A Thanksgiving Menu From Our Farm
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It has everything I love most. Food, family, a warm house, laughter and stories all combine to create a sense of nostalgia that is both joyful and bittersweet. In our family, Thanksgiving falls during deer hunting season. There is always a bit of chaos as the hunters are working to fill deer tags, while those of us doing the cooking try to balance dinner time with their possible success.
As a child, every Thanksgiving was centered around our matriarch, my Grandma Charlotte. She was a home economics teacher, a baker and an incredible home chef. The smells of Thanksgiving, in her little house, have never left my senses. We lost her on December 22, 2013, at the age of 92-years-old, and the next few years were not the same without her. The luster and magic of the holidays just seemed to be less.
Somehow, and probably not surprising to all of you who enjoy following my cooking adventures, the reins of our family Thanksgiving have been turned over to me. Luckily, I am blessed with a family that helps make our meal and time together a success. So for this week, I wanted to share some of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions. A full table is an incredible experience and hopefully you will find inspiration in what we do.
Appetizers:
My Dad loved a meal that began with appetizers. He could skip everything else, and fill up on snacks. When my Grandma hosted, there was always a table covered with little finger foods that brought happiness to everyone. Since many of my family members love a bit of spice, there is always some of that on the appetizer table. For those who don’t, we also have a bit of sweet. These are not complex recipes that will require a ton of effort, and it is very easy to adjust to fit what your crew enjoys. There is never a shortage of cheese, after all this is Wisconsin, on our appetizer table!
1. Cheese Plate - we put together a spread of our favorite Wisconsin cheeses, homemade pickles (we love our Old Fashioned Sweet Dill, Zesty Bread and Butter and Pickled Beets), nuts and smoked meats. You can play around with whatever you have handy, and grab a few things from our store to make your life easy!
2. Cowboy Candy and Cream Cheese - just two ingredients for this one. Cream cheese and our very own Cowboy Candy. You can spread this dip on crackers or your favorite bread.
3. Cranberry Sauce Meatballs - Start with your favorite basic meatball recipe, combining our ground beef with our ground pork. Grab a jar of our homemade cranberry sauce and combine in a sauce pan with chili sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. If you aren’t a fan of too much heat, you can remove the chili powder and cayenne. Add sauce and meatballs to slow cooker and heat on low for 2 hours.
4. Baked Brie with Cranberry Pepper Jam
1 wheel of Triple Cream Brie
1 package of puff pastry (frozen section of the store)
1 jar of our Cranberry Pepper Jam (could also use Blueberry Lemon, Raspberry or Maple Cranberry Apple Butter, for a sweeter version)
Toasted and chopped walnuts, pecans or pine nuts.
Thaw the puff pastry dough for at least 1 hour prior to making. Roll out the dough slightly. Remove brie from the packaging, and cut it like a round layer cake. Put the first layer of brie on the dough and top with a thin layer of jam and a few chopped nuts. Place the second layer on top, and repeat this process. Wrap the brie like a present and place the folded side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before opening the package. Serve with a good baguette or crackers.
Side Dishes:
A little something more than your typical mashed potatoes and stuffing (although we love those too).
1. Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Balsamic Maple Glaze - this recipe calls for 5 ingredients: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brussel sprouts, maple syrup and bacon (plus salt and pepper). Roast up nice and crisp, then top with the balsamic maple glaze. Our very popular bacon is perfect for this.
2. Honey Glazed Carrots with Dill - carrots, honey, olive oil, butter, fresh dill and some salt and pepper. Super easy!
3. Homemade Cranberry Sauce - we have that ready to go for you in our store.
4. Stuffed Acorn Squash
Whole acorn squash from Witte’s, cut in half seeds removed
1 pound of our pork sausage (we have this in our store for you)
1 cup of dried cranberries
1 cup of chopped pecans
½ cup crumbled Feta
Chopped fresh parsley
Maple syrup from Tapped Maple Syrup
Brush the cut side of the squash with maple syrup and roast at 400 degrees until fork tender. Brown the pork sausage and allow it to cool slightly. Combine with the cranberries, feta, pecans and parsley. Add in a bit more of the maple syrup to the sausage mix. Fill each acorn squash with the sausage mix, drizzle with a bit of butter and syrup and roast at 450 for 10 minutes until heated through.
Main Protein
Let’s talk turkey! While traditional in our family for years, it is not really a favorite. When we moved to the farm, we switched to roasting and smoking chickens for our holiday meal. Chad raises a few of our Cornish Cross to a dressed weight of around 7-8 pounds, and that has fed our family well for Thanksgiving. We also like to add in a second protein, because food options are a necessity here.
1. Whole Roasted Chicken or Whole Smoked Chicken - we have a few different sized chickens in very limited quantities. Believe us, your family won’t miss turkey once they’ve had these! If you want to have gravy ready to go, we also have whole chicken carcasses. You can make the gravy while you are roasting the bird, which saves time in your cooking schedule.
2. Smoked Ham - another great replacement meat. If you don’t have time to cook a whole bird, these are smoked and ready to go.
3. Mississippi Beef Roast
1 jar of our pepperoncini peppers
1 stick of butter
1 envelope of Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Mix
Cut the chuck roasts up into large pieces and add them to a crock pot, along with bone. Add the entire jar of pepperoncini peppers, brine and all. Sprinkle the ranch mix over the top and add the stick of butter. Cook on low heat for 8 hours, until fork tender. Shred or serve in pieces over mashed potatoes, parmesan orzo, rice or risotto.
Dessert
1. Baked New York Style Cheesecake - find the easiest recipe you can! Use store bought crust, if you don’t have time for homemade. You really can’t go wrong with cheesecake. We like to top ours with our blueberry lemon or raspberry jams or our maple cranberry apple butter (warm in a saucepan, until thin).
2. Pumpkin Dump Cake - this one uses a yellow cake mix, canned pumpkin, evaporated milk and a few other simple ingredients. Dessert done in under an hour.
Whatever you do, however you celebrate the holidays -many wishes from us for moments that bring joy and build traditions. Legacy is truly developed by moments and laughter, rather than money and things. There are no greater gifts than the time we spend together.
Much love,
Chad and Jody