Happy Cooksgiving

The cotton harvest rules my life. Right now, it is finished in some parts of the country (TN, AR, AL, LA and MO)– and in others (GA, NC, CA, AZ, TX) it’s just gearing up. Because of weather, crop size, and conditions we never know from year to year if we’ll have the Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving off or be working. Depending on the year, some customers serve their employees a Thanksgiving meal between shifts while others might knock off the night shift.

On Monday it was decided on we’d be closed both days this year. Because I never know 'till the last minute what my schedule will be like, I rarely make plans ahead of time - and almost never for out of town. This year I’ve been invited to join friends at their mountain house in the town of Boone North Carolina. It’s about 23 miles east of the Tennessee state line and 54 miles south of Virginia. I’ll make the 3 hour drive when I get off work tomorrow night.

I am so happy to be included in their holiday, I asked if I could do the cooking while I was there to show my gratitude at their kindness. Since they had “Family Thanksgiving” on Sunday – and I had “Office Thanksgiving” today – I decided to by-pass the traditional holiday foods – and instead created a “Localvore Fall Menu”

Here’s the menu – with a few links.

Thurs Breakfast:

Winter Frittata Recipe

Toast

Fruit (apples, cranberries, oranges)

Thurs Lunch:

Nibbly stuff - cheese ball, cured meats, nuts, cheese, sliced apples

Thurs Dinner: (Early)

Chicken in Riesling (without new potatoes)

Butternut squash with Arugula

Carrots in Chermoula

Homemade bread

Lemon Curd Tart w/Cranberries

Friday Breakfast:

Orange Marmalade French Toast Casserole

Link Sausage

Friday Lunch:

Nibbly stuff - cheese ball, cured meats, nuts, cheese, sliced apples

Friday Dinner:

Honey Cured Pork Loin with Peppery Juniper & Fennel Seed Rub

Cabbage Braised with smokey ham

Orange Couscous Timbales

Risotto Rice Pudding

Saturday Breakfast: Omelets

Bacon English

Muffins

Saturday Dinner: (when you return frozen from the Appalachian State game)

Corn and Spinach Chowder

Bread

Fruit Salad

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. I’ll be checking in from time to time, as they have wireless access in the home!