For the past three years, I’ve offered
to have Thanksgiving in my home, and each year, my relatives
refuse.
"It’s too much trouble," they say. "Let’s just
go somewhere."
On the big day, my family sits around a huge table eating mediocre
food.
"We’re just happy to be together," someone will say.
While we enjoy each other’s company, a Thanksgiving dinner with
great food would be a welcome change.
This year I called relatives and friends, and to my surprise,
everyone said, "Sure. Love to come."
With 15 guests and a schedule that leaves no time for elaborate
preparations, I need help!
I turned to Park Sloper Rozanne Gold, entertainment editor at
Bon Appetit magazine for assistance. Gold, known as the "Diva
of simplicity" in food circles and author of the new "Cooking
1-2-3: 500 Fabulous Three-Ingredient Recipes" (Stewart,
Tabori & Chang, November 2003) said, "Let’s face it.
Brewing coffee for 15 people is a big deal."
Her advice?
"Make a couple of dishes yourself, buy the turkey and ask
your guests to bring the rest," said Gold.
In Brooklyn, the choice of specialty shops, caterers and restaurants
that will do the cooking for you is one reason to be grateful
on Nov. 27.
Give thanks for caterers:
Crave, in Carroll Gardens [570 Henry St. between Carroll and
Summit streets, (718) 643-0361], will cater the entire dinner
– turkey to dessert. Chef and co-owners Debbie Lyn and Marco
Morillo are roasting 10- to 20-pound birds, basted with fresh
herb butter.
To accompany their classic birds, Lyn and Morillo offer two stuffings:
bread with herbs and bacon lardons, and mashed Idaho or Yukon
Gold potato with herbs. Sides are all-American favorites – candied
yams, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, fresh cranberry sauce with
orange and lemon zest and roasted rosemary potatoes. Whole pecan,
pumpkin and apple pies are baked in Crave’s kitchen.
An unstuffed turkey is $8.95-$9.95 per pound; add an additional
$20 if you want the bird carved. Call for additional prices.
Orders must be placed by Nov. 23 for Thanksgiving Day delivery.
A 50-percent deposit can be charged on Visa, MasterCard, American
Express or Diner’s Club
Give thanks for specialty
stores:
Eagle Provisions [628 Fifth Ave. at 18th Street in Park Slope,
(718) 499-0026], that marvelous purveyor of Polish meat, sausage,
prepared salads and gourmet canned and jarred goods is taking
orders for cooked turkeys. Sizes range from 13 to 20 pounds and
can be ordered either unstuffed or stuffed with cornbread and
sausage dressing. Gravy is included. Their "homestyle"
roasted turkey is flavored with garlic and parsley, or you can
request a hickory-smoked bird. Orders must be placed by Nov.
22 for Thanksgiving Day pickup. The price is $2.59 per pound.
A $10 cash deposit is required. Ask for Richard.
Aricka Westbrooks, owner of Fort Greene’s Jive Turkey [441 Myrtle
Ave. at Clinton Street, (718) 797-1688] is offering her moist,
non-greasy, 12-pound, deep-fried turkeys in two Thanksgiving
packages: The Great Gobbler, a 12-pound turkey seasoned simply
with salt, pepper and garlic, and a 12-pound herb turkey.
Upgrade the Great Gobbler with baked cornbread stuffing with
onions, celery and green peppers, green beans, bruleed yams with
ginger and rum for $108.95. Feeds six to 10 guests.
The 12-pound herb turkey, flavored with fresh thyme, sage, rosemary
and garlic – with the same stuffing and sides – is $138. The
Great Gobbler ($34.95) and the herb turkey ($64.95) can also
be purchased without sides. Orders should be placed no later
than Nov. 24. A deposit of one-half the total bill can be paid
with Visa, American Express or MasterCard. Ask Tyrone for assistance.
Tuller Premium Food [199 Court St. at Bergen Street in Boerum
Hill, (718) 222-9933] offers everything from artisanal American
cheese to a pumpkin cake that feeds 10 and, according to general
manager Tom Van Voorhees, "Looks like Charlie Brown’s pumpkin."
Tuller’s Thanksgiving Day $250 special feeds 10. The package
includes a 10-pound, free-range, roasted turkey with sage and
chestnut bread stuffing, turkey gravy, fresh cranberry-orange
relish and three sides. Choose from mashed potatoes with butter
and cream, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts and
roasted beets with orange vinaigrette.
An eight-inch pumpkin, apple or mixed-nut pie finishes the meal.
Turkeys and stuffing can be ordered without the sides for $90.
Sides are $8.99-$9.99 per pound. Eight-inch tarts serve 10 for
$27. The pumpkin cake is $50. Orders must be placed by 3 pm on
Nov. 22. A 50-percent deposit can be charged on Visa, MasterCard
or American Express. Call Tom for information.
For more than 50 years Brooklyn Heights residents have stood
in front of the display cases of Lassen & Hennigs [114 Montague
St. at Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 875-6272] and
drooled. For Thanksgiving they’re preparing turkeys and sides
for a la carte purchases.
Their turkeys are available in three sizes – 10-12 pounds, 16-18
pounds and 20-26-pounds for $5.99 per pound.
Seven different stuffings may be too much of a good thing for
indecisive diners. Try the bread dressing with savory slices
of chicken sausage and sweet apples.
Sides include carrots in dill sauce, an autumn vegetable medley
of roasted winter squash, parsnips and turnips, and garlic mashed
potatoes. Sides are sold by the pint at $5.49-$6.49. Orders should
be placed by Nov. 26 for next-day pickup. No deposit is necessary.
Press 4 when telephoning the catering department.
Paneantico Bakery and Cafe [9124 Third Ave. at 92nd Street, (718)
680-2347] in Bay Ridge is fixing Thanksgiving Italian style.
A 10- to 15-pound or 20- 25-pound oven-roasted turkey is stuffed
with rice dressing studded with ham, mushrooms and croutons.
Four sides accompany the smaller bird; 5-6 sides complete the
larger dinner. Choose from stuffed mushrooms, broccoli rabe,
cauliflower and broccoli patties and rice balls among several
others. The 10- to 15-pound turkey dinner ($150) serves 10 to
15 guests; the 20- to 25-pound turkey ($300) serves 20 to 25.
Paneantico is known for its luscious, homestyle desserts. Their
pies – pumpkin, pumpkin custard and apple crumb – feed eight
to 10 and are reasonably priced at $8-$12. A 20-percent deposit
is required by Nov. 24, and can be charged on Visa, MasterCard
or American Express. Ask for John or Frank.
Give thanks for restaurants
Biscuit [367 Flatbush Ave. at Park Place, (718) 398-2227] in
Park Slope, known for down-home barbecue, biscuits and fixin’s,
is hickory-smoking their 15-pound turkeys. A half-turkey ($30)
comes with six buttermilk biscuits, gravy and two sides from
a choice of either cornbread stuffing, stewed cabbage, braised
collard greens, mashed potatoes and red beans and rice. The whole
turkey ($60) comes with a dozen biscuits and two of the sides.
Side dishes purchased separately are $5.99 a pound. Orders must
be placed by 5 pm on Nov. 24 for Nov. 26 pickup. A 50-percent
cash deposit holds your turkey. Call Josh for information.
If the pastries at Cafe Scaramouche [524 Court St. at Huntington
Street in Carroll Gardens, (718) 855-9158] are good enough for
the president of Argentina and Dean & Deluca’s picky clientele,
then their special holiday meal and array of cakes and pies should
be just fine for you.
Their Thanksgiving dinner features cream of mushroom soup, turkey
with bread stuffing and gravy, four side dishes and a dinner
roll. Dinner for one: $27.50. Tack on $3.50 for a slice of pumpkin,
apple or pear-raspberry pie. Dinners for 6-8: $155; dinner for
10-12: $205. Pies and tarts ($15.50, feeds 6), cheesecakes ($20-$24,
feeds 8-10) and their famous bread pudding cake ($30, feeds 10)
are sure to impress your guests. Orders should be placed by Nov.
24. A 50-percent deposit can be charged on Visa and MasterCard.
Cocotte [337 Fifth Ave. at Fourth Street, (718) 768-3466] in
Park Slope, the bistro that started the Fifth Avenue French cafe
craze, is offering a sophisticated, three-course, all-American
"Thanksgiving to Go." The menu begins with butternut
squash soup, followed by roasted turkey with herbed, bread stuffing
and shallot gravy. Mashed potatoes, candied sweet potato puree
and roasted Brussels sprouts with pearl onions and almonds accompany
the bird. Rich pumpkin pie with cinnamon whipped cream finishes
the meal. The meal is $30 per person, and orders must be placed
by Nov. 25 for Nov. 27 pickup. Payment in full on either Visa
or MasterCard is necessary when placing your order. Call Christine
for information.
Give thanks for bakeries
If you can’t find the pie of your dreams at Two Little Red Hens
in Park Slope [112 Eighth Ave. at 11th Street, (718) 499-8108]
then abandon all hope. The bakers here won’t settle for one apple
pie, they’ve created four: double-crust apple, apple crumb, Dutch
apple and apple-cranberry. You’ll need a crane to lift the pear,
plum, apple and walnut Harvest Pie, but it’s light going down.
Of course they’re selling pecan and chocolate pecan pies. The
six-inch pie ($16) feeds six people; a 10-inch pie ($21) serves
10. Cakes include pumpkin with cream cheese frosting and devil’s
food cake with a turkey decoration. The cakes ($23-$53) are 6-inch,
8-inch and 10-inch, and feed six to 22 people. Don’t miss their
cranberry-orange bundt cake, the adorable turkey cupcakes and
the turkey cookies.
Orders must be placed Nov. 21 for Thanksgiving Day pickup. A
50-percent deposit can be made with Visa, MasterCard or American
Express.
Leske’s [7612 Fifth Ave. at 76th Street, (718) 680-2323] is one
of the few remaining Scandinavian bakeries in Brooklyn. Since
the 1930s, Bay Ridge residents have lined up for Danish pies,
tarts (their Fyrstekage almond tart is legendary), cakes, breads
and cookies. The bakers prepare more than 4,000 pies for Thanksgiving,
but buy yours early, as their pumpkin, pumpkin custard, and apple
pies are first-come, first-serve and they go fast. Pies ($6-$8)
come in four sizes and feed 8-10; cakes ($9) come in a variety
of sizes and also feed 8-10. The bakery accepts Visa, MasterCard,
American Express and Discover.
And don’t forget to give thanks for friends and family. Without
them there would be no reason to celebrate.
