Thanksgiving Dinner Plans

Since it's already Monday, we're at the point of having to make a commitment regarding the Thanksgiving menu. The mains are sacrosanct, absolutely unchangeable. There will be a fine turkey, with gravy and a dressing made with rustic white bread, a bit of onion and mushrooms, and lots of Bell's Seasoning, a natural herb blend that has been made in Massachusetts since the beginning of time (actually, since 1867). I used to depend on the kindness of relatives in New England to mail it to me, but now you can buy it off the shelves of the Pearl Street Whole Foods. The organic potatoes from Vitamin Cottage will be mashed, to best pool that gravy on top of, and possibly dressed up a bit with some organic chives from the Sunflower sale. The cranberry sauce will be homemade, again from the organic sale at Sunflower (there's nothing quicker and more fun than popping those cranberries in a pan).

Those are the traditional dishes at the center of the meal, and for the sides, I do like to play around. I've been lightening them up as years go by, and this year, since we have yams just about every week anyway, I'm going radical and skipping the yams entirely, opting for lighter veggies instead. One side will be a roasted beet salad recipe from a friend, served on endive with some toasted pecans. We'll also do a Swiss chard gratin from Whole Foods (it dresses up a favorite veggie with a light white sauce and a bit of Comte, one of my favorite cheeses). The third side is the one I'm still waffling about, kale and Brussels sprout salad from the current issue of Bon Appetit. With raw kale and Brussels sprouts, it might be just a bit too healthy, even for me. Maybe we'll just steam some Brussels sprouts instead. Dessert's not a big item in our house, but there might just have to be some pumpkin pie available, too.

Weekday Dinner Plans, Minus Thanksgiving

This is a monumentally big week for planning dinners. I have through Wednesday figured out, while I'm still finessing the Thanksgiving details. With Thanksgiving looming, my planning is being colored by a desire for lighter fare without poultry, in addition to the usual seasonality and good organic deals, which means the pressure is on. Tomorrow will therefore be Thai beef cabbage cups from last month's issue of Cooking Light. Sprouts has ground beef at 30% off, and Sunflower is doing a sale too. Served on cabbage or even lettuce cups, this dish meets all my criteria for the week, and it was a huge hit with the family when I first tried it last month. It's the best recipe I've encountered yet for the dish I've long extolled as laab, larb, or laap.

We always have something big made over the weekend that serves as an easy midweek reheat, and this week it will be the black bean chili with butternut squash and Swiss chard from Bon Appetit. It's seasonal, vegetarian (aside from my opting for chicken stock), and just plain yummy.

There hasn't been any pasta on the menu yet for the week, so for Wednesday, we'll turn back to Sprouts' $1.27 a pound asparagus on the last day of that sale to do a veggie-laden pasta dish, fettucine with peas, asparagus, and pancetta from Bon Appetit. It just has a touch of pancetta for flavor, and I'd normally omit the cream from something like this, but the CBS morning show just did a feature on fat being good for us, so maybe it will stay in, woohoo!

Which gets us to Thanksgiving day, which is nearly figured out, more to come.

Get Thee To The Boulder Farmers' Market

Because it's the very last one in downtown Boulder for 2011. (There will be a special holiday market in Longmont on December 3rd and 4th.) For this weekend before Thanksgiving, you'll even find two local turkey farmers to serve you. As for the farm-fresh produce, here's what you can expect to find this fine fall morning, with its tiny dusting of snow.

Now At the Market
Greens
Braising Mix, Chard, Kale, Lettuce Mix, Salad Mix, Spinach, Tatsoi

Herbs
Catnip, Cilantro, Mint, Parsley, Sage

Vegetables
Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Burdock Root, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Fingerling Potatoes, Garlic, Horseradish, Leeks, Mini-English Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Pepper, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radish, Scallions, Sunchokes, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Winter Squash

Tomatoes
Green, Slicing

Fruit
Apples, Pears

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving Tasting Lineup

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, our Boulder natural grocery stores are pulling out the stops to lure your purchases. Here's, at a minimum, what will be available tomorrow.

Sprouts

11 am - 3 pm. "Join us for a country kitchen holiday brunch! Enjoy a taste of our holiday meals -- from turkey to potatoes, cranberries to pumpkin pie. Savor the flavors of the holidays!"

Sunflower

11 am - 1 pm. "Stop by to sample something right out of our weekly sales flyer!"

Pearl Street Whole Foods

"Saturday, November 19th

Holiday Tasting- Thanksgiving Main Dishes
1-4pm FREE

Stop by the store for a taste of some of our delicious Holiday main dish offerings. It's never too early to start planning the perfect Holiday meal!"

Superior Whole Foods

"Saturday, November 19th

Holiday Tasting- Holiday Side Dishes
3:00pm-6:00pm Free

Turkey is a Thanksgiving favorite! Join us and enjoy samples of Holiday menu sides that will enhance your Thanksgiving meal!"

Wow, that's a lot of tasting!

Truly Natural Turkey

I've previously alluded many times to the variables involved in "natural" meats, a very confusing and slippery area. Alfalfa's meat manager has this very good post outlining what you should see on the label if you want your turkey to be truly natural. You'll find such fine birds at some other stores, in addition to Alfalfa's, but the post gives you excellent information about what to look for.

Weekend Dinner Ideas

As we count our way to Thanksgiving, we still need to eat our way across the weekend, although lightening up even more than usual before the big feast is already coloring my plans. For tonight, chicken will make its last appearance on our table for the week, and in the form of chicken sausage, rather than the boneless, skinless breasts that are on sale for super-cheap at both Sprouts and Sunflower. (Sprouts has the chicken sausage on sale, too.) The star of the meal however will be polenta, which we haven't had in awhile. My favorite recipe for it is baked polenta with fontina and tomato sauce from Bon Appetit. Neither Bon Appetit nor Epicurious managed to get it onto their websites, but Simply Recipes has replicated it as polenta casserole (duly giving credit to Bon Appetit, good guys). Trust me, life is much easier when using an excellent jarred pasta sauce, rather than making the sauce from scratch. With the oven running, some of the $1.27 a pound asparagus from Sprouts will roast on the side.

We always make something big over the weekend to serve as an easy midweek reheat too, and with Thanksgiving looming, for tomorrow we'll opt for a vegetarian fall favorite, black bean chili with butternut squash and Swiss chard from Bon Appetit. The veggies might come from our final Boulder Farmers' Market tomorrow (sniff), although you'll find good prices on organic butternut at our local stores, too. With some fresh bread and salad with my homemade buttermilk dressing, its a comfort meal from heaven.

We need to fit in some fish somewhere, so for Sunday, I'm thinking it will be salmon, mustard greens, and potatoes with mustard-dill glaze, also from Bon Appetit. Instead of using baby potatoes, I'll chop some from my stock of organic russets that Vitamin Cottage is practically giving away at $1.69 for a five pound bag. I'm not sure where the salmon will come from - possibly the farmed Atlantic salmon that's $6.99 a pound at Sprouts. I might make a little extra glaze, and toss it with more of that sale asparagus from Sprouts, too.

And that will get us through to the weekday plans, although it's one heck of a week when it includes Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Recipe Guides

Like a lot of people, my Thanksgiving table tends towards traditional, with the turkey, dressing, and gravy being sacred unchangeable recipes. I do experiment with the sides, increasingly lightening them, and this year am looking forward to trying a beet salad recipe from a friend. If you're looking for some ideas for those parts of the feast you're willing to play with, there are a number of Thanksgiving guides to help you out. Check out Bon Appetit's 2011 Thanksgiving HQ, Thanksgiving recipes from Epicurious, Cooking Light's Magnificent Thanksgiving Menus, Saveur magazine's Thanksgiving guide, and Thanksgiving Menu Ideas from Whole Foods. There must be something perfect for your table within them.

Thanksgiving Tasting At Pearl WFM

The Pearl Street Whole Foods will switch its focus to main dishes for Thanksgiving for its next tastings, today and Saturday. (The Superior store will also offer a tasting of sides on Saturday from 3 to 6.) Here's what Pearl Street says:

Thursday, November 17th

Holiday Tasting- Thanksgiving Main Dishes
4-6:30pm FREE

Stop by the store for a taste of some of our delicious Holiday main dish offerings. It's never too early to start planning the perfect Holiday meal!

Saturday, November 19th

Holiday Tasting- Thanksgiving Main Dishes
1-4pm FREE

Stop by the store for a taste of some of our delicious Holiday main dish offerings. It's never too early to start planning the perfect Holiday meal!

This Week's Hot New Deals (IMHO)

Okay friends, this is it, the grocery shopping week that leads to Thanksgiving. We have new sales starting today at Alfalfa's, Sprouts, Sunflower, and Whole Foods, with only Vitamin Cottage continuing its current sale (thank you, Vitamin Cottage!), so there's a lot to cover. Here's what looks best to me of the new sales, IMHO, as always.

Alfalfa's new sale runs through December 6th, and I can see from their ad that they are matching Whole Foods' price on Diestel fresh all-natural turkeys at $2.49 a pound. To go with that, they have some good produce deals, including organic cranberries at $2.99 for 7.5 ounces (that's good, but Sunflower has a stunner at $2 this week), organic garnet yams for $1.29 a pound (same at Sprouts, but Sunflower beats both at 99 cents a pound), and five pound bags of organic russet potatoes for $2.29 each (a very good price indeed, but still outdone by Vitamin Cottage at the giveaway price of $1.69 a bag). I bet their homemade whole pumpkin pie is great at $9.99 each (apple for the same price at Whole Foods, but my vote goes to pumpkin this week). My favorite Lundberg rice blends are good at $2.79 for a one pound bag (but it looks like Sunflower has them for $2.50), and while I haven't yet tried the Oliv brand, $2.50 is a great price for an eight ounce bottle of organic salad dressing. Finally, bring a friend with you, since smoothies at their juice bar are BOGO.

At Sprouts through the 24th (they're taking this sale through Thanksgiving day), I'm particularly enthused about fresh asparagus for $1.27 a pound (it's conventional, but asparagus very often is). I'm also really happy to see all their bulk coffee, which I love because it includes a fair trade, organic decaf, on sale for just $7.99 a pound. In meat, boneless skinless chicken breasts are very good at $1.67 a pound (same at Sunflower) for value packs, but I'll mostly shy away from poultry prior to t-day, with the possible exception of chicken sausage, which is $2.99 a pound for Italian or parmesan. Several kinds of ground meats are 30% off, fresh farmed Atlantic salmon is $6.99 a pound, and boneless ribeyes are $9.99 a pound (but $8.99 a pound at Sunflower). Good deals in organic produce include grape tomatoes at $2.50 for a dry pint, Fuji or red delicious apples, and D'Anjou pears at $1.29 a pound, garnet yams for $1.29 a pound (same at Alfalfa's, but 99 cents at Sunflower), and three pound bags of yellow onions for $2.49. Also, the convenient, smaller 15ish ounce size can of Muir Glen organic tomatoes is quite good at $1.25 each, beating Sunflower's $1.50 sale, and Cascade Fresh sour cream is very good at just 99 cents for 16 ounces.

At Sunflower through the 30th, boneless skinless chicken breasts match Sprouts' price at an excellent $1.67 a pound for a family pack, if you really, really want more poultry this week. Cooked shrimp (smallish 41/50 count, even though they are called "large") are good at $4.97 a pound, their nice pork loin chops are $3.99 a pound, and boneless ribeyes are $8.99 a pound, beating Sprouts by $1 there. The stellar prices are in organic produce, where I'm going for fresh cranberries at just $2 for a 7.5 ounce bag, garnet or jewel yams and yellow or red onions all at 99 cents a pound, baby carrots at $1.50 a one pound bag, and 13 varieties or fresh herbs at just $1.50 a package, wow. Select Lundberg rice one pound packages are $2.50, and there are good prices on Horizon Organic butter, half and half, and cream cheese.

At Whole Foods through the 29th, organic acorn or butternut squash are good at $1 a pound, organic yellow onions are 99 cents a pound (matching Sunflower), and organic russet potatoes are also 99 cents a pound (but you'll do better buying the russets by the bag at Alfalfa's and especially at Vitamin Cottage). I will definitely jump on their excellent Market Made smoked salmon spread for $9.99 a pound, $4 off. Their own, festive and seasonal cranberry walnut bread is $2.99 a loaf. Laughing Cow Babybels are half off at $2.50, and their great, large pepperoni pizza makes an easy dinner at $8.99 each. Finally, Desert Essence Organics shampoo, conditioner, or lotion are stunning at $3.99 each, $5 off.

For turkey prices, don't forget my previously posted natural turkey price comparison.

One-Day Sale at Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 16th, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a quintet of special sales. Happy shopping!

Cranberries
2 for $3 (save $0.99/ea)

Cooked Shrimp 31/40
$9.99/lb (save $4/lb)

Pamela's Pancake Mix
$8.99/ea (save $6/ea)

Pistachios
$4.99/lb (save $3/lb)

Crave Brothers Mascarpone
2 for $5 (save $2.49/ea)