Flying South For The Winter (Or At Least For Thanksgiving)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The South is trying to kill me with cholesterol, but I’m still ticking.
Tuesday: Arrived at Hyoun’s parents’ house. Ate a ton of Korean food. Napped frequently.
Wednesday: Wandered out of the house around noon to be introduced to Krystal’s sliders. Learned that sliders are, apparently, mini-burgers on dinner-roll-sized buns, and not just the New England name for a screen door that runs along a track. Learned that you’re supposed to order them by the dozen. Ate three and gawked at the boy as he devoured the rest and went back for more.
We went shopping to prep for Thanksgiving dinner after that, and we found:
A Chanukah calendar! Lift one of the candles (except the shamash) each night, and you’re rewarded with a piece of chocolate gelt. I highly approve.
Thursday: Feast! Turkey, natch, with yummy gravy and cranberry-Asian pear chutney, apricot-chestnut stuffing, garlic mashers, candied sweet potatoes, cider-roasted veggies (carrots, parsnips, zucchini, shiitake mushrooms), buttered corn, pan de sal, sesame green beans, spinach salad with goat cheese and candied pecans and blueberry vinaigrette dressing; strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert.
Friday: Dinner at the Tomato Head; Hyoun and I split a soft-crust pizza with lamb sausage, sundried tomatoes, olives, capers, roasted garlic, and goat cheese. There was a street fair in Market Square, with an ice rink and fair foods, so naturally I had to try the fried Oreos for dessert! They are oh, so chewy and chocolaty and creamy in the middle; it’s exactly what fried dough is *missing* when it’s by itself.
Saturday: Started off the morning with a long drive through the Smokies; gorgeously ethereal at the bottom due to the smoky fog, almost seeming more real as you glanced up towards the summits; feeling cradled in their depths while driving through them, so tall there was no visible sky through the windshield.
Farmers’ market (in farm stalls; more reminiscent of the Big E to me!) breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hot mulled cider; picked up two pounds of salty Amish butter, a jar of sourwood honey, and hot pork skins (if there’s ever a Filipino-Southern fusion restaurant, it’ll start with cracklins/chicharones).
Later that evening, after we toured the Biltmore House, we met up with Emily and Ben for winter coffee drinks at the Dripolator, then sesame noodles at The Noodle Shop, and dessert at the Cupcake Corner. Things I never knew about Asheville: that it had so much yum packed into such a compact area! It’s all about Pack Square, I guess.