Your Guide to a Farm Fresh Holiday

Its my favorite time of the year! I love hosting and entertaining and all that comes with it. We want to take the hard work out of the holidays for you so you can spend more time with family and friends but still enjoy delicious, flavorful and fresh meals. Thats why I created this guide for you that covers sourcing ingredients, easy recipes, quick tips and more. Plus if youre local visit us at the Farm Store this holiday season for more resources and to gather your fresh ingredients. (Check out our shopping guide at the end of this post)

Turkey-

Sourcing your turkey from a local farm is the first step to garunteeing a delicious holiday meal.  Questions to ask the farmer.  Are the birds free range? Turkeys are omnivores and incredible foragers they eat a combination of grass, seeds, vegetables, and bugs.  When kept inside they will primarily eat grain making them a fattier option.  When fed grain you should also consider is it non gmo, is it organic, is it soy free? 

If you’re looking for a smaller option we have many families use a large chicken or even a ham on thanksgiving!

Unfortunately we are sold out for turkeys but here are a few great local sources:

*Alterity Regenerative Ranch – Olean NY

*WNY Find Your Farmer Facebook Group

Bone Broth Gravy-

·       4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

·       2 Tbsp. flour (use farmer ground fresh or gluten free)

·       2 cups of turkey or chicken bone broth or the pan drippings from your roasted turkey or chicken, or a combination of both to equate 2 cups

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add in the flour and whisk to combine.

Pour in the bone broth and/or pan drippings liquid and bring to a simmer.

Stir occasionally until it thickens.

Reduce heat to low until ready to serve.

Sour Cream on the Side-

This trick is sure to make guests swoon!  Everyone loves a good sauce.  Serving up your holiday meal with fresh raw sour cream in a heaping dish makes everything go down easier.  Plus raw sour cream has a boatload of natural digestive enzymes to help your body recover quickly from that big meal.

TO MAKE SOUR CREAM:

Ingredients

*1 Pint of fresh raw cream

*1 Tbs of plain yogurt

Process

Stir yogurt (you are using this as a culture) into the raw cream.  Leave on the counter overnight or up to 24 hours until it thickens.  That’s it!  So simple and you will have fresh and extremely addicting sour cream.

 Learn how to make your own sour cream and dips on my most recent blog post. www.Sunnycovefarm.com/blog

Sourdough Bread Stuffing-

·       24 ounces Sourdough Bread (sliced 1-inch thick & torn into 1/2-inch pieces)

·       3 tablespoons Unsalted RAW Butter (melted)

·       6 cloves Garlic (finely chopped or grated)

·       3 tablespoons Fresh Herbs (finely chopped, e.g. sage, thyme)

·       1 Large Yellow Onion (diced)

·       3 ribs Celery (finely diced)

·       2 pounds Sage Pork Sausage (casings removed if needed)

·       12 ounces Farmers Market Mushrooms

·       Sharp White Cheddar (freshly grated, about 2 cups packed)

·       3 Large Eggs (whisked)

·       3 cups Broth (or chicken stock, divided)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside. Toast the bread: Divide the torn sourdough bread pieces across the 2 baking sheets. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, garlic, herbs & kosher salt. Drizzle the garlic herb butter over the bread & use your hands to toss to coat. Arrange the bread in an even layer on the baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the bread dries out slightly. Do not let the bread get too, too browned at this point – a nice, light golden brown is perfect. Remove from the oven & set aside to cool. Once cooled, you may transfer to an airtight container & store at room temperature for up to 5 days.

 Brown the sausage: Meanwhile, as the bread toasts, brown the sausage. Add the butter to a large pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion & celery. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt & cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, until softened. Add in the garlic & cook 1-2 minutes more, until fragrant. Add in the sausage. Continue to cook, using a wooden spoon to break the sausage into bite-sized pieces as it cooks, until cooked through, 5-6 minutes. Remove from the

Assemble the sausage stuffing: Decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place the toasted sourdough & the browned sausage mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add in the sliced mushrooms, grated cheddar, chopped sage, thyme & rosemary, & season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Pour the eggs over top. Toss well to combine. Pour in 1 cup

Fermented Cranberry Sauce-

2 Apples (chopped, organic)

2 cups Cranberries (chopped)

½ cup Pecans (chopped, or walnuts or other nut)

½ cup Raisins (or other dried fruit)

½ cup Apple Cider (or apple juice, plus more if needed)

¼ cup Maple Syrup (or honey, or sugar)

½ cup Whey (or kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut juice, etc)

1 teaspoon Salt

Chop apples, cranberries and nuts and add to a large bowl.

Stir in the optional dried fruit, apple cider, and maple syrup.

Pour the starter liquid over the chopped mixture and sprinkle with salt. Then stir to combine and ladle into a quart-sized mason jar.

Pack your mixture down into the jar and top with apple cider until all food pieces are covered.

Cover with an airtight mason jar lid and set at room temperature.

2-4 times a day, burp your jar and give it a turn or two.

After 2 days, transfer the ferment to the refrigerator.

Roasted Beets and Brussel Sprouts-

This is one of my favorite side dishes that is so easy.  Its less of a recipe and more of a concept.

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Chop up Brussel Sprouts and Beets to bite size.  Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and salt.  Spread out on a baking sheet for 20-30 minutes.  When they are done drizzle maple syrup and balsamic vinegar on top to taste

Farmhouse Mashed Potatoes-

If you're like most people, you probably don't give much thought to the humble potato. But believe it or not, there are big differences between the potatoes you'll find at your local supermarket and the ones sold by farmers. In this post, we'll take a closer look at some of those differences and help you decide which type of potato is right for you.

When it comes to potatoes, there are two main options: farm potatoes and supermarket potatoes. Both have their pros and cons, but which one is the better option?

FARM POTATOES

- Farm potatoes are generally fresher than supermarket potatoes because they don’t have to travel as far to reach the consumer.

- Farm potatoes often come in eco-friendly packaging, such as reused cardboard boxes or biodegradable bags.

- Potatoes from farms can sell varieties that are not available in supermarkets or that are hard to get.

-Supports local farmers.

- Some people believe that farm potatoes have a better flavor than supermarket potatoes.

- Farm potatoes can be cheaper than supermarket potatoes, depending on the time of year and where you live.

- Unwashed potatoes have a longer shelf live

POTATOES FROM SUPERMARKETS

- Supermarket potatoes are typically sold prewashed in plastic bags, which saves consumers time and effort.

- Supermarket potatoes have been treated with chemicals that prevent them from sprouting.

- Supermarket potatoes usually travel further than those from farms, which means they may not be as fresh.

- Supermarket potatoes are often packaged in plastic bags, which is not as eco-friendly as other packaging options.

- The variety of supermarket potatoes is often limited compared to what’s available from farms.

- Supermarket potatoes can be more expensive than those purchased directly from farms, depending on the time of year and where you live.

Mashed Potatoes are my favorite dish of the holiday season so I am quite passionate about how my mashed potatoes are prepared.  Check out my youtube video from last year on boxed mashed potatoes vs our farmhouse mashed potatoes for the full recipe.

Heirloom Apple Pie-

Pie Filling

·       1 pie shell (homemade or store-bought)

·       8 medium granny smith apples*

·       ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

·       ½ cup brown sugar

·       ¼ cup white sugar

·       1 tsp cinnamon

·       1 tsp nutmeg

·       ¼ tsp salt

Top Crust

·       ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick, room temperature)

·       1 cup all-purpose flour (I use cassava)

·       ½ cup maple sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl, cut in flour and brown sugar into the stick of butter with a pastry blender or a fork until you make a crumbly pie crust topping. Set aside.

Peel and thinly slice apples and toss into a large bowl.

Add flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and stir well (~3 minutes).

Add apple mixture into pie shell (layering makes it easier to cut and it looks nicer when cut, but it takes longer because you have to place one slice at a time into the pie shell in a circle), and pour the crumbly crust topping over the apples.

Place in the oven for 15 minutes at 425° F.

After 15 minutes at 425° F, take out and cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil (or a pie crust edge cover if you are lucky enough to have one of those!).

Turn the temperature down to 375° F, and carefully place back into the oven for 45 minutes.

Place a drip tray underneath, because apple mixture may boil out of the pie towards the end and make a mess in the oven.

Take out of the oven and cool on the stove for 3-4 hours.