Stuff me with wine, please...


Ah, I love a holiday that celebrates gluttony, where it is perfectly acceptable to eat until you have to lie on the floor, where it is OK to drink your breakfast and lunch, and the best wine with dinner is "what's open?"

Or maybe that's just me...

Anyway, the Island's holiday season officially began Friday, with the "Light Up" ceremony at Carolina Beach Lake. It really gets rolling this Friday, with the Christmas Parade, which, coincidentally, starts right next to The Treehouse. It will be chilly, the heaters will be on the deck, hot chocolate with be flowing, and there will be plenty of wine open...so, if you are thinking about watching the festivities...

We have had a busy month, especially last week, which was more like summer than winter. The day after Thanksgiving, I made more lattes than three Starbucks, and cooked both lunch and dinner, cranking out 74 plates. I started work at 6:30 in the morning, and did not sit down until almost 10:30 that night. I am getting too old for that!

But I am not complaining.

Speaking of wine, our new glass list has received an awesome response, featuring a Merlot and Cab from Napa, that are outstanding for the price, a dirty, dirty little Chianti that is so naughty it needs a spanking, an Italian Pinot Noir and a lovely Zinfandel from Northern California. Good stuff, thanks to our friend Jeremy from Country Vintner.

The Thanksgiving holiday always deprives us of a wine tasting, although I did make up for it at home. I started the day with mimosas, then moved to Bogle's Phantom, drank a couple other things I can't remember, then opened some Pinot Noir to drink with the turkey. Dinner was accentuated by the fact that my mom is here, so my turkey was made better by the stuffing and gravy I have eaten since I was a child, and Amy modernized the meal with a chipotle cranberry sauce that brought the whole meal together. I also converted Julia Child's classic baguette recipe to rolls, which were crispy on the outside and dense and delicious on the inside.

Back at The Treehouse, I broke up the holiday monotony with a carne asada quesadilla, and did Juevos Rancheros for brunch, accompanied by a fantastic roasted tomatillo salsa. I don't want to brag, but that salsa is one of the most delicious condiments I have ever made...OK, I want to brag...that salsa is the most delicious condiments I have ever made! Of course, it is a tad spicy, but the sweetness of the tomatillos cuts through that heat.

Don't know what I will make this weekend, but isn't that the fun?

Our new guy, Andrew, from Tryon, will be conducting this week's tasting, so we will try to make up for the week off last Thursday. I know a lot of you haven't been in a while, so you might want to go ahead and make plans to be here this week.

We also changed our hours, converting to a winter schedule. Since we are working a lot of the hours ourselves, we thought we might try to work in personal lives as well. Unreasonable, I know, but there it is. We are now open Monday through Wednesday from 7a.m. to 3p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 7a.m. to 10p.m., and Sunday from 7a.m. to 4 p.m. So get here early...

OK, that is probably enough for now. The holidays are upon us, and it is the season traditionally associated with food and drink, so, well, you know what to do...