Thanksgiving Gratitude

Here comes the vortex that is the holidays. Thanksgiving is at my son David's house, 20-22 of us. I'm grateful we are all in town, no navigating the freeways and all nine of my grandchildren will be there. Truly though, one of my favorite memories as a kid is of piling in the car and going to one of my grandmothers for Thanksgiving. Road trips were not without their hazards 70 odd years ago. We seemed to have a flat every time we went. I am also grateful I found something simple and delicious to make for dessert, an almond cake with raspberry sauce. It's a recipe out of a cookbook called "Portland's Palate." My main dish contribution is a large quantity of green beans sauteed in bacon with sliced almonds. Also easy peasy, tasty and my way of avoiding green bean casseroles. And I will avoid the news.

After dinner and cleanup several of us go for a walk. It may be chilly but the weather is often uneventful on Thanksgiving.  Maybe someone will take kids to a movie. Some one starts a board game.  Settlers of Catan is a favorite. I'm grateful that our gatherings are fun and without conflict.

"One of the Family" by Frederick George Cotman 1880

Not a Thanksgiving painting or is it? I really like it anyway, cozy, kids, a horse and grandma.

Happy Thanksgiving to you. May it be joyful.

• Almond Cake (tart) with Raspberry Sauce
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Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

Almond Cake:

1-- (8-ounce) can almond paste

3/4cup granulated sugar

1/2cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3-- eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1tablespoon amaretto (optional)

1/4cup all-purpose flour

Powdered sugar to sprinkled on top

Raspberry Sauce:

4cups fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed

1cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.

In a large bowl, beat 1 egg, almond paste and sugar. Beat in remaining eggs. Add butter and beat until creamed. Stir in flour until blended. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake a 350° for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

When cooled, invert onto a platter and sift powdered sugar over the top.

Sauce:

In a food processor or blender, puree raspberries, sugar and lemon juice. Press gently through a sieve with the back of a wooden spoon to remove seeds. (I didn't do this, we don't mind the seeds) Slice cake and serve on a pool of raspberry sauce. (We didn't do this either, we poured it over the top) It makes a lot of sauce you could halve the sauce recipe but we used it on ice cream too.