2012 Holiday Planning & Entertaining

Holiday

PLANNING AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOVEMBER 2012

Entertaining with Family & Friends A production of the Mid-Valley Media’s Advertising Department

Local food for your holiday feast Here’s the perfect music for a perfect bash

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THE PERFECT DISPLAY

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Candles: Offering a festive touch to the season | by Maria L. Kirkpatrick

One such candle, Lampton said, is a pillar candle made with translucent wax so additions of candy and spice and everything nice can be seen. A particularly attractive one, Lampton said, is made with spiced apples. It’s fun to look at and the scent matches the visual ingredients.

Candlestick/taper holder

Candles would just be light without their added oil fragrances. Every season seems to have a particular smell associated with it and fall and winter wouldn’t be as yummy without the scents of warm pumpkin and evergreen. Think peppermint spice and it’s just as nice. For those homes without a baker in the kitchen, the smell of cinnamon rolls, warm sugar cookies and pecan pie are just a match light away.

Lantern candleholder

Pillar holder

Candles all aglow cast brilliance and emit tantalizing, memoryrecalling scents during the holiday season.

Apothecary jar

They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be used to create all sorts of displays.

From tall and thick to short and pretty to tiny tea lights, candles are big during the holidays.

Votive holder

Tealight holder

Pat Lampton at The Inkwell Home Store in Corvallis said all shapes and sizes are huge this time of year.

“You can make them centerpieces or fit them into arrangements,” Lampton said.

Also popular are tea lights for use in decorations and luminarias.

Lampton likes to line his driveway with luminaria bags lit with tea candles.

“They are inexpensive but look terrific,” he said.

Lampton generously adds to his candle stock during the holidays, allowing for ever-growing festive displays throughout the store.

He said candles are an inexpensive way to light and add fragrance to the holidays. Manufacturers and artists are adding to candles in such a way that they become artwork on display.

For the most part, candles are consumable. Lampton said unless they are a decorative shape or depict a character, people burn through their candles. Every year new colors and scents are available replacements.

Store shelves are full of paraffin candles, beeswax candles and soybase candles. Each have their own specific qualities and benefits.

Paraffin candles tend to be cheaper and burn faster. However, they are made from petroleum and produce carcinogens and soot when burned.

Soy and beeswax candles tend to cost a bit more with soy significantly

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Mid-Valley Newspapers, November 6, 2012 Fire safety should be a No. 1 priority during the holidays as residents use candles for decoration and ambience.

More than 15,000 candle fires are reported annually and, according to fire experts, the bulk of candle-fire incidents are due to consumer inattention to basic fire safety or to the misuse of candles.

Keep Safety in Mind With Candles

While home candle fires have been on the decline, the National Candle Association promotes candle safety and urges consumers to be careful when burning candles.

Debbie Williams at The Vintage Roost Seasonal Gift Shop sells soy wax candles and prefers them for their clean burning benefits and safety factors as they burn at a low temperature. “I once had one burning on my counter and a customer inadvertently knocked it over toward me,� she said. “It splattered all over my smock and even on to my face, but it

was not hot and it washed out of my clothing wonderfully.�

Williams prefers jar candles because they burn straight down and the flame is contained inside the jar.

The National Candle Association and U.S. fire-safety officials advise homeowners to always keep a burning candle within sight as more than half of all candle fires start when something flammable is too close to the candle flame.

December is the peak time of year for home candle fires.

Here’s advice from the National Fire Protection Association about candle safety: • Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets. Do not place lighted candles where they can be knocked over by children, pets or anyone else.

• Trim candlewicks to Âź inch each time before burning. Long or crooked wicks cause uneven burning and dripping. • Always use a candleholder speciďŹ cally designed for candle use. The holder should be heat resistant, sturdy and large enough to contain any drips or melted wax. • Be sure the candleholder is placed on a stable, heat-resistant surface. This also will help prevent possible heat damage to counters and table surfaces and prevent glass containers from cracking or breaking. • Keep the wax pool free of wick trimmings, matches and debris at all times. • Always read and follow the manufacturer’s use and safety instructions carefully. Don’t burn a candle longer than the manufacturer recommends. • Never, ever leave a candle unattended.

Prepared by your Market Chefs, our signature recipes combine creative genius, local flair and high-quality ingredients for your holiday enjoyment.

Main course selections include Shelton’s Free-Range Turkey, All Natural Beeler’s Honey-Glazed Carving Ham or Vegetarian Stuffed Squash. To complete your meal, choose from an array of scrumptious scratchmade sides. And don’t forget dessert!

Sample Thanksgiving Meal items Saturday, /PW UI QN BU your Corvallis Market.

Please place orders at your Market Kitchen and Bakery for Thanksgiving by Monday, Nov. 19th

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Continued from page 2 costing less than beeswax. Beeswax has greater oil retention resulting in longer lasting fragrance. Soy candles are derived from the soybean. Beeswax candles, which have a slightly longer burn time, are harvested from beehives. Soy candles are known for putting less soot into

the air. Soy and beeswax are less likely to trigger allergies.

pumpkin pie are the most popular, she said.

Debbie Hanslovan, co-owner of Homespun Candle Co. in Albany, makes soy candles. In the business for 10 years, Hanslovan said she sees an increased demand for candles at the holiday markets.

Hanslovan makes her candles by hand and uses cotton wicks, which burn clean.

petroleum, which can be unhealthy.

“If you use a lot of candles,” Hanslovan said, “you can smoke up your walls.”

Hanslovan likes the benefits of soy on her hands during production and said cleanup is easy, requiring only Less expensive candles, she said, tend to have a wire in the wick. When soap and water. She makes candles with at least 30 different scents and this burns it creates black smoke. colors them to match their fragrance.

Cinnamon, spice, vanilla, clove and Other candles have high levels of

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 Local Trends in Lighting Happ

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Illuminating the holidays through design | by Maria L. Kirkpatrick

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said. They last longer and the colors keep getting better.

The lights may stay but the design comes and goes. What used to be a holiday full of the jolly big guy and candy canes has given way to more “ethereal” decorations including stars and snowflakes. Wreaths also are popular, Milstein said.

“Many of our accounts are going back to traditional, stylish elegance,” he said.

As for decorating your own home, Milstein suggests being original without being tacky.

Joel Shonnard, head of the lighting and installation division at Shonnard’s Nursery Florist & Landscape in Corvallis, can help with that.

Shonnard’s offers design consultations for homes and businesses and follows through to provide hanging and decorating services. Services include removal and light storage.

Andrea Shonnard of Shonnard’s Nursery, Florist & Landscape looks over Brite Ideas holiday lights outside her Corvallis store Oct. 31. (Amanda Cowan | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

Light-emitting diodes

Albany manufactures commercial light displays that illuminate companies and town squares from That’s the big seller this year in holiday lighting décor – inside and out. Dubai to Hawaii. Russ Milstein, the company’s owner and president, said Retailers and decorators are stocking LED lights almost exclusively this year’s creations were 99 percent as customers seek better and brighter designed and lighted with LEDs. “In our business, we’re completely colors and energy-saving alternatives switching away from incandescent to the cheaper versions. lighting,” Milstein said. “This is our Crystal Valley Decorating, Inc. in biggest year in history for producing

large, giant, artificial trees. They are 100 percent this year LED lights.”

Under construction is a 50-foot tree sporting 146,000 lights.

The most popular shape is the wide-angle light. It’s a tiny light. Its popularity is due to the angle, which provides for bright light no matter where the bulb points.

LEDs are here to stay, Milstein

When it’s time to do it all over again, Shonnard goes through and checks lights and decorations before installing them. This year, Shonnard is transitioning his long-time customers to LED lights.

LED lights last 10 to 15 years and the cost to run them is minimal, Shonnard said.

He should know. Shonnard’s company is responsible for decorating more than 52 displays

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Peggy Udolf, owner at Emma’s Downtown in Albany, is known for her skills on display at her store and sometimes as part of the Albany Association’s Christmas Parlour Tour.

Continued from page 5 throughout the mid-valley as far north as Salem and south to Eugene.

“It’s a process,” Shonnard said of this year’s upgrades. “There are customers who have been with us for eight years and their lights have run their course.”

The initial transition can be costly, as LED lights are more expensive to purchase. The end return and longevity, however, makes up for the cost as the lights use less energy.

are in at Robnett’s in downtown Corvallis.

Owner Tori Lockwood shops throughout the year so she can offer customers a better price than the bigbox stores. Every year when it comes time to open the Christmas light displays she said it’s like opening gifts; she doesn’t always remember what’s inside.

“There are lots and lots of different kinds of LED lights,” Lockwood said. “That’s the thing this year. They’re energy-saving.

Not holiday specific but still festive You can link numerous light sets are the new pre-lit trees, including together and not worry about the cherry blossom and weeping willows. power draw.”

“The weeping willow is impressive,” Manufacturers are incorporating Shonnard said. “It’s a big fall of lights prettier colors, she said. There are to the ground. These are great for two hues of white, one softer than yards with no foliage to decorate.” the other. Lockwood warns shoppers to pay attention when making Expected to be big are the twinkle purchases as the two whites don’t go light tree branches. Sporting fall to winter colors with and without foliage, together. the branches stand in the ground or As a result of technology, the new planters and even indoor vases.

LED lights can be used indoors and outside. The bulbs don’t burn as hot Snowflakes, lighted hanging and the risk of fire is reduced. baskets and twinkle light stake sets

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“For shorter space, assess your issue and go from there,” Udolf said.

Shop for LED lights and pay attention to color. Udolf suggests warm tones indoors.

LEDs also have hit the candle business.

“Make all the nonessentials go away,” Electric candles can go all sorts of places Udolf said. “Then, start from the inside out.” regular candles can’t, Udolf said. Many have From trees to interior rooms, timers that turn off after two to three uses. illumination from within ads dimension.

Safety is imperative when decorating.

When decorating a mantle, take depth Use proper ladders and stools. Always into consideration. Deeper mantles can check plugs, wiring, extension cords and handle layers of decoration. batteries for wear.

Her advice before starting any decorating is to first clean.

Brite Ideas holiday lights are visible on a tree at Shonnard’s Nursery, Florist & Landscape Oct. 31. (Amanda Cowan | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

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Indoor decorating is just as important as outdoor

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Cory Frye’s Can’t-Miss Christmas Music

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Mid-valley music expert Frye picks only the best tracks for your holiday bash | by Cory Frye

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So this is Christmas, and what have you done?

ending on a cross-denominational “Hava Nagila” shred.

■ The Flaming Lips, “Christmas at the Zoo” — Slurry guitars frost this snow globe, but vocalist Wayne Coyne learns an important lesson.

He visits the zoo one Christmas Eve, intent on loosing its captives.

By now you should be finished with the mortal combat of holiday consumerism, arranged satisfactory seating for warring relatives and finalized a vegetarian menu for palates that wouldn’t gobble a goose, no matter how plump or delicious.

All that’s left is the Christmas mix, perfect to keep the office party hopping, even after all have passed out into a good night. Below are 16 cuts of various vintages and styles, all available in commercial form (this silly guideline kept a lot of great R.E.M., Beck, Southern Culture on the Skids and Weezer tunes off the list; XTC’s “Thanks for Christmas” was a heartbreaking omission) and none too outrageous (goodbye to De La Soul’s “Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa” and Martin Mull’s “Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope”) for sensitive ears.

Freedom’s the greatest gift, after all. However, the animals decline — not that they’re content behind bars, mind you; as they explain, they’ll leave of their own volition. No stirring creatures were harmed when Coyne next greeted the season, completing the 2008 film “Christmas on Mars” after seven years in development.

universal enough to thaw the coldest cockle. Bookending the cathode tradition is this Lee Mendelson/ Vince Guaraldi collaboration, misted by the angelic pipes of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, Calif. Dress appropriately, serve with Dolly Madison pastries.

“Cory Frye’s Christmas Mix” is available as a Spotify playlist. It’s by no means definitive — I’ll probably regret it by the time it’s published —but it may provide fodder for your ■ Elvis Presley, “Santa Claus Is own. Thanks for listening, and happy Back in Town” — When the King holidays. demanded grease for his factory■ Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Christmas traditional ’57 eggnog, Jerry Leiber Time Is Here” — First broadcast in and Mike Stoller spiked it with this 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” cocksure swagger. St. Nick shed his despite its earnest reverence and rosy-cheeked threads, leapt behind sagged-tree sentimentality, remains the wheel of a big, black Cadillac,

checked his spit-curl in the rearview and go-catted like a boss into the rock ’n’ roll era.

■ Twisted Sister, “White Christmas” — No longer the bane of civilization, Dee Snider’s tattered crags shellacked the halls with 2005’s “A Twisted Christmas.”

Galloping among its chestnuts was this so-not-faithful Irving Berlin tribute, interwoven with the twinaxe cartoon savagery of Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda and Jay Jay French.

Honorable mention: an “O Come All Ye Faithful” fitted like leather over “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and

■ Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” —When Ronnie Spector couldn’t quite deliver, Love stepped in and lifted this necessity to soul-pop heaven in 1963. David Letterman adores the number so much he’s brought the singer back every year since 1986. Judging by his annual beatific grin, we’ll be hearing it for some time to come.

■ Run-D.M.C., “Christmas in Hollis” — Jam Master Jay found a copy of Clarence Carter’s “Back Door Santa” (about as holiday-appropriate as a family “Caligula” screening) under his tree and hooked it to his partners’ mic-swap sled. The hip-hop perennial first surfaced on 1987’s “A Very Special Christmas” — whose quadruple-platinum bounty

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■ Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run” — As long as ol’ whisker-jaws is motorvatin’, why not send him on a top-down “Maybelline”/“Roll Over Beethoven” cruise? Countless others have taken this trip, unraveling sweaters and loosening scarves, but they can’t catch the master, who left ’em all in the dust back in ’58.

■ Louis Armstrong & the Commanders, “Zat You, Santa Claus?” — Satchmo peeks over a chuckle-creepy jazz arrangement, checking every corner of his 2-minute, 50-second digs for the source of suspicious holiday sounds.

We learn nothing of the intruder (our only contact is an eye through a keyhole), but since Armstrong lived 17 Christmases past this 1953 chiller, we can assume that the milk and cookies met with approval.

■ Spinal Tap, “Christmas With the Devil” — Satan earns his fruitcake in this cheeky yuletide slaughter from a metal-band parody (writers/ performers in donned apparel) that by now has just as much history as a real one. Tap’s actually recorded it twice, first as a 1984 single, then with all the trimmings on their

■ “Weird Al” Yankovic, “The Night Santa Went Crazy” — Santa puts up with a lot of abuse. Years ago, in Homer & Jethro’s “Santa’s Movin’ On,” the jolly old elf just split. But times had changed by ’96, when Santa had other options, like killing everybody to a melody influenced by Soul Asylum’s “Black Gold.” It has a happy ending, though: Father Christmas gets popped after decimating the North Pole and Mrs. Claus negotiates the movie rights.

That’s not quite true here, but the song itself, as found on 1978’s “Third/ Sister Lovers,” is two-and-a-half minutes of divinity. Go get born.

“Christmas” promoted détente, but bassist Dee Dee left, anyway, shortly after the album was finished.

■ Satan’s Cheerleaders, “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)” — The Beatles recorded this original for a 1967 fan-club exclusive, but good luck finding it. The sucker hasn’t been reissued since the “Free As a Bird” single 17 years ago. Instead I’m endorsing this version (stay away from Ringo’s!), which caught my attention on Sympathy for the Record Industry’s 2-CD various-artist comp, “Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus.” Don’t let the name fool you; their arrangement is quite hypnotic.

Their winning formula is nevertheless intact: the sneering gait, Joey’s petulant hiccup, and that familiar “don’t wanna” motif, all in an infectious single-length package.

■ John Lennon & Yoko Ono, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” — The ex-Beatle wrote this song for a very specific conflagration (the Vietnam War), taking its message from a worldwide series of billboards he’d financed in 1969. The single was ready ■ James Brown, “Soulful for the 1971 season, recorded quickly Christmas” — Only a few “good in New York; children from the Gods” away from “Say It Loud, I’m Harlem Community Choir provided Black and I’m Proud,” the Godfather the chorus’ hopeful goosebumps. It’s of Soul clambered down 1968 since transcended its initial purpose to chimneys, lugging a (brand-new) bag become a yuletide staple, even in rare full of Fred Wesley and the tightest times of peace. rhythms ever baked to perfection.

■ Big Star, “Jesus Christ” — What Stuff that stocking full of funk; it’s good is Christmas without the the gift that keeps on giving. Maceo! chilled pop of Big Star (or, more ■ Ramones, “Merry Christmas accurately in this case, Alex Chilton, (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” Jody Stephens and friends)? Chilton — Joey’s at his diplo-romantic recounts our savior’s story against a best against a backwash of highjangle that threatens to shatter. “Lo, speed Johnny guitar in this latethey did rejoice,” he preaches, “fine era cut from 1989’s “Brain Drain,” and pure of voice.”

■ Kanye West, “Christmas in Harlem” — Teyana Taylor and Cyhi the Prynce join ’Ye on this nighttime coast through a shimmering commercial metropolis of Marvin Gaye samples (“Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”) and a Brothers Johnson/Shuggie Otis bob (“Strawberry Letter 23”). From these they fashion a gossamer postcard to success, family, lovers and friends, even those separated by distance and status. “Now we all livin’ the good life,” Kanye proclaims, and at least for the holidays, it’s true.

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recorded when relations within this punk brood (members adopted the name Ramone) weren’t exactly harmonious.

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benefited the Special Olympics — and, quite frankly, ruled that whole collection.

second album — or 14th, if you insist on the fiction — “Break Like the Wind” (1992). Guests include Steve Lukather, Slash and Joe Satriani, whose layers give the “Devil” legitimate shred.

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Go Local For Your Christmas Feast Mid-valley farmers respond to increasing demand from consumers | by Jennifer Rouse

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Op in Corvallis. Up until 2006, the co-op didn’t track its local products separately from total sales. Since they started keeping the data, local sales have increased 10 percent.

James Young, office assistant at Gathering Together Farm, a vegetable grower in Philomath, said that while the onsite farm stand closes the week before Thanksgiving, it continues to sell crops throughout the winter at indoor farmers markets in both Corvallis and Newport.

Winter squash varieties, root crops like potatoes, greens, and brassica crops like cabbages and broccoli will continue to be available — and in demand —throughout the holiday season, he said.

Farmer Rachel Prickett and her dog, Emmie, are photographed with turkeys at Provenance Farm in Philomath Oct. 30. (Amanda Cowan | Corvallis Gazette-Times) Turkeys convinced Rachel Prickett to become a farmer.

A 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that sales directly to consumers at local farms and markets have nearly doubled in the past two decades. And when sales to grocers or restaurants were added in, sales of local foods totaled $4.8 billion.

Even traditional grocery stores are now playing up their local offerings. At Fred Meyer stores, signs are now prominently displayed, calling attention to produce and meats from Northwest growers.

She’s supplying those birds, and the memories that go with them, Now, armed with an animal science Specifically, the expensive, organic, degree from Oregon State University and for a growing number of mid-valley free-range turkeys she saw on the a passion for local foods, Prickett is doing consumers who want their holiday “The buying staff has worked pages of a Williams-Sonoma catalog exactly that—raising turkeys, along with meals to be centered on locally grown with local growers for years,” said a few years back. other meat animals and laying hens—and foods. And farmers and retailers like Courtney Myers, store director of Prickett are stepping up to cater to selling them for holiday meals. the Corvallis Fred Meyer location.

“They were over $100 a bird plus that demand.

“That’s been our method of operation “It’s really satisfying to put a turkey shipping, and they had a note in the “There has been a worldwide growth for some time. But there has been catalog that said, ‘Order early — these on someone’s table,” Prickett said. in interest, and we’re seeing it here sell out fast,’” said Prickett, who with “We’re producing a product that Continued on page 12 her husband, Keith, owns Provenance means a lot to entire families. We’re too,” said Donna Tarasawa, marketing manager of the First Alternative CoFarm in Philomath. “I couldn’t believe making memories.” it. I said to myself, ‘I could do that!’”

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Mid-Valley Newspapers, November 6, 2012

Prickett Family Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Farmer Rachel Prickett of Provenance Farms works with turkeys in Philomath.

(Amanda Cowan | Corvallis Gazette-Times) Continued from page 11 more of a push on the promotional side of it.”

Myers said his customers like knowing where their food comes from. “We do get positive feedback that they appreciate it when we purchase locally,” he said.

In some cases, those local choices come with a higher price tag. For instance, a conventionally grown turkey from a national chain will cost less than a dollar per pound at grocery stores in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

At the First Alternative Co-Op, an organic heritage breed bird from California is $2.39 per pound. A locally raised free-range turkey, purchased from the co-op or from farmers like Prickett, is about $4.99 per pound.

However, growers and retailers say consumers seem willing to pay the higher prices. Kapple is all sold out of turkeys for the year, though she still has ducks and geese available, which she says also make an excellent holiday meal.

At Provenance Farm, Prickett still has a few turkeys of the 100 she raised this year that are not spoken for. Right now, the birds are chasing grasshoppers and digging for worms in the pasture. During the next month, they’ll reach their final weights— anywhere from 10 to 25 pounds—and then be butchered on site, in the Pricketts’ state-certified poultry processing facility.

Watching the birds forage, Prickett, a slender 28-year-old with a tiny turquoise nose ring, said she feels lucky to be part of a burgeoning crop of young farmers who have entered the profession recently, partly because of the increased demand for local food that makes their smallscale methods viable.

Cynthia Kapple, co-owner of Midway Farms on Highway 20 between Albany and Corvallis, said raising a heritage breed bird and letting it forage in the fields is a more expensive — and riskier — proposition for the farmer. “They are “I got in at the right time,” she harder to raise, and you have to account said. “I feel like we’re at the crest of for some loss,” she said. “If you plan to a wave, and there are no signs of it sell 15, you have to start with 20. It’s a slowing down.” bigger investment for the farmer.”

(Rachel Prickett, Provenance Farm) Turkey Brine Ingredients: 1 pasture-raised turkey, giblets removed form cavity 4 cups kosher salt 2 cups brown sugar 4 gallons water About 20 whole peppercorns, crushed fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, a few dashes of soy sauce, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Method: If neck is still on the turkey, cut it off. In a clean, food-safe 5-gallon bucket, dissolve sugar and salt into water.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

Add turkey.

Fill with ice.

Cover with lid and leave outside or in a cool place for 12 to 24 hours.

Cooking the turkey (adapted by Prickett from Real Simple magazine) Ingredients: 1 brined pasture-raised turkey 1 bunch fresh sage 10 onions, quartered 10 carrots, quartered 4 tablespoons unsalted, melted butter Method: Heat over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stuff turkey cavity with sage, and either more onions or your own stuffing recipe.

Scatter carrots and onions on a large roasting pan.

Place turkey on top of onions and carrots.

Tuck the wings under the body.

Brush turkey with melted butter.

Roast the turkey for 45 minutes.

Loosely cover with foil.

Periodically baste the turkey with any juices from the bottom of the roasting pan.

Cook for 2 to 2 and 1/4 hours longer, but only until the leg easily pulls away from the rest of the body.

Reserve any remaining liquids in the pan for your favorite gravy recipe.

Let the turkey rest for about 20 minutes before carving, keeping covered with foil.

Mid-Valley Newspapers, November 6, 2012

Looking for some inspirations to use local foods for your holiday table?

Try these recipes from First Alternative Co-op Old-fashioned Scalloped Potatoes

that is at least 2 ½” deep. Cover the sauce with a layer of potato slices, overlapping the slices slightly; cover the potatoes with a third of the onions.

Donna Tarasawa, First Alternative Co-Op Ingredients 2 cups thinly sliced onion 9 Tbsp. butter 6 Tbsp. flour 2 ½ cups 2 percent milk 1 cup Nancy’s sour cream 2 ½ pounds potatoes 1 ½ cups cheese (choose a local mild cheese) 1/3 cups dry bread crumbs

Sprinkle the onions with a third of the cheese; continue to layer the remaining sauce, potatoes, onion and cheese in the same manner.

Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, melt and drizzle remaining 1 Tbsp. butter over top.

Bake the mixture, covered with foil, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the boil and bake 30-35 minutes more, or until top is golden and potatoes are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste Method In a skillet cook the onion and 2 Tbsp. of the butter over medium-low heat, stirring, until the onion is very soft.

Cranberry Salad (First Alternative Natural Foods Co-Op)

Ingredients: 1 pound fresh cranberries 4 red apples (unpeeled, sliced) In a heavy saucepan melt 6 Tbsp. of the 1 orange (unpeeled, sliced) remaining butter, whisk in the flour and cook the roux, whisking, for 3 minutes. Add the 1 cup sugar milk, in a stream, and sour cream, whisking, Method: and bring the sauce to a boil.

Grind fruit together in a food grinder or food Simmer the sauce, whisking, for 1 minute processor. and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add sugar gradually, mixing to taste.

Slice the potatoes into 1/8-inch thick slices.

Chill and serve as a salad, or a relish with Spread about a third of the sauce in the roast poultry. bottom of a well-buttered 3-quart casserole

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Locavore’s shopping list: where to find locally grown staples for your holiday meal Mid-valley residents are lucky; the area has a number of farmers markets and retailers that carry fresh, local foods, plus dozens of farmers who sell direct to the public. The best way to find a listing of local farmers or foods is at the website of the Ten Rivers Food Web, (www.tenriversfoodweb.org) a group devoted to promoting food grown in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties.

Here’s a list of our own, with sources for some traditional holiday items. It’s not intended to be a complete list— search local sources yourself to find other growers and retailers in addition to those listed here.

Turkey: First Alternative Coop, Corvallis; Provenance Farm, Philomath.

Potatoes: multiple options; farmers markets, farm stands and grocery stores all carry local potatoes at this time of year

13 of Corvallis sells frozen local green beans, available at First Alternative Co-Op, Fred Meyer, and other grocers.

Cranberries: None are produced in Linn or Benton counties, but growers on the southern Oregon coast, just a few counties away, are a leading producer of cranberries.

Available at First Alternative and other grocers.

Apples and cider: Many local farms and markets have local apples, perfect for pies, right now, and many sell their own cider as well. Two Towns Ciderhouse, Corvallis, uses Northwest ingredients to produce its hard ciders.

Pumpkins for pie: Stahlbush Island Farms produces canned pumpkin puree, sold under the “Farmer’s Market Foods” brand name, available at First Alternative and other grocers. If you want to make your own pumpkin puree, locally grown “sugar” or “pie” variety pumpkins and squashes are available from many farmers markets, farm stands and grocery stores at this time of year.

Crust for pie: The two key ingredients to a good home-made Bread or rolls: Big River bakery pie crust are flour (available locally from Greenwillow Grains, produces local breads daily, as Tangent); and some kind of fat. do many other bakeries. If you’re interested in baking your own, you Locally grown options are butter (available from Noris Dairy, Scio; can purchase locally grown flour from Greenwillow Grains, Tangent. or lard (available from Deck Family Farm, Junction City).

Sweet Potatoes: multiple Whipped cream for pie: options; farmers markets, farm Dessert isn’t complete without stands and grocery stores all carry whipped cream on top. Lochmead local root vegetables at this time Farms of Junction City sells of year locally produced whipping cream, Green Beans: most farmers and available at Dari-Mart stores and retailers don’t have fresh locally other grocers. grown green beans at this time of - Jennifer Rouse year, but Stahlbush Island Farms

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Mid-Valley Newspapers, November 6, 2012

Cook Now, Eat Later, Skip the Stress Can make-ahead foods still taste fresh come mealtime? Absolutely.

Here’s a guide to what to make ahead, when to make it, how to store it, and how to reheat it | by Dawn Klingensmith, CTW Features Getting Thanksgiving dinner – or any because many side dishes can be holiday feast – on the table can seem prepared or partially prepared a day like a math word problem gone awry: or more in advance. And certain freezer-friendly recipes can be made Question: If it takes 4 hours to cook a 15-pound turkey, and three of weeks or months in advance and still the side dishes need something done taste fresh come mealtime. to them “just before serving,” how many times will the cook wish there were an easier way without resorting to boxed or “instant” imposters of traditional favorites?

Answer: Probably countless times, and each of them unnecessary

“When it comes to a traditional Thanksgiving meal, everything but a green salad and the turkey can be made ahead, frozen and reheated on the holiday,” says Michele Borboa, a personal chef from Bozeman, Mont., and author of “Make-ahead Meals Made

15

Mid-Valley Newspapers, November 6, 2012 Healthy� (Fair Winds Press, 2011). “Bread-based stuffings are especially easy to fix and freeze, but you can also freeze mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and rice dishes, so all you have to do is thaw or reheat and serve.�

It’s simply math: An earlier start plus Borboa’s step-by-step instructions equals more time for friends and family over the holidays.

2 months in advance Bread-based and rice stuffings can be fully assembled, baked, cooled and frozen. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven.

Or, start two days ahead to save time without freezing. Cube and bake bread until lightly toasted, cool, and store at room temperature in an airtight container. For rice stuffings, steam the rice, let it cool completely, and store in the refrigerator.

Chop onions, celery, carrots and other vegetables your recipe calls for. Store them in the refrigerator to sautĂŠ on the holiday, or sautĂŠ them in advance, cool and refrigerate until you assemble the stuffing. If your recipe calls for nuts, toast and store them in an airtight container. “On Thanksgiving Day, all you have to do is assemble the prepped ingredients along with broth and any other ingredientsâ€? such as herbs and spices, and then follow instructions for cooking, Borboa says.

Cranberry sauce can be made up to two months in advance, cooled completely and frozen.

1 month in advance “Raw potatoes don’t freeze well,�

Borboa warns, “but mashed potatoes can be made up to one month in advance. Make your favorite mashed potatoes, spread them in a greased casserole dish and cool completely.

Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly over the potatoes, and wrap the casserole dish tightly with heavyduty foil.�

To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and place in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. “You may have to adjust the butter, milk and seasonings but the hard work is done well in advance,� Borboa says.

Also an advocate of doing as much as possible ahead of time, Chicago event planner Debi Lilly believes quality suffers for certain dishes. “Mashed potatoes absolutely cannot be made in advance. To me, the best texture is when they’re fresh off the stovetop,� says Lilly, president of A Perfect Event. “They come out warm and creamy, and they just don’t carry that same consistency when reheated.

They get a little lumpier and dry out, and the texture changes.�

The gravy that goes on top of them also requires same-day preparation, according to Lilly: “It’s very fatty and

tends to separate,� she says.

prep a few ingredients to save time.�

If you’d rather not freeze mashed potatoes, you can save time with this fix-ahead tip: Wash and scrub potatoes, cut them into chunks, and place in a large pot. Fill with enough cold water to cover the potatoes and add a generous pinch of salt and the juice of one lemon to keep potatoes from browning.

Potatoes can stay covered in water, refrigerated, for up to two days, Borboa says. When ready to cook, drain the water and boil in fresh water.

A day or two ahead, cut oranges, onions, celery, carrots, herbs and other ingredients you plan to use to flavor the turkey. “I don’t like soggy stuffing so I bake stuffing in the oven and fill the cavity of the turkey with aromatics and shove herbs, spices, citrus, onions and garlic beneath the skin of the turkey,� Borboa says. “I prep the ingredients ahead of time so all I have to do on Thanksgiving Day is put them in place in the turkey before putting it in the oven.�

2 weeks in advance “I prefer fresh-baked breads and rolls since freezing them can take away from their taste and texture, but if frozen properly, they can be made two to three weeks in advance and reheated on Thanksgiving Day,�

Borboa says.

Allow fresh-baked rolls to cool completely, and then place them on a baking sheet. Place in the freezer until just solid. Place rolls in heavyduty freezer bags, squeeze the air out, seal and freeze. You can simply let them thaw at room temperature overnight and serve them or warm them in the oven.

1 day in advance “When it comes to salads, I say fresh is best, but you can certainly chop vegetables and other salad ingredients a day in advance and then assemble them on Thanksgiving Day and allow them to chill before serving,� Borboa says. “Always put the dressing on right before serving since vinegar and other acidic ingredients will wilt salad greens.�

Thanksgiving Day

“It’s best to prep fruit salads the day you serve them because the fruit tends to turn brown,� Borboa says. “Even when you have citrus juice mixed with them, they don’t have the vibrancy of being just sliced or diced. “You can’t cook an entire turkey I’d wait until right before serving to and reheat it without ruining quality add bananas since they tend to get and increasing your chances of food poisoning,� Borboa warns, “but you can soggy when mixed with juicy fruit.�

2 days in advance

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Mid-Valley Newspapers, November 6, 2012