Planning for the big day!

If you shop the market and are reading this, you enjoy spending time in the kitchen. And, in all likelihood, you typically host on Thanksgiving.

If this is the case, and you are like me, you are already plotting what new side dish to introduce this year. Sticking with perennial family faves can really limit experimentation. My eldest daughter's boyfriend joined us for the first time last year, and, apparently, he hasn't stopped talking about our tried and true Ottolenghi recipe for roasted squash with a chile yogurt cilantro sauce.  So, clearly, that dish is returning, since, happily, so is he.

Since my mom won’t be here this year to make her classic mashed potatoes, do we try to recreate them and risk disappointment? Or do we venture off in a new direction and try this potato leek gratin? Something tells me we will make both. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a fan of bitter salad greens at the table to serve as a plate cleanser and counterpoint to the parade of heavy dishes. My family indulges me and they are not too fussy about how exactly I get my bitter yayas out. 

Thousand Leaf Garden Farm is bringing in some very special chicories this week and next, such as Rossa di Tardivo Treviso, castel franco, and a few other chioggia varieties. I will build a symphony of a salad around these, maybe I'll even mix them with some endive or Obercreek Farm frisée to go all in on the bitterness. Adding crumbled blue cheese and sliced orchard apples helps soften the edges a bit. Using a sweeter vinegar in the dressing also helps lessen the bite.

I also have wiggle room in the cranberry department since our family has no sentimental attachment to cranberry sauce. I’m hoping to use cranberries to accompany the turkey and in a dessert since Thousand Leaf is once again bringing fresh cranberries from their friends’ bog in East Taunton, MA. This year, they are bringing two heirloom organic varieties: Early Blacks and Howe’s.

For my savory cranberry preparation, I’m tempted by this recipe for cranberry conserva because the ingredient list intrigues me — especially the addition of fennel. Of course, my go-to cranberry dessert is David Tanis’ cranberry curd tart, though I’m tempted this year to try the cranberry curd bars the NYT touted last week. 

Black Girl Kimchi is here this week. So make sure you stock up because those leftover turkey sandwiches are going to taste so much better with collard green or bok choy kimchi. 

And, yes, I know I haven’t mentioned turkey or stuffing for that matter. Saving those for next week's blog! 

If you are guesting for the holiday, stop by Chloe Sikirica’s pottery tent for a hostess (or holiday) gift. Chloe’s sense of color is truly exceptional and anyone would be so grateful to receive any of her vases, vessels, or her cool new candle sconces.

Or, consider picking something up from Northwinds Lavender Farm on Saturday. Ellen has let us know that this will be her last visit to the HFM as she is retiring from markets this year. We will miss her Irish lilt, and all the good vibes (and Provence smells) that she brings to the market. Make sure you stop by Ellen’s tent to wish her well. 

As many of you know, our longtime fishmonger, Paul Mendelsohn is also retiring after Thanksgiving. He has been such a font of information on preparing all things finned. He will be missed not just for his culinary advice, but also for his interesting taste in music, his sense of humor, and of course, his jaunty cap.

See you at the market! 

Remember we are gleaning all month (and accepting cash donations at the market tent) for the Hastings Food Pantry.