Guinea Pig and Stuffing

Lima, Peru

Deep-fried guinea pig (cuy) is one of Peru's more famous traditional dishes. I am yet to sample it. As keen as I am to try new things, I was glad that the Marriott's Thanksgiving buffet was completely free of guinea pig - or any other specifically Peruvian food for that matter. Thanksgiving is not a time for new things. It is a time for piles familiar old things swimming in pools of familiar old gravy.

On the flight to Lima, I had promised Lehra that the American embassy would surely allow us to have Thanksgiving dinner with them. It turns out that they are closed that day. We would have had to storm the gates to get in on any action that might be going down therein. A few disappointing searches on Yahoo drove me into the arms of the enemy. In this case, Google's spytech gave me exactly what I wanted on the first try. I feel so dirty, but it had to be done. A promise of a turkey dinner is still a promise (even when made to a vegetarian).

The buffet spread was pretty damn sweet. Perfectly cooked turkey with some sort of mustard rosemary gravy was the main event and was nicely complemented by sweet potatoes, mash, an acceptably posh salad bar, stuffing, and a selection of desserts including the de ri·gueur pumpkin and pecan pies. The only thing missing that is always on the Astle Thanksgiving table was little onions in a cream sauce. I may ask my Mom to ship me some. I love those onions.

Not only did we get a phat meal, we also got to send Lehra off with a big feast and a not inconsequential number of pisco sours (mine's a double, mate). We dropped her off at the airport about an hour after dinner. One more OC companion becomes OC alumni. Good memories and sad departures abound.