Thanksgiving’s Best Birds, Pies, Parades 2018

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Thanksgiving's Best Birds Pies & Parades 2019

Big Turkeys at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchards

Thanksgiving’s Best Birds, Pies, Parades 2018: Here’s a handy guide to where to shop for Turkey Day and what to do on Thanksgiving Weekend.

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.” Live with the nomenclature.

Where to buy your turkey?

Chappaqua Village Market is the go to place for Thanksgiving Turkey if you live in 10514. They sell Bell & Evans All Natural Premium Turkeys 10-32 lbs; D’Artagnan Certified Organic Fresh Premium Turkey 8-28lbs and Rare Heritage D’Artagnan Fresh Premium Turkey 8-11lbs. Plus fresh wild game (must be ordered by 11/6) and pies. (12 King St., Chappaqua, 914.238.4948; www.chappaquavillagemarket.com)

Village Prime Meats, our favorite Armonk store, is the gourmet’s choice in 10504. There you can get an all natural, fresh killed Plainville Turkey (10-30lbs) at just $3.99 per pound. Plainville turkeys are raised on a small farm in upstate NY with no hormones or antibiotics. (475 Main St., Armonk, 914.273.5222)

Turkey fresh from the farm

Harvest Moon in North Salem: If you want to go straight to the farm try Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard in North Salem. They raise Heritage Breed – Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys with the extra veggies and apples they grow. These vegetarian fed and antibiotic/hormone free birds range in size from 17-28 lbs. Their birds, priced at $5.50 per lb. have “less fat so they naturally cook faster!” They also offer 11 kids of fruit and pumpkin pies. (130 Hardscrabble Rd., North Salem, 914.485.1210; www.harvestmoonfarmandorchard.com)

John Boy’s Farm/Outpost: John Ubaldo’s farm, in Pound Ridge, offers two varieties: a rare Heritage from the 1800’s called White Holland, and the more typical Bronze Turkeys, which are one of the most popular American breeds. Turkeys are roughly 16 to 24 pounds and sell for $7.25 per lb. You must order your turkey by email and then pick it up at John Boy’s Outpost in Bedford. To order please email: johnboysmarket@aol.com (1 Court Rd., Bedford)

Outsourcing your bird?

According to the National Turkey Federation, 91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. But a study by the consumer research firm NPD Group, one in three households will not cook their own turkey. If you’re one of the 33% who flip the bird duties to someone else…

Susan Lawrence Gourmet Foods: Chef Mark Kramer can ease your load so you can watch the parade and the dog show. His Free Range Natural Stuffed Fresh Turkey is seasoned with fresh herbs and pre-basted in with butter and brandy. His Thanksgiving menu offers a host of Hors d’oeuvres, sides, soups, pies and festive holiday desserts and breads. (16 N. Greeley Ave., Chappaqua, 914.238.8833; www.susanlawrence.com)

Where to buy Thanksgiving Pies

Salinger’s Orchard, Brewster: Our favorite pie source come from Bruce Salinger’s Orchards in Brewster (just off Hardscrabble Rd. (Exit 8 on 684) Bruce 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, peach, red raspberry (our fave) pumpkin and pecan. Your mom will love the apple strudel. (230 Guinea Rd., Brewster, 845.277.3521; www.salingersorchard.com)

Where to buy sausage for your stuffing

John Boy’s Outpost, in Bedford, has the most amazing pork sausage without casing for $16 per lb. John told us, “it’s just straight up ground pork” from his Pound Ridge farm’s Berkshire pigs. He just adds salt, pepper and sage. “The pigs live in the woods I grind my own feed with no chemicals and US sourced organic vitamins and minerals only.” (1 Court Rd., Bedford, 914.205.3900)

Village Prime Meats: Angelo’s breakfast sausage in casing, at $9.99 per lb., is the only sausage we buy for the AM. Works great in a turkey stuffing too. Angelo grinds the sausage himself using finest quality pork butts and his own secret seasoning recipe. (475 Main St., 914.273.5222)

From pigs to pigskin

Chicago at Detroit on CBS at 12:30pm

Washington at Dallas on Fox at 4:30pm

Atlanta at New Orleans on NBC at 8:20pm

If you love a parade… Thanksgiving starts on 11/18

Thanksgiving officially begins at 9am with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. More than 50 million people will tune into the broadcast. If you are crazy person you will attempt to see the parade live. Prepare to line up as early as 6:30 am if you want to be in the front row. The best place to watch? Try Central Park West between 61st and 72nd Streets. Macy’s advises people to leave folding chairs at home.

UBS Spectacular, Stamford, Sun, 11/18: 12pm: If you are not a crazy person but still would like to take your kids to a parade try the UBS Parade Spectacular in Stamford. This low stress version of the Macy’s Parade delivers 12 marching bands and 16 colossal helium balloons (up to 60 feet high) including Shrek, Mr. Potato Head, Bob the Builder, Scooby Doo, Kung Fu Panda Paddington Bear and more. (Stamford Downtown)

What To Do Thanksgiving Weekend

Local! Ice Skating at The Harvey School, Fri, 11/23 & Thurs, 12/27: 12:45-2:45pm: In cooperation with The Harvey School, Jim Whiting and his staff at Bedford Recreation offers two hours of public skating for all ages at The Harvey School ice rink on the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas. There will be a DJ spinning fave tunes and requests. Admission is just $5 and you must provide your own skates and no hockey playing. (The Harvey School, 260 Jay St., Katonah; www.bedfordny.gov)

Bedford Turkey Trot, Sat, 11/24: 9am: Billed as “the hardest 5K in New York”, the Turkey Trot raises funds for Bedford Community Table/Pantry. The course begins at Bedford Village Elementary School, climbs to the top of Indian Hill Road, not for the faint of heart, and finishes at Bedford Village Memorial Park. There is also a 2-mile walk. Pre-registration required. (Bedford Village Elementary School, Court St., Bedford; www.bedfordturkeytrot.org)

Last Week! The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, Van Cortland Manor – Select evenings from Fri, 9/28-Sat, 11/24: Walk through a path of 5,000 hand-carved, illuminated jack o’lanterns set against an historic, 18th-century riverside landscape. Highlights include a headless horseman, a working doomsday grandfather clock, and gourd filled jack in the boxes, and dinosaurs from Jurassic Park – all made out of jack-o-lanterns. With sound effects, synchronized lighting and an original soundtrack by recording artist Richard Christy. Advance tickets required. (525 S. Riverside Ave., Croton on Hudson; www.hudsonvalley.org)

Twiddle: Friendsgiving, Capitol Theater, Fri-Sat, 11/23-24: 8pm: Standouts at festivals such as Red Rocks and Bonnaroo, Twiddle comes to the Cap for two nights. The Bozeman, MT-based bluegrass quartet Kitchen Dwellers will open for them on Friday night and The Rrik Krasno Band will open for them on Saturday. Guitarist Fresno (Lettuce) has written, performed and produce Grammy-winning efforts with worked with Tedeschi Trucks, The Derek Trucks Band, Ledisi and Roberth Randolph. (149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; www.capitoltheatre.com)

Terrapin & Soulshine, Dead/Allman Tributes, Tarrytown Music Hall, Sat, 11/24: 8pm: A jam-filled evening celebrating two of the most iconic rock acts in music history, The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers. (13 Main St., Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Hot ticket Alert! Acoustic Hot Tuna, Ridgefield Playhouse, Sun, 11/25: 7:30pm: See acoustic Hot Tuna in the intimate Ridgefield Playhouse. This iconic duo who presaged the Americana movement performed Tuna classics and a virtual history of traditional American music at Caramoor two years ago in an event we were fortunate to catch. Great show! (80 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

WTD Fave Rave: New York Botanical Garden’s Train Show: Sat, 11/17-Mon, 1/21/2019: NYBG’s Holiday Train Show in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory features more than a dozen large scale model train sets (some super-sized) zipping across a quarter mile of track and a landscape of 140 scaled replicas of iconic New York City buildings made of bark, twigs, fruit, seeds and pine cones. Including, the original Penn Station and Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Brooklyn Bridge. An absolute must do event! (2900 Southern Blvd. Bronx; www.nybg.org)

Local! Westchester’s Winter Wonderland, Kensico Dam Plaza: Fri, 11/23-Mon, 12/31: 5-10pm Fri-Sat, 5-9pm on Sun & weeknights: Friends of Westchester Parks & Westchester Medical Center’s Winter Wonderland features a Holiday Circus, Santa Experience, Musical Light Show, outdoor ice rink, a FUNderland Village with 12 rides and food trucks. Plus special events including a Tree Lighting on Fri, 11/23: 6pm and a Family New Year’s Party with pyrotechnics and a ball drop 12/31. (1 Bronx River Parkway, Valhalla; www.winterwonderland.com)

USA Today’s Ten Best Holiday Tours: Holiday Mansion Tours at Lyndhurst: Fri-Sun, 11/23-15: This year, Lyndhurst opens the holiday season with an “Explore at Your Own Pace” event. Visitors can walk through the mansion without a guided tour and view the holiday decorations in this historic mansion at their own pace. The rooms include a Victorian Christmas; antique children’s toys from the Gould collection; a room dedicated to gorgeous glass Christopher Radio ornaments; the Gilded Age dining room set for Christmas supper, and the famous upside-down tree in the Picture Gallery. (635 S. Broadway, Tarrytown; www.lyndhurst.org)

Local! Santa Comes to Katonah on Shop Small Saturday – Sat, 11/24: 10am-2pm: How convenient. Start your shopping locally, say hey to the jolly old elf and get a free candy cane.

Local! Small Business Saturday: 11/24: American Express card members can earn up to 2X rewards at qualifying small businesses with an enrolled American Express card. Hundreds of local shops and restaurants will participate. To register your card and see who is playing go to www.americanexpress.com)

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center: Fri, 11/23-Sun, 12/30:check times: Balanchine’s Nutcracker premiered at Manhattan’s City Center in 1954 and has been staged in NYC every year since. It is the most famous staged production of the ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s legendary score in the US. The production features elaborate stage elements, the most famous of which is the one-ton Christmas tree that grows from a height of 12 feet to 40 feet. (62-65 St. at Columbus Ave., NYC; www.nycballet.com)

Polar Express in Imax, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk : Fri-Sun, 11/23 -12/23: check dates & times: The Polar Express returns to the six story high IMAX® screen at the Norwalk Aquarium. Based on the Caldecott Award-winning book by Chris Van Allsburg about a boy who doesn’t believe in Santa Clause, and his magical trip to the North Pole. Polar Express has become a holiday classic on big screens and small. (10 North Water Street, Norwalk, CT; www.maritimeaquarium.org)

Local Santa! Armonk’s Frosty Day Parade, Sun, 11/25: 12:30-4:30pm: Activities begin at 12:30pm with train rides, clowns, magicians, Build-A-Frosty, face painting, cookie decorating, dance & music in Armonk Square, Frosty cartoons at the library, Frosty photo opps and a visit from Santa. The parade begins at 4pm and features more than 40 local groups, floats, music, costumes and an invitation to everyone to join the march down Main Street. Followed by a tree lighting ceremony at 4:30pm. Please remember to donate to Frosty’s Winter Warmth Project. (Downtown, Armonk; www.armonkfrosty.com)

A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Palace Stamford, Sat, 11/24: 1 & 4pm: the Emmy® and Peabody award-winning story by Charles M. Schulz, has warmed the hearts of millions of fans since it first aired on television over fifty years ago. Now the classic animated television special comes to life in this faithful stage adaptation featuring all of your favorite characters and classic Vince Guaraldi score. Join, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the Peanuts gang as they mount a play , save a tree and uncover the true meaning of Christmas. (61 Atlantic St., Stamford; www.palacestamford.org)