I carry no phone An aspiring Luddite In a wired world. Mastodon Verification Link	Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he migrated to the Fediverse. He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance. He hates cell-phones.

This past summer was a busy one for us. We travelled quite a bit, saw family and had a marvelous time. But it was a bit exhausting, so, when Thanksgiving rolled around, we opted for a quiet celebration à deux.

My wife had requested Duck Confit, about which I've previously written. That's a long, slow day of cooking so we amused ourselves by watching Inspector Morse on DVD. Not only is the show well-written and -acted, but it's set in my favorite town in the world, Oxford. What more could one want?

As the afternoon wore on, the side-dishes began to come together. Confit is delightfully fatty, so something sharpish sounded like a good idea. I made a quick and simple relish by dicing an apple and an onion, adding a pinch of salt and a splash or two of red wine vinegar. That sat in the fridge all day, getting a stir or a shake when I remembered.

Brussels sprouts are a perennial favorite chez nous, and this year's treatment was pretty straightforward. A good chunk of bacon, diced, along with an onion went into the skillet to brown up and cook down. Then smallish brussels sprouts, halved, were added. I tossed in an extra bi of rendered bacon fat which I had been saving for just such an occasion, although it may not have been, strictly speaking, necessary.

Mashed potatoes, of course. Boiled in their jackets, drained and mashed, still with their skins. Crème fraîche is my usual addition to the mash to get the texture the way I want it. Lacking that, heavy cream will do, or butter. One could even use milk, I suppose.

A green salad makes a nice accompaniment. For a dressing, I put some balsamic vinegar and a bit of olive oil in a jar with some ground black pepper. I crumbled in a good tablespoon of homemade feta-style cheese, then shook it violently.

Mushrooms went on the side, because, well, who doesn't like mushrooms? Again, simple and straightforward. I cut the portobellos into strips, tossed them into a skillet on low heat with some butter and sprinkled them gently but lovingly with salt. As they cooked, I'd stir them from time to time, but basically just let some of the moisture cook out.

Then it was time to take the confit out of its bath and slap it skin-side down in a hot skillet to get a little color on it. Then it was plated and served with sparkling wine.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! (Or for those not in the USA, Happy November Twenty-Second!)