A Very Local Thanksgiving

This year, we hosted Thanksgiving for 12 people. I tend to go a bit overboard on Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception. Even though the local restriction made it more labor intensive, we managed a completely local dinner, followed by completely local dessert. And despite the extra work, my husband and I agree that this year was the best and most organized yet.

My big work day was on Wednesday, (with the help of many--Dan, Karen and my dad), but really the work began throughout the week before, when I roasted and pureed the pumpkins for the pie filling, baked 2 loaves of bread for stuffing crumbs, and shopped for all of the ingredients. Here was what we had:

Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Rutabaga Puree
Brussel Sprouts
Cannellini Beans with Kale
Salad
Rolls
Local Cheeses
Homemade Crackers
Cranberry Sauce
Gravies - 1 vegetarian, 1 meat
Pies - 2 Apple, 2 Pumpkin

We managed to make everything from local ingredients. Our flour came from Fairhaven Organic Flour Mill, butter from Tillamook,  Apples from Eastern Washington, Cranberries from the UW Farmer's Market, milk from Golden Glen Creamery, cheese from Mt. Townsend Creamery, our pumpkins came from Rent's Due Ranch, Cannellini Beans from our stash of beans from Central Bean Company, our wine came from a variety of local wineries (thanks to our guests), and our Turkey came from Crown S Ranch in the Methow Valley. The veggies we served all came from the farmer's market the week before, from a variety of farms that are local.

In the end we had a great local feast, and a great celebration.

The bread crumbs for the stuffing  from the french bread I baked...

Pie crusts - 6 in total, all butter, all local

Homemade crackers with rosemary and kosher salt

Parker House rolls for dinner

Local cranberries, which I made with pears, honey, and lemon juice.

Pumpkin Pies

Preparing the crusts for the apple pies

Apple pies with Granny Smith apples from Eastern Washington

Potatoes on the upper left, Cannellini Beans and Kale lower left and Ruttabaga Puree on the lower right.

The table.

The turkey. Sage stuffed and buttered up.

The proud couple.