Recap of Pretentious Thanksgiving

I guess it's been a while since I've communicated with outside world via this blog, but things have been a bit hectic. However, on Saturday we finally took a break from the daily grind for the most anticipated event of the year - Pretentious Thanksgiving.

Our good friends Sandi and Shawn began Pretentious Thanksgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2005 and it has become a tradition. Sandi enjoys cooking nice meals, so they decided to host a several-course meal (with high end ingredients) with wine pairings for each course, and invite friends to share in the event. It apparently sounded a little pretentious in the planning stages because the name stuck and so did the pretentiousness, as you may notice in the pictures.

Shawn and Sandi just bought a house on Oct. 29th and have been moving in and planning this event in that short period of time. I have to say, you'd never know they pulled it all together in a rush, because it was sensational. This was the first year we've been able to attend...and we had no idea what we were missing! I put it on our calendar last year (literally) so we wouldn't plan anything. So, please don't anticipate us ever doing anything the Saturday before Thanksgiving, because I'm not missing out on this event again...

It was seriously phenomenal, like you'd get at a five star restaurant and of course the company was terrific as usual! Every morsel of food was scrumptious, but my favorite was the pumpkin ginger bisque with the Gewurztraminer. Ryan even said it was the most perfect pairing he's ever had. The Sweet Potato Galette with Viognier was great too. This was the first Viognier I've ever enjoyed. I wonder if I liked it because it was paired so well?

Check out the menu:

Course 1 - Pumpkin and Ginger Bisque. Pairing: Gewurztraminer, Alsace
Course 2 - Sweet Potato Galette. Pairing: Viognier, Virginia
Course 3 - Farm Raised Turkey with Wild Mushroom Stuffing. Pairing: Pinot Noir, Oregon
Course 4 - Haricots Verts with Roquefort and Walnuts. Pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington
Course 5 - Cranberry Orange Brioche Pudding. Pairing: Sauternes, Bordeaux

I will post pictures as soon as I get them off my camera, which is packed for our Thanksgiving weekend trip.