I love Thanksgiving, the holiday where families of eaters come together to celebrate their farmers and their skill at coaxing nourishment from the ground. 2018 was a particularly tough farming year and several crops suffered. It wasn’t a great year for tomatoes or celeriac. It was meh for some apple varieties. What happened to the pears? Kale seems to have had a happy year and the garlic was impressive as well. I’m amazed at and grateful to my farmers for continually making the best of the elements. Here’s my 2018 return on the gifts of the land.

Read on for the 2018 edition of the annual posting of my Thanksgiving menu and food sources.

Appetizers

• Crudités with carrots from Riverbank Farm; cauliflower, broccoli, fennel bulb, and kohlrabi from Sport Hill Farm;  bell peppers from Fort Hill Farm; celery and cucumbers not local.
• Tatziki dip made with cucumbers from Mountain View Farm, garlic from Fort Hill Farm, yogurt from Arethusa Farm Dairy and mint from my garden.
• Baba Ghanoush  made with eggplant and garlic from Shortt’s Farm and Maple Bank Farm. Tahini, lemon juice, pita chips not local.
• Chilled roasted beets and roasted red peppers from Fort Hill Farm
• Pickled:
  Pickled salad turnips from Fort Hill Farm.
  Spicy Icebox Pickled Carrots following Sherry Brooks-Vinton‘s recipe, made with carrots, from Maple Bank Farm, garlic and hot peppers from Fort Hill Farm, honey from Woodbury Sugar Shed.
  Spicy pickled beets with beets from Fort Hill Farm and honey from Woodbury Sugar Shed. Star anise, allspice, cloves and vinegar, not local.
• Cheese Boards with:
  Womanchego and Vivace from Cato Corner Farm
  Tapping Reeve, Europa, and farmers Cheese from Arethusa Farm Dairy
  Mozzarella from Calabro
  Moonlight from Chaselolm Farm
  Clothbound Cheddar from Grafton Village Cheese, VT (I got it while I was at the Cheese Fest!)
  Sun-dried tomatoes from Waldingfield Farm
  Figs and olives, not local.
• Borlotti (Cranberry) Bean dip with Borlotti beans from F&B Beans (Stone Gardens); garlic from Fort Hill Farm, Farmstead cheese from Sankows Beaver Brook.
  Olive oil and lemon not local
• Crackers & Breads: Not local

Soup

Chicken Soup (recipe) from chickens from Stuart Family Farm and Camps Road Farm. Carrots from Riverbank Farm. Celeriac, parsnip, garlic, and parsley from Fort Hill Farm. onions from High Hill Orchard. Celery,  brown rice, small bowtie pasta, and Parmigiano Reggiano, not local.

Main Course

• Roasted Broad Breasted White turkey from Stone Garden Farm.
• Pan Gravy (recipe) from the natural juices of the bird, flour from Farmer Ground, NY
• Cornbread Stuffing (recipe) with cornbread (recipe) made with flour from Farmer Ground, corn meal from Sport Hill Farm, buttermilk from Hawthorne Valley, honey from Woodbury Sugar Shed, eggs from Nature View Farm, Bridgewater, CT baking powder and salt not local.
  Onions from High Hill Orchard, heavy cream from Farmers Cow, butter from Arethusa Farm Dairy, house thyme and homemade vegetable stock.
• Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce: Cranberries from Annie’s Crannies, Dennis, MA (thank you again Dolores). Apple Cider from Lyman Orchards. Maple syrup from Woodbury Sugar Shed,
  Cinnamon sticks not local
• Applesauce made from Cortland and Macintosh apples from Maple Bank Farm
• Smashed Potatoes (recipe) made from Dark Red Norland potatoes from Fort Hill Farm, and butter and sour cream from Arethusa Farm Dairy
  
• Baked sweet potatoes from Fort Hill Farm
• Roasted Butternut and carnival squash (recipe): Butternut from Riverbank and Carnival from Sport Hill Farm. Olive oil, fennel seed, cinnamon: not local
  
• Pan seared Brussels sprouts from Sport Hill Farm.

 

Beverages

• Apple cider from Lyman Orchards
• Egg Nog from Arethusa Farm Dairy
• Soda: Foxon Park as well as non-local selections
• Wine: Cabernet Franc from Jones Winery
• Hard cider: Citizen Cider Ms Burlington
• Beer: Roadsmary’s Baby from Two Roads Brewing and Sip of Sunshine

Dessert

• Apple Crumb Pie (recipe) made from Northern Spy apples from Maple Bank Farm, flour from Farmer Ground, butter from  Arethusa Farm Dairy. Lemon, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon: not local
• Pumpkin Pie (recipe) made from sugar pumpkin from Maple Bank Farm, eggs from Nature View Farm, flour from Farmer Ground, butter from Arethusa Farm Dairy, and heavy cream from Farmers Cow, honey from Woodbury Sugar Shed, spices not local
• Fresh Whipped Cream made from heavy cream from from Farmers Cow. Vanilla and sugar: not local. (I love this gizmo)
• Ice Cream, assorted flavors from Ferris Acres Creamery, Newtown, CT
• Fresh fruit: McIntosh apples from NY and pears from Red Jacket Orchards
• Mixed nuts: Not local
• Coffee and espresso: Not local

Again, I missed taking pics of dessert. The pies looked the same two years ago.

The printed menu my guests received had some errors, omissions, and typos, which are corrected in this post and reprinted here.