An All Things Local Amagansett Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday of the year. This year was particularly exciting for me as our entire dinner was from local just picked ingredients (except for the string beans which were only included because my 4 year old asked if we could have them with our Thanksgiving dinner).

The Menu:

Squash Soup - Medley of Roasted Quail Hill Squash Pureed into a creamy soup with Sage Pesto topped Crostini

Dry Brined Herb Roasted Turkey
Tom Colicchio’s Sausage Stuffing With Golden Raisins and Sage
Sweet-Potato Brûlée
Roasted Cranberry Sauce
Puree of Potatoes, Parsnips and Turnips
Shredded Brussels Sprouts With Lemon and Poppy Seeds
String Beans Steamed in Turkey Stock
Caramel Pumpkin Pie
Rye Pecan Pie
Apple Cranberry Tarte Tatin

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Squash Roasting for Soup

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Soup Ready for Serving

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Table Set and Ready for Guests

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Roasted Cranberry Sauce

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Herb Roasted Turkey

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Sausage Stuffing With Golden Raisins and Sage

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Steamed String Beans

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Just Picked Brussels Sprouts Soaking

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Sauteed Brussels

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Chloe Brulee's the Tops of the Sweet Potatoes

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Sweet-Potato Brûlée

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The Dinner Plate

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Caramel Pumpkin Pie

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Rye Pecan Pie

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Apple Cranberry Tarte Tatin

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The Dessert Table

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Great Grandma & Her Son make a Fresh Whipped Cream to Top Pies

Last Night's Appetizer - Chloe's Local Cabbage Egg Rolls

A recent handout we received from Chloe's teacher gave tips for encouraging better hand-eye-coordination for 4 year olds (i.e buttoning and zippering) we learned last night that making egg rolls could easily added to that list as well - Chloe was a natural!

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Local Cabbage Egg Rolls
What you need:

Serves 4

1 Head of Cabbage shredded

1 Large White Onion in small dice

2 Carrots grated

1 or 2 Daikon Turnips grated

1/3 of a container of firm Tofu in a small dice

1 Handful of Cilantro Minced
Rice Paper Wrappers

Rice Wine Vinegar

Soy Sauce

Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 cup of sugar

2 garlic cloves Minced

Vegetable oil for frying

Saute the onion until they begin to caramelize, then add in the cabbage to the onions and sauté until it cooks down quite a bit and is caramelized as well. Then add in the carrots, turnips and tofu and sauté for 5 more minutes. Finally add in cilantro, a small splash of the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar stir and remove from heat. Set aside.

Add water to a small bowl. Take a sheet of rice paper onto a plate facing you and add a heaping tablespoon full of the cabbage mixture in the middle of the wrapper. Dip your finger into the bowl of water and then run your finger along the outside perimeter of the wrapper. Take the bottom point of your wrap and fold it over top of the filling. Fold the sides in towards the middle and roll the filling towards the top point of the wrapper and tightly seal.

Set aside on a plate until ready to fry.

Make your sweet and sour sauce while you are heating your frying pan.

In a small sauce pan heat 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar, minced garlic and red pepper flakes (to taste) and heat over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved and sauce has started to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry egg rolls until golden brown on all sides.

Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the oil. Transfer to a plate and serve with the sweet and sour sauce.