Talking turkey too

Wow, it's NOVEMBER already and time to start planning for my favorite holiday -- Thanksgiving. Fleisher's markets (which sell grass-fed, local, sustainably raised meat) are holding a couple of Thanksgiving preparation open houses this weekend, where they will serve samples of their prepared holiday meals, showcase wines that are turkey-friendly, and present demos on turkey trussing and carving and creating the perfect cheese plate. The first is today from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kingston store at 307 Wall Street. The second takes place on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at the Rhinebeck shop at 47 E. Market St.

And don't forget -- as a treat to Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine readers, we've included a free download of last year's column about brining as the way to make the most delicious turkey, written by our food columnist Tom Griffiths. Tom is a noted chef and an associate dean at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park -- and he knows what he's talking about. We've also repeated a list of wines that pair extraordinarily well with holiday foods, as suggested by our wines columnist, CIA wine and spirits professor Michael Arthur Weiss. Please visit the magazine's Web site to download the pages and let me know how you enjoy it!

How about them apples (and pears)?

In the October issue of Hudson Valley Connoisseur magazine, Jessica Bard has a great article on hard apple cider – the magical drink you get when you let apple juice ferment into alcohol. She included a nice guide to local sources that produce exceptional hard cider on a regular basis such as Warwick Valley Winery in Orange County and Hilltop Orchards & Furnace Brook Winery in Richmond, Massachusetts (near Lenox.) As far as I am concerned, a well-made hard cider ranks right up there with good sparkling wines made from grapes.

I also am a big fan of hard pear cider (perry) and was heartbroken when Elizabeth Ryan’s cider mill at Breezy Hill Farm in Staatsburg burned a few years ago. Elizabeth produced an exceptional perry. Thankfully I discovered that the Warwick Valley Winery Doc’s Draft Hard Pear Cider is also delicious. In her article, Jessica shared the news that Breezy Hill may resume cider production soon, and that Montgomery Place Orchards might be producing some hard cider on a limited basis.

Last Saturday I headed out for some shopping at the Montgomery Place farm stand on Route 9G in Red Hook near Bard College. What a crowd when we got there! Granted, the farm’s produce is outstanding but still I have never seen the place with both parking lots filled, and cars parked across the road. Turns out they were having an apple pie contest. It was much too busy for me to ask farmer Thalia Finke which apple varieties made up the winning pie, but I’ll have to follow up on that. (I picked up some Northern Spy for my own pie and some nice Empires for eating fresh, because they didn’t have any of my new fave -- Honeycrisp -- on hand.)

And they did have hard apple cider, packaged in cute pint canning jars! But as I got there, they were out of the jars. The staff assured me they would be making more. Can’t wait!