The Leftovers Are Gone

People always ask us if we have a crowd at our house for Thanksgiving. Surprisingly we don't. When we first moved to New Orleans, I tried to bring some of my New York ways with me. One of the things New Yorkers do at holiday time is have "orphans" Thanksgiving and Christmas. So many transplanted people live in New York, and often do not go to the families where they come from for the holidays. It was very easy for me to host a dinner for 20 to 50 people without blinking an eye.

I set up a buffet on the island in the kitchen - I picked greens from the garden and filled a vase, and also put some down as a "tablecloth" - I have a huge collection of white platters from my old days of hosting huge "orphans" holiday dinners in New York - the large oval one is from my friends Puchong & David who now live in Seoul, Korea

I managed to get about 15 people for our first Thanksgiving in New Orleans. We lived in the French Quarter then, and I invited everyone in our apartment building to come. and our new friends Sabina and Joe brought along some friends too. Our apartment was very small, so we set up a table in the old brick courtyard, and we all dined beneath the banana trees to the sound of a trickling fountain. I was off to a great start!

The food is set out on the platters - Turducken, Stuffing, Green Beans Almondine, and Cranberries

We left the Quarter and moved Uptown to open a dance studio. We managed to pull together a couple of large tables of folks. I had a huge dining room, and could open my table up to seat 14 people. Neighbors, Sabina and Joe, and a few tango folks filled out the table. Our families don't have the means to travel to us.

First course of charbroiled oysters - I took the oyster plates down from the wall

Charbroiled oysters - Yummy!

After Katrina things changed. Friends were displaced and left New Orleans. Spirits were low for a couple of years. We found ourselves pretty much on our own. New Orleans is a family place, and holidays tend to be for family only. So we started to to have our holidays une table pour deux.

Pumpkin Trifle for dessert - Renae Moore posted the recipe - I changed it up a bit, using lemon poppy seed cake and no added sugar - I also used fresh whipped cream spiked with vanilla, and sprinkled crumbled Amaretti cookies on top

At first it was bittersweet. We wished family was here, or we were there. I longed for those New York days of a house filled with "orphans". The last two Thanksgivings have been more enjoyable than ever, with "just" the two of us. We have started to prefer it. We cook, we laugh, we eat, we talk, and we enjoy each others company more than ever.

Alberto cooking on Thanksgiving

As you can see, there is plenty of food, and room at the table. So if you ever find yourself orphaned in New Orleans for the holidays, you are very welcome to share our happy times.

The Visual Vamp and Cholo on Thanksgiving

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