Hannibal's house, Thanksgiving Day

[sharp_as_knives]

It was always a bit of a juggling act to both play host and oversee an entire meal, but it was one that Hannibal enjoyed. Even if he had had to adjust the menu to account for vegetarians. He'd been preparing things for days now, and with all but the finishing touches done, he was free to leave the dishes in the care of the sous chef he'd hired for the day.

He inspected the oven one last time, nodded to the woman, and retreated to the living room with hors d'oeuvres and light music, to wait for his guests.

Appetizers:
Grilled beef tenderloin on focaccia toasts
Ricotta-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates
Crostini with sun-dried tomato jam
Mushroom polenta diamonds
Paté with pomegranate gelee
Drinks: Dry sherry, Chenin blanc, home-brewed beer, or tea.


[Open to anyone who decided to come! Dinner will be in comments later; I wanted to get this up for early-time-zone folks.]

[Oh! And NFB unless the squirrels want to show up. They weren't explicitly sent invitations, but...squirrels.]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

Arrive, mingle, and eat appetizers! Enjoy Hannibal's home.

[myownface]

Sparkle wasn't American, no, but at least he came from a country that celebrated Thankgiving, and his had been spent in Italy, browsing delis to see if any at least had sandwich meat with turkey in it. So, if he was offered a chance to enjoy it properly, even if it was a month and a half later than he was used to, he was going to take it!

... Not that he'd ever really had a proper Thanksgiving, either. But the prospect of free food from one of his favourite teachers was appealing all on its own, too.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal met him at the door smiling. "Hello. I'm pleased you could make it; I thought you might prefer to eat at the school." He led him to the living room and nodded him towards the appetizers. "Would you prefer wine, beer, or tea?"

He somehow suspected beer, but he wasn't going to assume.

[myownface]

"The school's fine if I want people going on about how thankful we all are to have so much," Sparkle noted, happily following Hannibal into the living room. "Anyhow, if the choice is between canned cranberry glop and whatever you've prepared, it's kind of a no-brainer."

Hey! That cranberry sauce had been lovingly prepared!

... Plenty of the rest of what was on the table was probably store-bought, though.

"Nobody's gonna pitch a fit if I say beer, right? You have the most awesome beer."

And he could appreciate it as properly as was Sparklely possible, not having already spent a good chunk of the day trying to drink himself blind.

[furnaceface]

For what it was worth, Jono only looked slightly unsettled as he arrived at Hannibal's for what he was just referring to as 'dinner.' Sure, he could get behind what Thanksgiving apparently stood for. Family and friends and being thankful for what one had were all well and good. But past experiences, the origins of the holiday, and stubborn British-ness were all conspiring to see to it that he didn't go out of his way to observe the holiday.

So, 'dinner.'

That said, the unsettled look was because of the looks the taxi driver had been giving him all the way here. He could wrap a scarf like a professional to hide that mouth of his, but there wasn't actually much that could be done about the fact that he was blue.

Jonothon was going to beeline for the home-brew.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal poured him some happily and let Jono get started on that as he took his coat and scarf. "It's good to see you. It seems like this dinner may be the refuge for the non-Americans today," he added, a little amused.


[OOC: a rundown on Hannibal's beer, if you're interested.]

[furnaceface]

"Hiding from a Thanksgiving dinner by getting together with friends to feast," Jono mused, and then chuckled and shook his head, thankfully accepting Hannibal's beer. "I think I could get used to avoiding holidays that way."

He paused for a moment to take a mouthful of beer, and then... well, it wasn't that his knees suddenly went weak, but it seemed for a moment that maybe his ability to stand up was going to fail him at any moment all the same.

"Lord. This beer is fantastic, thank you," he breathed, holding up the glass and looking at the dark reddish liquid inside. "This is the sort you put on standby for special occasions, I should think."

It didn't taste all... American!

[trigons_child]

Since things seemed quiet in Glacia, Raven decided it was all right to take a little break and go to Baltimore for Thanksgiving dinner. Knowing that Hannibal taught a cooking class, she was eager to see what he might have prepared for the meal.

She'd brought with her a bottle of a Glacian wine she had been assured was one of the territory's finest as a gift for the host.

[SP for me until evening!]

[sharp_as_knives]

"Raven," he greeted her. "I'm delighted to see you." He bowed her in and led her to the living room, then pointed out the other guests. "Jono you know; the young man is Sparkle.

"I'm very glad you called; I don't often cook vegetarian foods."

[trigons_child]

"Oh, I hope it did not cause too much trouble," Raven said. "I do not expect special treatment because I have never eaten meat. I am usually able to find something to enjoy. But I appreciate what you have done. It smells divine in here."

She held out the bottle of wine. "This is for you. I am told it is one of Glacia's best wines."

[bitten_notshy]

Jack didn't have much of anything to do today, and he was intrigued by the doctor. Hence showing up, gift of a rather nice bottle of red wine in one hand.

"I hope I'm not too late."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not at all! I'm very pleased to see you," Hannibal answered. He accepted the wine and nodded as he waved Jack in. "Gut Yontiff, is it?"

[bitten_notshy]

Jack started slightly in faint surprise, but responded easily enough. He hadn't been expecting to hear Yiddish, but it wasn't as though his childhood self was any kind of secret. (And looking at Hannibal, he recognized the small by he'd chatted with in Glacia.)

//Two good holidays counting Hanukkah, isn't it?// he repliedm, before switching back to English. "Thank you for hosting."

[heromaniac]

There was a special delivery person at the door. Well, it at least looked like a person, whether it was or not. Portalocity had branches everywhere, you know.

ANYWAY.

Said special delivery person had a package to deliver! "Special Delivery!"

Inside said package of delivery special... was a small pink box tied with ribbons and a note on good quality paper. Hand written in proper Japanese, the note apologized that Momoko couldn't make Doctor Lecter's party and expressed her hope that he would accept the enclosed gift of handmade Nama chocolates as a personal apology and that he would forgive her for not declining sooner.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal accepted the package and tipped the delivery ... person. He was touched by the chocolates and set it all aside to write Momoko a thank-you letter later.

[sharp_as_knives]

When everybody had arrived and mingled for a while, Hannibal would lead them to the dining room for dinner:

Spiced pumpkin, lentil, and goat cheese salad (vegetarian)
Cabernet cranberry sauce with figs (vegetarian)
Mushroom and farro pie
Turkey breast porchetta
Sweet potato/russet pancakes with chipotle mayo
Stuffed veal heart
Drinks: Pinot Noir, Riesling, hard cider, or tea.


[Dessert still to come!]

[trigons_child]

"Everything looks so amazing," Raven said as she took her seat. "I have never seen food prepared so artfully."

She was not looking at the stuffed veal hearts, though.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Thank you." Hannibal "Both of the meats should be obvious, I think." And tasty. Silly vegetarians. "Would you prefer more wine, or a hard cider?"


[OOC: Yeah, I totally forgot to mark the pie and potatoes as veggie. They are.]

[trigons_child]

"Wine, the white, please," Raven said. "I do not think I have ever had a 'hard cider.'" Was it like beer? She wasn't terribly fond of beer. Beverages shouldn't be chewed.


[ooc: I looked at the recipes and figured. :D ]

[furnaceface]

"All of the food that Hannibal prepares is an experience," Jono noted, quite happy to dig into the veal heart, himself. He'd been raised with a healthy appreciation for organ meats, so sue him. "I think it's fortunate I never got to eat like this when I was much younger. Imagine trying to cope with living without this?"

How had he ever managed without food in the first place?

[trigons_child]

"Until I came to Fandom I was accustomed only to vegetables and fruits and grains prepared very simply," Raven said. "I could never have imagined food prepared as exquisitely as this."

[myownface]

Not that he was going to let it show, but Sparkle was keenly aware of the fact that he was the one school kid sitting at a table full of teachers and assorted alumni. He'd hardly let that slow him down, of course. It meant that he could sit back and listen intently to other people's conversations while he ate, his plate full of turkey and cranberry sauce (oh, that's what a fig was like) and potato pancakes, which he was slowly working his way through.

He was almost disappointed that he'd left his backpack at the dorms today, though he probably would have had a hell of a time figuring out how to smuggle out more of that cranberry sauce without just ending up with a sticky mess.

[sharp_as_knives]

He didn't have to show anything; Hannibal couldn't fail to notice, either. Being unremarked was probably the most comfortable thing for Sparkle, though, and sitting back and listening was a good skill to hone, so Hannibal simply made sure he had plenty of food and acknowledged him from time to time and didn't make a fuss.

[sharp_as_knives]

After dinner, there was yet more mingling. And also, dessert!

Goat-cheese cheesecake with spiced wafer crust
Riesling poached pears with cardamom cream
Snickerdoodles
Drinks:
Rocca di Montegrossi Vin Santo, tea, or coffee (optionally with Sambuca, whiskey, or other liqueur)

[myownface]

Sparkle wasn't sure how he was supposed to go on after the main course. And then he'd discovered the pears. Somehow, magically, there was room for the pears, too.

Though he was definitely going to need some time to sit and digest before being too social or anything.

Wait, no, he had to sample a snickerdoodle, too...