Mrs. Delicious

Waffle Glut(tony)

Just so you know: I ate at least one waffle per day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. At least one, because Jean kept bringing out more and more waffles, cut into quarters, "for the table." Oh the melted butter. Oh the powdered sugar. Oh the Vermont Grade Fancy nearly-clear syrup that seemed to crystallize on each individual square.

Not to mention the giant cheese plates we ate every night, or the endless supply of bourbon and apple cider, or the eight kinds of dessert available to us every night beginning with Thanksgiving. Eight. It was a Salute to Pie, of sorts:

- Mince pie
- Apple pie
- Apple Cheddar Crumble pie
- Pecan pie
- Chocolate Mousse pie
- Chocolate Roll Cake (aka Buche de Noel)
- Ice cream and various sorbets, available with any of the above as well as alone
- Hot cocoa, available with any of the above as well as alone

Plus many types of seasonal beers from McNeill's Brewery in Brattleboro. Plus the Thanksgiving dinner itself, including turkey (Jean made three of them for 17 people, all of which were local and one of which was even Slow Food Certified!), two kinds of cranberry sauce, sourdough bread and rolls, sweet potatoes with apples, stuffing with dried cherries, cranberries and apricots as well as pecans, three kinds of bread including hot dog buns, chestnuts, and who knows what else, all cooked in the bird, brussels sprouts, cream of shiitake soup, asparagus, and mashed potatoes. The only thing missing was pumpkin pie, which was NOT made by Jean upon special request by Ham. Evidently he hates it. He is insane.

We ate that Thanksgiving dinner for two nights, waffles and bacon for three breakfasts, and had another enormous dinner of Thanksgiving proportions on Saturday night.

Aside from the eating, or perhaps enhanced by the eating, it was one of the most idyllic weekends I have ever had. We walked down to the co-op in Brattleboro on Friday and bought bulk goods. We bought books at a book sale benefiting a literacy group. We saw the Harry Potter movie. We got snowed in on Saturday and sat in the living room in front of the fire all day, reading, talking or not talking, napping, drinking cider, and eventually venturing out into the still-falling snow for a refreshing walk down to Marlboro College and back. We cleaned the kitchen and set tables. We tucked ourselves into bed under old quilts and had strange dreams due to our overeating. We listened to teakettles whistle.

On Sunday, Andy and I visited his friend Christian, who gave us yet more cider, took us on a snow hike all around his property (with a red barn on it), and came with us to Mass MoCA, which had a Mark Dion piece on exhibit that made my year. It is called Library for the Birds of Massachusetts and consists of a black steel aviary, a reconstructed tree, many bags and hats hung from the tree's branches, a fantastic selection of books that foreign birds might need in order to make their way in the Wilds of Massachusetts, and many adorable tiny live finches making their homes, tearing pages out of the books and dragging them around, taking naps together, flying all over the place. It was the BEST!

Then we had dinner at the Gramercy Bistro in North Adams with Christian and his friends Monika, Joy, and Joyce, and I ate some sweetbreads, and then Andy and I drove home along small and quiet back roads in the snow, looking out at the Christmas-lighted houses that reflected off of the glowing white yards and trees. I love New England! I love the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love everything!

posted by Mrs. Delicious @ 5:50 PM