I must admit I have never been a huge fan of televised sports. Most holidays, growing up in the eastern United States, I was in the kitchen, either cooking or dispensing advice on food and otherwise.

Yet, for some reason, I always enjoyed watching the Thanksgiving Day football games. Once the turkey and other preparations are under way, and things in the kitchen have settled down, there is nothing like plopping down on the family-room sofa, surrounded by relatives and friends, to watch one of the holiday games while drinking the first eggnog of the season.

Now, I am sure that you are wondering, how is he going to segue into a column about Japanese food? I am getting there, just wait.