Thanksgiving’s Best Birds, Pies & Sides

Thanksgiving’s Best Birds, Pies & Sides: The Macy’s 95th Thanksgiving Day Parade is back – you may recall last year’s parade was not a parade. Just a staged show in Herald Square. This year they will return to their traditional route starting on 77th St. & Central Park West. Alas, the Stamford Downtown Parade Spectacular will not return this year. But there will be football and nothing changes in the kitchen.

So we put together our annual Thanksgiving’s Best, Birds, Pies & Sides for your culinary delight and convenience. And we have you covered whether you want to apron up the whole thing by yourself or outsource the prep and sides. And, of course, there’s the pies…

Where To Outsource Thanksgiving This Year

Chef Roxanne Spruance from The Barn at Bedford Post Inn: This year The  chefs Roxanne Spruance, Sarah Gouse & Luke Deardurff are offering full Thanksgiving to go dinners you can execute at home. The turkeys are prepped, brined, trussed, stuffed with aromatics, and ready to roast (pan, instructions and thermometer included!). All side dishes are fully prepped to cook or reheat and plate with full instructions. From Parker House rolls, and sausage stuffing & gravy to pecan pie with cinnamon whipped cream.

A Food Network Chopped! champion, Chef Roxanne’s Curriculum Vitae includes stints as Chef de Partie under world-renowned Chef Wylie Dufresne at New York’s WD~50, and a Sous Chef position at Blue Hill at Stone Barns under Dan Barber. In 2016 she opened Kingsley, a French-American restaurant that was named Zagat’s Best New Restaurant and Best American Restaurant that year. During her tenure it earned a Michelin Recommendation and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

Chef Mark Kramer Thanksgiving Fest 2021 from Susan Lawrence Gourmet Foods: Fully prepped turkeys are already sold out at Chappaqua’s Susan Lawrence. But you can order a hot of sides that will elevate your Thanksgiving table throughSaturday, November 20. Including turkey gravy with natural pan drippings. Traditional ready made bread stuffing. Cranberry and fresh raspberry relish. Hot crab and artichoke dip. Old fashioned corn bread loaves and whipped honey pomegranate butter. Autumn roasted butternut squash soup. Sweet potato casserole with brown sugar, lemon and spices. And, of course, their exquisite pumpkin, old-fashioned apple or maple leaf pecan pies. (26 N. Greeley Ave., Chappaqua, 914.238.8833; www.susanlawrence.com)

Whole Foods Epic Thanksgiving Menus: You can reserve your Thanksgiving dinner online for pickup from your local Whole Foods Market store. You can get a Thanksgiving feast for 12 for just $299 that includes a roast turkey and a spiral sliced ham, all the sides, with brioche rolls, apple and pumpkin pie. Or check out their Thanksgiving menus complete with recipes and cooking instructions for a large or small gathering. Including instructions for a dry-brined bird they say will be the crispiest and juiciest you’ve even had. They even offer a Vegan and a Vegetarian menu. (www.wholefoodsmarket.com)

Turkey fresh from the farm

Harvest Moon in North Salem: Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard is still taking orders for their farm-raised, fresh Thanksgiving turkeys. They raise Heritage Breed – Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys with the extra veggies and apples they grow. Their birds are 100% antibiotic free, never administered any hormones, and spend their entire lives foraging on open pasture on their upstate Farm. They also offer 11 kinds of fruit and pumpkin pies. (130 Hardscrabble Rd., North Salem, 914.485.1210; www.harvestmoonfarmandorchard.com)

Beyond Turkey at Quattro’s Poultry Farm & Gourmet Market: If you haven’t ordered your wild turkey from Quattro’s yet you are way late. They start taking Thanksgiving orders on October 1. The good news is they don’t start taking Christmas orders until the day after Thanksgiving. You can order Wild Turkey, Heritage Turkey, Geese, Ducks, Pheasants and Venison for your holiday table. Reserve by phone 845-635-2018. You can pick up your order at their farm store  or at the farmer’s markets in Union Square on Saturdays or Rhinebeck on Sundays.

Derek Todd of Wine Geeks Armonk says Chardonnay is a perfect match for turkey and the Chavy-Chouet ‘Les Femelottes’ $28.99 from Burgundy in France is a wonderful white Burgundy featuring all declassified Puligny-Montrachet fruit. A subtle kiss of oak on the finish ties nicely to the “Butterball” on the table. For a great value, Derek likes the Michel Guignier Beaujolais $16.99, a little wine that punches above its weight. Or for a real treat, the Scar of the Sea Pinot Noir  ’Bassi Vineyard’ from San Luis Obispo, CA $42.99. This Pinot, the king of versatility in wine pairings deserves a spot at the Thanksgiving Table. (559 Main St., Armonk, 914.273.9463)

Where to buy Thanksgiving Pies

Salinger’s Orchard, Brewster: This is still the 0ur go-to place to shop Thanksgiving pies. Bruce Salinger’s Orchards in Brewster (just off Hardscrabble Rd. (Exit 8 on 684) grows and sells 18 varieties of apples, as well as pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, pumpkins, tomatoes and other local vegetables. Not to mention pure local honey. His wife Maureen, does the baking and makes “incredible fruit pies at incredible prices,” including apple, apple crumb, apple walnut caramel, blueberry, peach, cherry, mixed berry, strawberry rhubarb, red raspberry (our fave) pumpkin and pecan. Your mom/grandma will love the apple strudel. They make great chocolates too. (230 Guinea Rd., Brewster, 845.277.3521; www.salingersorchard.net)

Hard Facts About The Turkey 

How much to buy: 1 ¼ to 1 ½ lbs per person depending on how much you like left-overs.

Heat oven to 450 degrees and drop to 350 when you put the turkey in the oven.

Cook turkey to 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the thigh.

Plan on 13 minutes of cooking time per pound if roasting or 15 minutes per pound if stuffed.

Stuffing your turkey? Just don’t do it! 

Alton Brown, host of Iron Chef America says “turkey stuffing is evil!” That’s because the porous stuffing in the middle of the bird can soak up juices that may contain salmonella bacteria. If you do this you must heat the stuffing to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. And because the stuffing will take longer than the rest of the bird to reach 165 – you’ll wind up drying out your turkey. PS – Alton Brown also says, “if you cook the stuffing outside of the bird it is no longer stuffing, it’s dressing.” Adjust to the nomenclature.