Hello my friends,
It’s the best sort of week, a short one! With just 3 days to Thanksgiving, there are so many recipes, errands, and projects to squeeze into the week and so much to share with you before the long weekend:
Thanksgiving: I want you to have the very best Thanksgiving holiday. And while I think it’s important, so important, to have a plan for the day, please allow yourself some surprises. I just rediscovered David Lebovitz’s glorious Chocolate Pecan Pie and I think it will delight the nut lovers in my family. I’m also digging Jennifer Perillo’s Pumpkin Slab Pie, perhaps the just-right sort of tray to leave on the counter, partially covered, for when someone needs to carve off a little bite. I’m also making my new recipe for Cranberry Crumb Muffins for the morning of the big day. The tart cranberries wake you up, urging you to get ready for the day. If you’re still looking for recipe ideas, visit my Thanksgiving board.
Cranberry Crumb Muffins: I’ll post the recipe for these delicious and light muffins on Wednesday morning, so please check back. To help fill out your shopping list, you’ll need: oatmeal, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, baking powder, whole milk, eggs, salt, fresh or frozen cranberries and maple syrup. I promise, they’re worth it!
Thanksgiving Cocktails (!!!): As important as the meal, the cocktail program is set for my Thanksgiving. It’s simple. As soon as guests arrive, they are handed a flute to which I’ve added 2 tablespoons of Pear Vanilla Syrup, 2 tablespoons of bourbon, and about 3 ounces of dry sparkling wine. My pear-vanilla syrup has a little ginger in it, so I’ll skewer a piece of candied ginger to lay across the glass or tumble in a few slices of fresh pear for garnish. After the meal, which will inevitably include a smorgasbord of white wine, red wine, and beer, we’ll break for dessert and my Irish Cream. I’ve lightened it up using an unsweetened coconut milk and, honestly, it’s just great.
Small Business Saturday: Get through Thanksgiving and then come back to Eat Boutique on Saturday for a special saving. We’re going to celebrate Small Business Saturday by offering a discount on Saturday, November 30. The ONLY way you’ll get the discount is to be subscribed to our newsletter, so please do that right now (it’s in the right hand column of this site). We’ll email you a discount code at 9AM on Saturday morning so be on the look out for that love note (from moi!)
Holiday Pop-Up: Over the weekend, I revealed the location of our first-ever month-long Eat Boutique Holiday Pop-Up Shop in Boston. We’ll be open on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from December 4-21 at 1377 Boylston Street in the Fenway. Look for our very pretty window, and me with bells on! Seriously, this 3-week event will be filled with some of the same food gifts from our online shop, plus brand new ones we brought in just for Boston, as well as events with makers and cookbook authors. Prepare for collaborations with Union Square Donuts, Island Creek Oysters, Black Magic Coffee, and another one that’s just too good (oh my goodness). Bookmark our full schedule. While the shop is open to the public, some of these events will be ticketed so you’ll need to keep your eye on that page to snag your place for a special event.
Holiday Gift Collection: Our new Holiday Gift Collections are live and you’ve been ordering them already – thank you so much! I want to make sure you know that we have limited quantities of every gift collection so if you have your heart set on our Holiday Breakfast Collection for someone special, please order yours now – we are happy to ship later in December. You must also know that we’ll guarantee Christmas delivery if your order is placed before December 16 (for the U.S.) and before December 18 (for northeastern U.S.) – so please don’t delay.
Cookbooks: As some of you know, I met two amazing cookbook authors last week, Gabrielle Hamilton (Prune) and Dorie Greenspan (Baking Chez Moi). They both knocked my socks off with their talent and candid thoughts on this industry and their recipes. Dorie signed a copy of her cookbook for me, and, well, that’s probably one of the first times this all got very real (see what she wrote, below). Is it okay to say “I love her”…? I hope so.
Have the best week, an amazing holiday, and let’s talk bright and early on Saturday,
Maggie xox
Photos courtesy of Maggie Battista.
Eat Boutique discovers the best small batch foods by boutique food makers and shares our version of #foodgiftlove. We share recipes, maker stories and city guides to eating boutique. We host tasting events and markets for food makers, cookbook authors and food fans. We craft seasonal, regional gift and tasting boxes and sell individual items that you can order in the Eat Boutique Shop.
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