'd like to say we were all winners at the end of the evening, though Fate dealt me too many low cards. At least the food, wine, and company were all excellent, and I assure you the only castrated member of the party was stuffed and nestled in a pot, still warm.