Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Thanksgiving is Coming--All Hands on Deck!

Alright folks--it's on!  Thanksgiving is two days away and I can hardly contain my excitement.  This is one of my favorite holidays of the year.  Being a priest and all, I probably have to rank Easter and Christmas in front of Thanksgiving.  And indeed, those holidays would be PERFECT if they allowed me the time I cherish to prepare the feasts that go with them.  But as it is, Thanksgiving is the one holiday when we are given complete permission to cook (and let's face it, eat) like there's no tomorrow. 

This year, instead of cooking a full-on feast myself, I'm joining forces with friends.  There will be about a dozen of us, with two dueling turkeys, a mash up of sides, and several desserts.  Here's what I'm cooking up:

Oink and Gobble Farm Roasted Turkey with truffle butter

Maple Gravy

Cornbread, sausage, apple and pecan stuffing (been making this for 20 years now, so I guess it's tradition)

Rutabaga and Leek chowder with smoked paprika butter (from the new Winter Issue of Edible Finger Lakes)

Cranberry Bourbon Compote (made with fresh cranberries a friend brought me from the Cape)

Golden Cake with chocolate sour cream frosting (from Gourmet Magazine, oh how I miss that magazine this month!)

Mom is driving up from NYC and she's packing cheese cakes for our feast--YUM!

What's on YOUR menu???

*  If you are still shopping around, check out Green Planet Grocery on Wednesday--they're having all kinds of tastings and last time I checked they had 2 or 3 Oink and Gobble turkeys available.

Harvest Fest Give Away Results

Congratulations to Alexis and Sarah F!  From all of the comments posted they were chosen at random to win tickets to the Pride of New York Harvest Fest this weekend at the NYS Fair Grounds.

Thanks to all of you who posted comments on your plans--and challenges--to eating local this winter.  There were many yummy and practical ideas there that will help us all!

And thanks to the good folks at Pride of New York who made this give away possible--I hope it is a great event.  Sarah and Alexis--have a great time and tell us all about it!

Pride of New York Harvest Fest Ticket Give Away

Two tickets to the Pride of New York Harvest Fest this weekend can be yours!  Why?  Well, it's is a great opportunity to meet local foods producers from across the state who believe in bringing the best New York has to offer to your table.  It is also your best shot at getting food you actually WANT to eat at the NY State Fairgrounds.  And...I can't go.

Every month there are great events happening around our region that celebrate local and/or sustainable foods and producers.  Invitations and often, tickets, come my way and I've decided that just because I can't go shouldn't mean you don't get the chance.  So for the first time ever, I'm doing a "give away".  I don't know how often I'll do these but trust that I'll be giving it some thought as Cookin' in the 'Cuse goes forward.

So here's the deal:  I've got two tickets, valued at $25 each, for this weekend's Harvest Fest at the NYS Fairgrounds.  Tickets are valid for all day Saturday, November 6 OR Sunday, November 7.  Winners will be chosen at random using a random interger generator.  All you have to do is leave a comment here about how you plan to continue eating locally this winter and if you don't plan to, why not. 

Comments must be left by tomorrow,(Thursday) 8:00 am EST.  I will post the names of winners and notify them by email and will then need to request some additional contact information to give the Harvest Fest organizers.  Because beer and wine will be available at the event, all winners must be 21 years of age.

Good luck!

It's a harvest of activity around here

I don't know where the time goes sometimes, it's been nearly a month since my last post--how does that happen?  Well, there's canning apple sauce, apple butter, and cranberry chutney; there's lots of writing going on in other places--like work and Edible Finger Lakes; there's been travel, including lunch last week at Eataly New York, the new Italian mega-emporium in Manhattan.

But here, quick and dirty, is what you need to know about what's going on 'round these parts:

• Groupon Syracuse is live!  Haven't heard about Groupon?  It's great.  It's about coupons you can get emailed to you for local products and venues.  Today's Groupon deal is you pay $5 for a $10 coupon to the delicious cafe at Earth's Own Natural Market in Liverpool.  How cool is that?  You can choose to get deals emailed to you for as many cities as you like--great if you like to travel.  Sign up here.

• This weekend is the Pride of New York Harvest Fest Nov. 6-7 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.  There will be about 100 growers and producers there plus wine and beer tastings and local food products galore.  It could be a great way to check out local foods that don't always get to store shelves--and purchase things for the holidays:  a local foods basket is a great gift, don't you think?  Tickets are $25 but stay tuned because I'm doing my first ever give away!  For more about Harvest Fest click here.

• For the meat lovers out there, I've just received word about a Meat Fair--that's right, a LOCAL meat fair sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County.  It will take place on Saturday, November 20th, 2010, at the Central Square Middle School cafeteria, on U.S. Rte. 11 from 1 pm to 4 pm.  Many different meat vendors from the area will be on hand to speak with consumers and answer their questions.  Janet Wells, of the Farm House Kitchen Catering Company will prepare the different meat dishes for sampling; including goat, beef, pork and poultry.  Cost to attend the event is $5.00. 

• And now for some sad news...Wyllie Fox Farm is taking a hiatus from doing CSA shares for the next year or two.  Jamie and Maggie are young farmers who have made an incredible contribution to the local foods scene--my root cellar is FULL of their butternut squash--and they fully expect this to be a temporary break.  While we have been eating well thanks to the efforts of Jamie and Maggie and other small, local farmers, we must never forget how incredibly difficult it is for these farms to stay afloat IN A RECESSION.  It is indeed a complex calculation to get the financial and human resources aligned to farm productively and small farmers have it particularly hard.  It has never been more important to support our local food producers because without them--well, I'm not sure where I'd get the food that I count on to be grown sustainably and locally.  Jamie and Maggie--we'll miss you but know that we are standing with you!  Keep us informed and if there are ways this community--your community--can rise up and help in any way, let us know.

Eat on, friends and eat well.