By Thanksgiving prep week. Marcus coming from Morehouse. Jasmine flying from DC. Isaiah with his mother this Thanksgiving — the custody calendar asserting itself. Derek is quiet about it. He misses Isaiah at the table. I see the missing in the way he sets an extra place and then removes it.
Darnell might drive from Clarksville. Andre will not — a gig in Vegas, his code for "distance is my coping mechanism." I understand it. I don't accept it.
Started cooking Saturday. Full batch dressing. Cranberry sauce from scratch — cranberries, sugar, orange zest, a splash of bourbon that Mama would have questioned but I include because bourbon in cranberry sauce is a revelation. Sweet potato casserole, halved sugar.
Curtis has been more animated this week than in months. Thanksgiving brings him alive — the holiday that centers the table. He wheeled himself into the kitchen Saturday and said, "Brenda would start the dressing on Wednesday." I said, "I started on Saturday." He said, "That's too early." I said, "I know what I'm doing." He said, "Hm." The "hm" of a man who knows you know but will not admit it because admitting it would violate the code of Curtis.
I put bourbon in the cranberry sauce and called it a revelation — Mama’s voice in my ear, Curtis’s “hm” hanging in the kitchen air — and somewhere in all that cooking and counting chairs and feeling the weight of who would and wouldn’t be at the table, I remembered that the cook deserves something too. This Tom Collins is mine: simple, bright, a little tart, the kind of drink that says the work is done for now, sit down, breathe. Before the dressing, before the sweet potato casserole, before anyone arrives — this one’s for the person who started cooking on Saturday and knows exactly what she’s doing.
Tom Collins Cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 3–4 oz club soda, chilled
- Ice cubes
- Lemon slice and maraschino cherry, for garnish
Instructions
- Make simple syrup if needed. Combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves completely, about 2 minutes. Let cool before using. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Combine and shake. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the gin, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake well for about 15 seconds until thoroughly chilled.
- Strain and build. Fill a tall Collins glass with fresh ice. Strain the shaken mixture over the ice.
- Top with soda. Pour the chilled club soda gently over the top, stirring just once or twice to combine without losing the fizz.
- Garnish and serve. Add a lemon slice on the rim and a maraschino cherry. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 175 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 15mg