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]

"You're very welcome," Hannibal answered. "And I should warn you, my Yiddish has improved not at all since I was a boy," he added with a smile.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack shook his head. "Mine's probably worse than it was," he said. "Haven't needed to speak it in decades. But I was impressed you spoke any at all."

[sharp_as_knives]

"We can both thank my old tutor for that," Hannibal answered. "He had a habit of speaking it when he didn't want me to know what he was saying. Naturally, I made it a point to learn what I could."

[bitten_notshy]

"Of course," Jack smiled. "I think half the reason I learned languages was for better eavesdropping."

This wasn't entirely a joke; eavesdropping was a stock-in-trade for any detective's apprentice.

"Where did you grow up, by the way?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Lithuania," Hannibal answered. "And you?"

[bitten_notshy]

"A lot of places, but mainly England," Jack answered. "I was adopted when I was small, and my guardian traveled quite a bit. Sadly, I don't think we ever made it to Lithuania."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Whereas I was orphaned young, and not adopted until I was older," Hannibal noted. "My uncle brought me to France when I was sixteen. Very fortunate for my love of food and art," he added with a smile.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack smirked. "We didn't get to spend much time in France until a few years ago," he said. "My guardian had a bad experience there, and I think he knew if I went I'd never want to leave."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal laughed. "It does have quite a bit to recommend it. I particularly enjoyed Paris. But you're from some time ago, if I remember correctly?"