Thanksgiving on Wednesday??

It was a beautiful fall day, cold but sunny, about 3/4 of the leaves are fallen from the trees in the patio.

We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday so that we would have a day to eat the leftovers before we all leave on Friday. Besides nobody else is celebrating this holiday so why not. We knew we wouldn’t be having turkey. The woman who I am trading houses with next summer informed me that the “expats” all special order their Thanksgiving turkeys but this must be done weeks before. So we decided to have chicken and duck.
We purchased the chickens from the “Boucharie” in Pelisanne. They were Bresse chickens. Bresse is a place in France that is famous for this particular breed of chicken. They have black feet and are the most delicious chickens you will ever taste. They also come with their feet and heads still on. The feet are easy to understand but their heads I am not sure why they are left on (feathers and all). The duck we purchased at the supermarket. It was huge and I suspect that it was really a goose but the label clearly said “canard”. The rest of the menu included a vast array of hor dourves (my personal favorite was the fois gras), turnips, carrots, green beans, stuffing, pies (apple and pumpkin), and mashed potatoes with noodles and gravy. This last may sound a little strange but it is a specialty in Beth’s family and it was the hit of the evening.
We had a great time, eating, drinking, laughing, talking, and also in a more serious vain each person told the group something they were particularly thankful for. It was a good family time including “honorary family”. After dinner we played games and then sat around the fire outside.

The house’s “caretaker” Gael joined us after dinner. He has become a regular guest almost every evening. He lives in a small house next to the main house. He is from Pellisane and his family has a winery up the road where he works. He is also in professional photography – not sure is he takes the pictures or is more of an assistant. He is very interesting, funny, and very helpful. He tells great stories and whenever he reveals something odd, negative, etc. he always makes the excuse “It is because I am French.” He is a connoisseur of all things French except when someone asked him what he thought of Beaujolis Noveau – he said “It is shit”. I think he’s right.
He is going to be leaving soon for an extended assignment in Kosovo (where he has been before). He has also been to Angor Wat. Strange since when we asked him if he’d been to Nimes (which is only about 40 miles from Pellisane) he said he was there once.
Many evenings Gael brought some wine from his family’s winery which was very good. On Thanksgiving after dinner he brought something else – an illegal and bizarre potion. It is kind of like grappa – distilled from grapes with a very high alcohol content. To this alcohol he has added two unusual additives - lemon verbena and a poisonous snake. According to Gael the snake is a “viper” that is common in vineyards in Southern France and is highly poisonous. He caught the viper “very carefully” then stuck it in the bottle upside down. He says the viper spits its venom into the liquor and once it is dead you can safely drink the concoction. I admit that I was a coward and didn’t try it but several in our group did and they said “It wasn’t bad. Tasted mainly like lemon verbena.