T’is a few weeks before Christmas

Selfie at the Tree Lighting in GGP

Bienvenue and welcome back to Musée Musings, your idiosyncratic guide to Paris and art. The weather has been amazing in San Francisco. For the past 10 days it’s been sunny skies and 60+ F temperature. And the forecast is for another week of the same. Thursday though was a bit of a roller coaster. Just as I was picking up sandwiches for our board meeting, (more about that another time), everyone in Northern California received a Tsunami Alert on their cellphones. (Fig 1) The first we’ve ever received. There had been a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean somewhere off the coast and a tsunami was possible. Nicolas was about to get onto the Bay Bridge. He called to ask if he should risk it. He was on his way to work at Public Glass in the City. I felt helpless to advise.

Figure 1. The Tsunami Warning that showed up on my French portable along with a very alarming NOISE

It reminded me of the 1989 San Francisco earthquake that damaged the Bay Bridge. There was a single fatality and the bridge was closed to traffic for only a month. But I remember that many of the architects who worked with my husband and lived across the Bay decided to find work on their own side of it. No-one wants to be on one side of the bridge when ones toddler is at daycare on the other side.

By Thursday evening, everything had calmed down enough for the annual tree lighting ceremony in Golden Gate Park. Ginevra and I walked through the park. It wasn’t late but it was dark. And there weren’t any lights and there were lots of overhanging tree branches. I kept waiting to bump into a coyote. Which are all over the park. As are informational panels (Fig 2) telling you what to do when you encounter one. Don’t run, don’t turn your back, don’t yell and don’t back down. Seriously?

Figure 2. Coyote Alert in Golden Gate Park

The tree lighting ceremony (Fig 3) began with a celebration of the mayor who lost her bid for reelection. The new mayor, a non direct descendant of the Haas family which is related to the Levi-Strauss family and who both own Levi jeans, is a businessman. I suppose people are hoping that he will find a way to revitalize our formerly dynamic retail center, Union Square. The outgoing mayor cleaned up the parks and freshened up the libraries. The Muni buses are still no fun to ride but at least anyone under 18 rides for free. But she couldn’t escape the announced closure of Macy’s on Union Square. It wasn’t her fault, really. Macy’s are closing everywhere. Stephen Dubner, whose podcast Freakonomics is my favorite, had a two part series on Macy’s right before Thanksgiving, right before Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sp1s_mw7xs , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2PxMOwWd They promise that there’ll be a parade next year and in 2026, too. But who knows.

Figure 3. It’s not an Evergreen but it’s the tree that gets all lit up for Christmas in Golden Gate Park each year

I saw two exhibitions this summer which celebrated the beginning and the heyday of department stores (Musée des Arts Decoratifs and Musée des Beaux Arts, Caen). There’s another at the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (on through 6 April 2025 - La Saga des grands magasins: de 1850 à nos jours) that I’ll definitely see when I get back to Paris next month. Multi-museum celebrations of department stores just when they are failing everywhere, is part of the theme I explored here. https://www.museemusings.com/blog/i-shop-therefore-i-am

Union Square is still a ghost town with so many store fronts, except for the Apple Store, boarded up and empty. Saks Fifth Avenue is open, but barely. Shopping is by appointment only. (Fig 4) Which probably has to do with the crime wave that followed the pandemic, because of the now recalled D.A.’s lenient shoplifting policies. Nobody wants a return to the days of Jean Valjean and years of jail for stealing a loaf of bread. But there has to be something between stealing a loaf of bread and stealing $800 worth of clothes, which was the maximum before the former DA would prosecute. And which certainly has something to do with all the Union Square store closures. At Saks Fifth Avenue, there’s only one door and several guards on duty. Only designer clothes for sale. Clothes you can buy online aren’t available here. But paying $10 shipping for something that might not fit bothers me. And Ginevra tells me that my idea of buying one size on either size of the one that usually fits me, will get me on a 'don’t ship to’ list when I return at least two of the three pairs.

Figure 4. Saks Fifth Avenue, Union Square, S.F, I wanted to try on a pair of jeans, they only see designer jeans here ….

This week, our Turkey Odyssey continued, (Fig 5) mostly non-stop. Alas, the larder is almost empty now except for one quart of stuffing and another of broth, now in the freezer. When we do defrost the stuffing, I know exactly what we’ll do with it - Stuffing Panzanella with Cranberry Vinaigrette by Sola El-Waylly. (Figs 6, 7) https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021606-stuffing-panzanella-with-cranberry-vinaigrette?q=stuffing%20pan It was amazing. Even though I didn’t follow the recipe as it was written. I didn’t have a pear, so I used a persimmon; I didn’t have arugula or little gems so I only used radicchio, I didn’t have pepitas so I used chopped almonds. I did have stuffing, of course, thanks to Alison Roman. They were in large torn pieces as per Alison’s recipe but which I cut into smaller, more regular pieces and sautéed for this recipe. The recipe calls for a step before sautéing which seemed too fussy, so I skipped it. The dressing was delicious - the olive oil in which I fried the almonds, dijon mustard and leftover cranberry sauce. Highly recommend!

Figure 5. A turkey Reuben served on a Make-a-Plate that Ginevra made, (I’m reading the date here) in 2009

Figure 6. Alison Roman's stuffing on Christmas Day

Figure 7. Stuffing Panzanella Salad

Mark Bittman’s pulled turkey sandwich was an interesting riff on pulled pork sandwiches, with hoisin sauce replacing barbecue sauce. It tasted more like moo shu pork than pulled pork. I think that when I make it next year, I’ll roll it into flour tortillas to evoke that connection. We made cole slaw to go with it and gave it an Asian profile to fit with the hoisin sauce. (Figs 8, 9)

Figure 8. Pulled Pork Sandwich substituting hoisin sauce for barbecue sauce

Figure 9. Next year I’m going to substitute turkey for this N.Y.Times Moo Shu pork recipe

The enchilada pie was even better this year. I think because we knew what we were doing. And so we were more casual about the pie’s construction. Although now that I think about it, maybe it tasted better because rather than substituting black beans for leftovers because I didn’t have enough leftovers, this year, I just made more leftovers -roasted sweet potato medallions and roasted Brussel sprouts to which I added roasted broccoli and roasted red onions. (Fig 10)

Figure 10. One of my portion-control portions of Enchilada Pie

The Kenji Lopez-Alt recipe for Hot Pockets was marginally less delicious than last year. But I think that’s because the novelty factor was gone. We still enjoyed them although as with all Lopez-Alt recipes, there were too many words of explanation. (Fig 11)

Figure 11. Turkey Hot Pocket served on a Make-a-Plate that Ginevra designed in December, 1998

Which is certainly not the case for the recipes we followed for our last day of leftovers this Friday, a week and a day after Thanksgiving. We decided to finish up on a all Bittman spree before we go (mostly) vegetarian for a few weeks before Christmas. Turkey tacos for lunch following a recipe that was virtually not one. Some shredded turkey tossed with olive oil, cumin, coriander and chili powders heated under the broiler and served on soft corn tortillas and ‘the usual taco garnishes,’ which, for us are salsa, avocado, grated cheddar cheese, chopped onions and chopped cilantro.

Our final turkey dish was another Bittman recipe, this from the Minimalist that I clipped from the New York Times on November 25, 2009. It’s a turkey curry called ‘A turkey goes to India.’ I had so parsimoniously doled out the turkey for the dishes of the previous 7 nights that we had way too much turkey for this curry! (Fig 12)

Figure 12. Final touches to the Turkey that Went to India with the recipe from the NYT just above

The tastes blended well, cumin, coriander, and turmeric powders with fresh grated ginger, chopped onions and minced garlic. All in a tomato and coconut milk sauce which I served over Jasmin brown rice. A big mistake was using baby spinach, fine in salads, not fine cooked. It immediately turned into the slimy green mess that I (and maybe you) associate with sautéed or steamed Swiss chard. Next year, I’ll make it with sturdy spinach leaves, the kind you have to soak and rinse again and again to get rid of the sand.

For dessert, we had the last of the pumpkin pie. (Fi 13) Since I serve slivers rather than slices, I froze half of it, in two quarters, a couple days after Thanksgiving. And brought it out (and doled it out) for the next 5 days! The beauty of a graham cracker crust is that even after being frozen and defrosted, it’s still edible. Which is something you can’t say about a traditional pie crust.

Figure 13, One of the final slivers of Alison Roman’s pumpkin pie & whipped cream with crushed graham crackers on top, served on William Sonoma Dordogne inspired plates

Today’s project is Alison Roman’s lemon cream pie which also calls for a graham cracker crust. I’ll be using the large basket of Meyer lemons that our neighbor gave us last week. Ginevra is going to finish up the third can of pumpkin puree with a recipe for Chocolate Glazed Pumpkin Cookies from Martha Stewart’s late and lamented (at least around here) Real Simple. The online version just isn’t the same.

If I want to make Bittman’s Cranberry Swirl Quick Bread, which I do, I will have to buy another bag of fresh cranberries. I had thought that three bags would be enough but cranberries were either an ingredient, or a side or an essential component of the dressing of nearly all my Thanksgiving recipes this year and there are no leftovers left over.

Below is a link to a post from last year, in keeping with the spirit of the season. It explores and explains one of our most beloved holiday traditions, hearing a performance of George Frederic Handel’s 1741 oratorio, the Messiah. Well, Christmas holiday tradition in the United States. In France, it’s performed at Easter. And since it concludes with the death of Christ and His Resurrection, that makes a lot more sense.

In the United States, the Messiah joins the Nutcracker Ballet and the Christmas Carol play to round out the Christmas holiday triumvirate. I remember taking Ginevra to see the Nutcracker year after year. When she was tiny and a budding ballerina. We would go to the Sugarplum Fairy party (I think that’s what it’s called) beforehand and I’m sure I must have dozens of photos of her embracing the other graceful ballerinas. Going back to the Civic Center parking garage for our car after the performance, I was always struck by the discordance between the opulence of the performance and the misery of the homeless people standing or sitting or lying around dazed or drunk at Civic Center. It was the same after A.C.T.’s performances of Christmas Carol (with non-traditional casting, which meant something like a black father, Asian mother and white Tiny Tim, I haven’t been for a while so I don’t know what it means these days). After the feel good performance, the actors would be waiting for the audience in the lobby with buckets, asking for donations. I don’t remember for what. But unless you donated, the feel good after-performance feeling was short lived. The Messiah at Davies Symphony Hall avoids that and people can leave with their sense of well being more or less intact. And donate privately to whatever or whomever they wish. (Fig 14)

Figure 14. Intermission during performance of Messiah, Davies Symphony Hall with SF City Hall illuminated in background

Yes, I have been keeping up with current events, it’s difficult to avoid them. The French government has fallen and President Macron is having a difficult time finding someone willing to serve as Prime Minister. It may be because their shelf life has been so short during Macron’s presidency. I’m worried that the chaos will bring down the euro just when I have to transfer money from euros to dollars. And Frank Bruni in the New York Times recently called Trump’s nominees for Cabinet posts, an ‘Embarrassment of Wretches.’ Which is not so far from Hilary Clinton’s ‘Basket of Deplorables,’ and we know how far that got her…. Others have urged Biden to not only pardon his son but to preemptively pardon all the people on the incoming FBI director’s ‘enemies list.’ It’s a long one that includes everyone from Adam Schiff to Liz Cheney and maybe Robert De Niro and Jimmy Kimmel, too. Thanks to everyone who commented on last week’s post, it is much, much appreciated. And now Hallelujah, on to the Messiah to soothe our souls and prepare us for the holidays. Gros Bisous, Dr. ‘B.’

This week’s comments - Thank you so so much!

Yum, yum, yum! My turkey is in the oven right now (Sunday), since hubby and I go to a cousin's house on Thanksgiving Day, but we also need our own turkey, mostly for the leftovers. So your article is just in time to give me inspiration for what to do with all the leftovers from a 19 lb turkey cooked for two people. (At least this year I refrained from getting the biggest 26lb turkey, since it was free with my $400 grocery purchases over this last month!) As we munch our way through your suggestions, I will count my blessings, especially the ones of you and Ginevra enriching my life! Eat some pie for me! Bonnie

Dr. B…..Your views of San Francisco brought back any number of memories since my publishing firm, John, Wiley and Sons, had three winter meetings in San Francisco at the St. Francis Hotel. Spicy pumpkin pie…..will have Mark try on his next visit..…Bill, Ohio

Dr B with daughter and son in SF - the walks, the cooking/cooking/cooking ascribing each to their NYT creator! Liked the persimmon on the folded napkin. . . .Alexandra

I just read your San Francisco piece but could not  know how to respond, Shame  because it was such a nicely balanced piece about the city, bridge, your kids AND Thanksgiving recipes and pictures. Love to you and progeny. Aunt Harriet, Boston.