Patience Crackstone and her husband Nathan toiled four days and nights to prepare their Thanksgiving offering, an earthy, roasted arrangement of carrots, squash and leeks that marinated hours in a ginger bath of water and stock before browning in a heavy skillet to bring out the sugars. They sat at the table in their Sunday best, exhausted, yet hopeful. There was much to celebrate.

The Crackstones joined in the First Thanksgiving to share the balance of their harvest and make friends with outsiders. Patience was smart enough to bring along a bottle of Tuaca, to smooth over the exhaustion and bring merriment to others. She blended it with cider and ginger ale, added whole cranberries and kumquats for colorful effect, and heated the brew over a bunsen burner. She enjoyed the hard cider with heavy whipping cream.

As did I, a small, dried blueberry who arrived late with appetizers in tow. It was my first, First Thanksgiving and I wanted to do it right. A blueberry with divergent tastes and a penchant for the nontraditional – hence the blueberry wig and not the pilgrim get-up – I knew my offering would have to satisfy palettes and tummies in a down home comfy way, yet also surprise and delight same palettes and tummies. I found this stuffed mushroom inspiration from one of my favorite blogs and tried out my fantasy sweet potato appetizer recommendation from last week. The Fantasy lives!!

Welcome to the joy of Rogue Rice, a supper club by way of quirky irreverence. My friends Katie and Lera spawned the idea last year – theme-based dinners that feature random concepts (for instance, All Things Pirate), yummy and reasonable food (you can’t spend more than $20 to prepare your offering), and of course, costumes. First Thanksgiving was a must and our team of foodies took to it with great gusto.

Sitting around the table, our collection of Crackstones, Native American goddesses (Skwantina Crackstone – she married Solomon Crackstone), Wishbones and Blueberries shared a meal of fantastic flavor.

Here’s what was on the Rogue Rice First Thanksgiving Menu (a little different to Patience’s all those years ago!):

Roasted Pork Loin
Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks and Nutmeg
Fall Salad with Persimmons, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Tangerine Vinaigrette
Ginger Infused Roasted Carrots, Squash and Leeks
Roasted Asparagus
Buttermilk biscuits
Pumpkin Cheesecake

I think we impressed ourselves. I know I was impressed, especially since our gluten-free Pilgrim Patience fared fantastically well – without us even trying. The only things she said ‘no’ to were the biscuits and the crust from the pumpkin cheesecake. Well done!

Over the evening, our Pilgrim talk – you know, how to survive another winter and where to source down for blankets and slippers – evolved into planning the next Rogue Rice event, which I’m thrilled to say will occur at my humble abode in late January (yes, I’ll have my furniture at last!). I’m keeping that theme under wraps for now. Unless, of course, you guess it, or better yet, share some ideas for future events. The more outlandish the better!!

Looking forward to hearing and sharing your Thanksgiving tales!

Carol

What are some of your family traditions around this Fall season?

It is such a fun time of the year for families, with lots of activities and the anticipation of the coming holidays! Halloween is only a week and a half away.  Costumes and candy are a necessity, of course; but what would Halloween be without a Jack-O-Lantern?

We went to a pumpkin patch last weekend.  It was crowded with people all searching for that perfect gourd while children, looking on the verge of tipping over, ran around carrying bowling ball sized pumpkins.  Even with all the competition, we managed to find (several) ideal pumpkins that would soon become victims of a carving massacre.  Sitting on the floor with my husband, surrounded by the gutted pumpkins, knives and pattern traces, I could feel a tradition in the making.  Although he is much more artistic than I am (all the interesting Jack-O-Lanterns are his), it was fun to work on this together and mutilate/enjoy the iconic image of Halloween.

With all these beautiful pumpkins around me, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try out some new dishes either. This was the first time I’d ever tried baking with fresh pumpkin (although, I did keep a can or two on the side just in case) and it was definitely an experience.  Although not all pumpkins are meant to be baked, I did scrape enough away to whip up some loaves of pumpkin bread and muffins (I used this recipe, although I added Rodelle vanilla extract and omitted the walnuts and frosting), attempted a pumpkin based soup (epic failure on my part, although the recipe looks delicious) and even made treats for the dogs!  After the soup fiasco, I felt the need to redeem myself and tried out a few of Rodelle’s Halloween recipes.  The Candy Corn Rice Crispy treats were so easy that my kitchen confidence was boosted immediately! And Rodelle’s rolled sugar cookies turned out amazingly for such a simple recipe.

Of course, Americans are not the only ones who have a supernatural day approaching.  Falling immediately after America’s Halloween, Dia de los Muertos spans the first two days of November, coinciding with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  Dia de los Muertos, celebrated mostly in Mexico, also includes family, friends and paranormal experiences.  People gather together to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed away, bringing gifts and their favorite foods to grave sites, hoping for a ghostly visit from long gone relatives.  There are several customary foods, like Pan de Muerto, that are made leading up to Dia de los Muertos.

Someday, I hope to get the chance to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.  For now, it’s time to display the Jack-O-Lanterns, hope that they don’t cave in and get ready for Halloween!   Do you create costumes together, carve pumpkins, hang up decorations?  We’d love to hear your stories!

Always,

Laura