This is decidedly NOT what my Thanksgiving dinner will look like. For one thing, I only have two mouths to feed. More important, I really don’t like turkey “with all the trimmings.” I just don’t like turkey—period!

Because Martine does not share my opinions in this regard, I will take her to Cafe 50s and let her order turkey to her heart’s content, while I order something else more to my taste.

Is that not celebratory enough? I will prepare for Thanksgiving week my favorite beef stew recipe which I copied from the New York Times website. It is a classical and simple recipe made with red wine, potatoes, carrots, and the usual culinary suspects. Plus I’ll get a nice bottle of red wine to accompany it.

I know Thanksgiving is a week away, but I’ll do the shopping for it this weekend since the supermarkets are sure to be mobbed during the week.

This way both Martine and I will be happy, as she also loves a rich beef stew.