food & drink: Celebrating food - and moms - on Thanksgiving

Now, as an adult, I strive to help a little more than I used to, but truly, this is a holiday that my mom owns. So, we make trade-offs — she cooks for days; I provide grandchildren. She makes everyone’s favorites; I bring doughnuts and eggnog in the morning to eat while we watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade; my dad and I do all of the cleanup, she gets to watch “Miracle on 34th Street” with her granddaughters. I pretend the trade-offs are fair; she thinks they are.

I do, however, like to plan. So each year I read recipes, check out ingredients, and mentally plan what I “could” make for Thanksgiving dinner. And this year, with the holidays fast approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about our community. One of the few silver linings during this tough economic time has been the obvious caring that we Midwesterners show our neighbors. So, in an effort to keep my money and my business local, I began to plan the Perfect Ann Arbor Thanksgiving. First off, I am a traditionalist. If you eat meat, then you need to have a turkey for Thanksgiving. Luckily, Arbor Farms and The Produce Station have made that part easy for us, both stores offer Michigan raised, grain-fed turkeys from local farmers. I don’t much like thinking about the lives of turkeys, but if I have to, this quote from Arbor Farms helps: “Raised on pasture at Hillcrest Farm by David Schmucker of the Amish community in Homer, Michigan.” So with the turkey out of the way (at least mentally), it’s time to think side dishes. Now, remember, I come from a history of side dishes to please every attendee. But, for this menu, I am strictly sticking with my own favorites: Honey Roasted Root Vegetables:

Visiting the Farmers Market in fall, I am always amazed by the variety and abundance of squashes, gourds, and root vegetables. This recipe calls for many of the less popular root vegetables, but jazzing it up with honey (which you may still be able to get at Makielski’s Berry Farm, 7130 Platt Road, Ypsilanti, if they haven’t sold out yet) gives them a bit of pizzazz.

2 cups coarsely chopped peeled sweet potato (about 1 large) 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped peeled turnip (about 2 medium) 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped parsnip (about 2 medium) 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped carrot (about 2 medium) 1/4 cup tupelo honey 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 shallots, halved (I prefer more) Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450.°

Combine all ingredients except the cooking spray in a large bowl; toss to coat. Place vegetable mixture on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender and begin to brown, stirring every 15 minutes. Applesauce Area orchards can supply plenty of choices for your applesauce. Wasem Family Farm, 6580 Judd Road, Milan, had an abundant crop this year. Plus, the farm is running a fabulous program called “Apples for Others,” an incredible gift of sharing to bring the rest of the crop to those who are in need in our community.

A good bread Being a huge fan of carbs, I was feeling stumped about the best bread for my meal, until I talked to John and Gabe from Mill Pond Bread, 534 Sugarloaf Lake Road. Although they didn’t have it yet, they told me I would certainly want to wait for the Thanksgiving Stuffing Bread, a decadent blending of sage, thyme, parsley and black pepper in a thick crusty loaf. Oh, that makes me full just dreaming of it! This year’s dream menu also includes my friend Colleen’s incredible Dilly Beans. While it is a bit late in the season for green beans, my most recent trip to the market showed that they were still in abundance, which makes me crave this fantastic recipe:

Pickled Dilly Beans

For each pint jar you will need: 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 cup water 1 clove garlic, peeled 1/8 c. salt 1 head dill 1 c. vinegar 1 pint green beans Place in each clean jar the red pepper flakes, garlic, and dill. Pack the jars with beans (I pack them vertically in the jar). Bring the water, salt, and vinegar to a boil then pour over the beans. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the jars and put lids and rings on. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. So the dream menu is almost complete, but as usual, I am mentally too tired to think about dessert. This year I am just buying a couple of bags of Miscotti, a grab bag of assorted biscotti from The Biscotti Factory, 195 S. Main St., Northville, and a bag of Roos Roast coffee. However, if you are feeling adventurous, I highly suggest my mom’s sweet potato pie, which is always my husband’s pick (and might even be one of the reasons he married me!)

Mom's Sweet Potato Pie 10 inch pie shell, unbaked 2 3-ounce packages of cream cheese 2 1/2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Cream the cream cheese. Add the potatoes, cream, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat thoroughly with an electric mixer. Turn into the pie shell. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking another 30--40 minutes or until a silver knife inserted halfway between the center of the pie and the edge comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. (And thanks, Mom.)