Thanksgiving dinner is the most illustrious of all family meals. Its reputation precedes it, and by adding bakery favorites to your menu this year, you’ll have a scrumptious prelude, a lovingly-made main course, and a sweet ending to your delicious day.
Just the Right Size
While many people will be having larger family gatherings this year than last, there are still plenty who will be going smaller this Thanksgiving.
“There’s a lot of people out there who don’t need a huge package. Everyone should be able to eat and make their tummy happy and not have their pocketbook be broke,” said Maura Pulver, owner of Simply Food by Maura, at 666 Route 9, in Wilton.
For the first time, Simply Food by Maura will be offering their famous Take 5 Turkey Dinners for preorder in single-serving for Thanksgiving at a price of just $12/person (family size $75, serves 4-6) .
The dinner includes oven-roasted turkey with mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and biscuits.
“The turkey dinners we’ve really gotten down to a science, now,” she said, which is why they can keep the quality high and the price low.
From Five Points to a Tipping Point
Until it closed in August 2020, Pulver was the owner of Saratoga’s Five Points Market & Deli for more than eight years.
Since opening Simply Food by Maura 10 months ago, there’s more flexibility to do things a bit differently.
“We’re a very small operation and what we do is pretty amazing,” she said.
“Now we’re just simply food, so we’re putting out a good product and people can tell. The word is out now, so we’re at a tipping point.”
Maura wants to balance the growth of Simply Food with their ability to easily experiment with traditional foods given a special twist by using local suppliers including Driscoll Foods, Thomas Poultry, and Battenkill Valley Creamery.
“We’re both a little quirky and like doing things a little differently,” she said of herself and Kitchen Coordinator and Catering Consultant Lucia Valentine.
Time to be Together
This Thanksgiving, Simply Food by Maura will be taking preorders for Chocolate Stout, Pumpkin, and Apple Pie cupcakes, a selection of pies, and for a Brunch menu that includes a choice of quiche served with a curry butternut squash soup, their signature apple salad, and pumpkin muffins.
Excited by the opportunity to see her first grandson, Eli, and two of her four children at Thanksgiving this year, Maura is putting family first and closing Simply Food by Maura to the public that week, so preorders must be in by November 15 to be picked up on November 24 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
“We’ve all had our own challenges in this last year and a half, so we celebrate when we can. At Simply Food by Maura, we’re happy to do some of the work so people can take some time to reset, step back, and enjoy the holiday,” she said.
Early Birds Welcome
If you are too busy to pull-off a traditional holiday spread this year, just stop into Kelly’s Kitchen, 4300 NY-50, in Wilton.
In addition to their regular menu of breakfast and lunch items from local producers including Saratoga Tea & Honey, King Brothers Dairy, and Kru Coffee, they’ll also be offering all the best things about Thanksgiving together in one sandwich; with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry mayo, and a signature seasoning blend on their own house-made hard roll with a side of Saratoga Chips.
“It’s the feel of the season in a sandwich,” said Head Cook Katie Gall.
We’ll Do Dessert
For those who want to wait for turkey until the big day, Kelly’s Kitchen owner Kelly Groff suggests doing what she does for her own family dinners – bring dessert.
“Let us take dessert off your plate,” she said.
Kelly’s Kitchen is accepting preorders for a variety of dessert items including a harvest platter of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, cheesecakes in sizes from mini (which serves 2 to 4 people) up to 10” (serving 12 to 15), and pies with a rich, buttery, flakey crust that’s got the love cooked right in by Head Baker Felicia Garrison.
“We’re here to supply you with your favorite treats for the holidays,” said Kelly. You can preorder pastries including scones, Danish, turnovers, mini-muffins, and cinnamon rolls, as well as quiche, dinner rolls and cake pops.
Pick-up preorders on November 24 from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. and grab a Chicken Pot Pie dinner-to-go (that serves four), as well as a selection of other bakery items that will be ready for last-minute shoppers.
Eye on the Pie
Thanksgiving at Carolyn LeClair-Zinn’s house is all about family, hanging out all day, and eating food baked just like the way her mom used to do it. Everything is made by hand, from scratch, which is the same way she makes it for her customers at Sweet Caroline’s Bakery, at 20 Gordon Lane, in Wilton.
“I have the best, nicest customers in the world. This is fun because of my customers,” said Caroline.
She creates a staggering number of different pies and other bakery items using fresh ingredients from local producers including Saratoga Apple; the Vincek, Maple Valley, Buhrmaster, and Arial’s Farms; Sundae’s Best; Spoonful of Sugar; Upper Hudson Coffee Company; and local distributor Hillcrest Foods.
In addition to the traditional favorites, Sweet Caroline’s makes harvest berry, apple cranberry hazelnut, maple walnut, chocolate, coconut, and banana cream, as well as tempting chocolate bourbon pecan pies. Each pie serves 8.
The Feeling of Home
This Thanksgiving, Sweet Caroline’s Pies is also baking up more than the pies they’re famous for.
They are also accepting preorders for quiche in your choice of bacon scallion, garden vegetable, and several cheese and vegetable blends. Pastry platters are available in small (which serves 8) or large (which serves 12 to 16) and come with your choice of scones, cinnamon buns, Danish, and eclairs. Soft dinner rolls and Sweet Caroline’s award-winning carrot cake with cream cheese frosting will also be available.
Preorders can be picked up on November 24 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. A selection of hand-baked items will also be available to grab-and-go so you can make this Thanksgiving feel like the ones you remember.
“It’s tradition, it’s comfort. To me, food is about family, and it gives you that feeling of home,” said Carolyn.
