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Foods I’m thankful for

By Jill, November 23, 2009

Thanksgiving is here again, and my mind wanders to some of the culinary delights I’m most thankful for.

I am thankful for pork tenderloin. Quickly and easily it cooks up juicy and tender, and it satisfies my carnivorous cravings without the heavy feeling that sometimes comes with a steak. A pork tenderloin is the perfect roast for a two-person household. Sometimes I marinate it in wine and rosemary, sometimes with olive oil, cumin, and paprika. Sometimes I slather it with hoisin sauce, barbecue sauce, or even mustard straight out of a bottle. (Pictured, Honey-Mustard Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, with Pinot Grigio, from my second “100 Perfect Pairings” cookbook, which will be released in spring of 2011.) Always, I enjoy it.

I’m thankful for salmon, and that there’s a guilt-free, sustainable salmon option (wild from Alaska). I’m thankful for salmon’s deep, sweet flavor and the way the meat is so rich that it sticks to my back molars as I chew it. I love its bright coral-pink color, and how that always dresses up my plate. And I love salmon’s versatility – that it can be casually broiled or delicately poached in wine, that it goes equally well with chunky salsa and smooth hollandaise sauce. Cured, it’s my favorite part of Sunday morning brunch at Dad’s.

I’m thankful for sushi. Sushi is the only food that I’m always hungry for that’s not fattening or bad for me – and I’m very thankful that there’s at least one food for which that’s so.

I’m thankful for wild mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes, and fennel-y Italian sausage.

I’m thankful for arugula. Noting its tender, nutty taste dotted around a mesclun mix is always a happy surprise. But I’m also thankful for arugula on its own, as a green salad, as a bed under a chicken breast or sautéed scallops, or as a pizza topping. I’m thankful I can grow it so easily in my garden.

I’m thankful for chocolate – and that there’s a food that so universally makes people moan.

I’m thankful for ice cream. I love how a simple scoop of vanilla is the perfect accompaniment to almost any dessert, providing smooth, sweet, cold, creamy contrast to whatever lies under or next to it. I love how a bowl of ice cream is the ideal antidote to whatever ails me – be it a sore throat or a broken heart. Ice cream is reassuring, healing, hedonistic, and intensely delicious, in almost any variety. All of which I am very thankful for.

I’m thankful for cheese, especially small, triple cream Brie, pretty artisan goat cheeses, and Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hawk, any and all of which I love to serve at cocktail parties and bring on wine country picnics.

When my husband and I were first dating, he used triple cream Brie to turn me into a football fan. Because watching football with him wasn’t a beer and chips sort of occasion, it was a Brie and chardonnay kind of time. A comfy sofa, a gorgeous man sharing something he’s passionate about, a glass of wine, and buttery-soft cheese slathered on crusty baguettes – who could blame me for succumbing to all four? And I’m thankful that I did.

I’m thankful for my mother’s pot roast, my grandmother’s chopped liver, and New York’s cheesecake. I’m thankful for nectarines and peaches. I’m thankful for rosemary and basil and homemade pizza. And I’m thankful for carnitas, my favorite dish at any good Mexican restaurant.

And while most times of year it goes without saying, above all, I’m thankful there are people I love to indulge by cooking them all the foods I’m so thankful for.