Thanksgiving Eve is known as the biggest bar night of the year. It’s part high-school reunion, part pre-family-gathering numbing, part nothing-to-do-tomorrow-so-let’s-go-crazy and part plain ol’ hype. Whatever the reason, there are a lot of options if you’re looking for something to do tonight. Peruse the fliers below to see.
Just do us one favor. Since you might be hanging out with some ex-Fresnans in town to see their kin, try to show them a good time. Let them leave town with a good taste in their mouth.
Thanksgiving is coming and that means… comical videos from William Shatner? If you’ve got a few minutes to waste before 5 p.m. rolls around, check out this “Eat, Fry, Love: A Cautionary Remix” video about turkey-frying safety. It’s a remix of a 2011 video created by State Farm that helped “save the world from exploding turkeys.”
As you’re well aware, it’s Thanksgiving Eve. In many cases, people look forward to partying tonight just as much, if not more, than stuffing their faces tomorrow. It’s a BIG night for bars, with lots of people coming home and having “reunion” gatherings.
Every holiday I look forward to one thing: an email from the P.R. rep at Three-O Vodka providing me with a list of themed drinks. From red, white and blue cocktails on the Fourth of July to peanut butter and banana drinks celebrating Elvis Presley’s birthday, I am always amused by what Three-O comes up with.
This Thanksgiving, they’ve sent along recipes for four turkey day-inspired drinks. I can’t encourage you to try them out, of course, but if you do, please send along a review (I’m especially curious about the Pumpkin Pie-tini and CranCider Toddy).
Enjoy.
Pumpkin Pie-tini
1 oz. milk
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 ½ oz. Three Olives Vanilla vodka
1 ½ oz. crème de cacao
Using a small amount of honey, rim martini glass with graham cracker crumbs.
Shake milk and pumpkin puree over ice to combine. Pour in remaining ingredients and shake well. Strain into the martini glass.
Good news! It’s not too late to liven up tomorrow’s forced family gathering by pulling an old-fashioned Thanksgiving prank, like the one seen in the video below. Just make sure you fool someone who has no idea how birds have babies.
Okay, so it’s not as funny as when the pilgrims pranked the indigenous Americans by illegally immigrating here and decimating their populations through murder and disease, but it will do in a pinch.
If you watch the Today Show like I do most mornings, you probably noticed today that KSEE 24 is doing a turkey drive today with Catholic Charities to help those in need have a happy Thanksgiving.
KSEE will collect turkeys until 7:30 p.m. All you have to do is drive up to the KSEE parking lot on McKinley Avenue and they’ll collect your turkey donation. As of 8:30 a.m., the last update I saw before heading to work, KSEE had collected 140 turkeys.
Every year, I get requests for places to eat dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Most folks know about chains such as Mimi’s Cafe and Marie Callender’s, but it’s harder to identify other restaurants that will stay open.
Here’s a video that really brings home the meaning of family — and makes me tear up. It’s from acclaimed Malaysian director Yasmin Ahmad, who died in July at the age of 51.
Sorry about the video quality; it’s the only one I could find with an English translation:
It’s all the local news and stuff from the blogosphere that you need to Fres-Know.
BRAIN GAIN: ArcHop presents a new idea: instead of mourning the bright and talented who leave Fresno, we should celebrate their accomplishments. And break a perfectly good negativity streak? No, sirs. [ArcHop]
TWICE AS NICE: A fund-raiser for the Restore Equality 2010 Campaign will be at the Red Lantern tonight, and it will include a trivia competition. $3 off the game fee if you bring a canned food. [QueerFresno]
GET STUFFED: Need a last-minute recipe for Thanksgiving stuffing? No, me neither. But this spiked apple cider recipe is right up my alley. [Taste Fresno]
THANKS, NO THANKS: Newsflash: Not everyone has a jolly ole time during the holidays. Sometimes a different perspective is in order. [Da Blogs Da Thang, It's Worth Recording]
RADI-OH S***: Is Ray Appleton going to run for Congress? It’s still unclear. What is clear: the man needs to do some serious spellchecking before he posts vague announcements to Facebook. [Opinion Talk]
Also, there is a tasting of Fresno State Winery’s 2009 Nouveau wines from 5:30 to 8 p.m. tonight. The tasting includes the wines, hors d’oeuvres and a cooking demonstration by Fredrick Clabaugh, executive chef of the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.
These Nouveau wines are created in the style of Beaujolais Nouveau, the extremely young French wines released every year on the third Thursday of November. Drink them soon, for these wines are closer to juice than the complex, layered flavors of older wines.
The tasting costs $15. (Fresno State students and alumni pay $10. Fresno State Wine Club members pay $5.) It will take place in Fresno State’s Enology Building, 2360 E. Barstow Ave. Guests must be at least 21 years old.
Parking permits are available at any parking dispenser on campus. Enter coupon code 16080002. For more information, call (559) 278-4867 or go here.
If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner, now’s the time for a short course on handling knives. The following eight videos will list the essential knives for your kitchen, tell you about Epicurean cutting boards (love them!) and teach you how to care for your knives.
You’ll also see techniques for cutting onions, garlic, red peppers, carrots (into a julienne and a batonette), spinach (into a chiffonade), tomatoes and herbs.
UPDATE: As promised in this week’s food pages, here is the Valley’s ultimate guide for the lazy Thanksgiving dinner. These supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and delis allow you to dine out — or take out the entire meal.
Check out the story for the full list, then browse through the menus below. (I’ll add more of them as they become available.) And if you have more places to add, drop them in the comments.
Here is Sarah Palin giving an interview to a local news team immediately after pardoning a turkey for Thanksgiving. The interview itself is not so interesting (why would it be?), but check out the man standing behind Sarah who is trying to do his job, which is killing turkeys.
You can practically see the “STFU, lady” thought bubble over the guy’s head.
![LIF_TAO_SMOKED_TURKEY[1].JPG](http://fresnobeehive.com/assets_c/2009/10/LIF_TAO_SMOKED_TURKEY[1]-thumb-200x300-27560.jpg)
