Thanksgiving Catering Menu Ideas for Pies, Breads, Shrimp, and Turkey!

The ovens are getting hot on Main Street, cooking special treats for you to serve at your Thanksgiving gathering. If you are hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner, you're going to want to invite more people because your catering menu choices are that good. If you're packing it all into a car to travel to Grandma's house, you're going to want to make room for a large storage box to transport the amazing food that's on the holiday catering menus at a few Main Street bakeries. After you read these choices, you may want to host a "Leftovers Party" just so that you have an excuse to serve more accent dishes.

For all of these menu options, you'll need to call each store ahead of time to place your order and check their hours for when they are closing for Thanksgiving. Some bakeries as well as a few restaurants are offering special hours around the holiday. Not all of your favorite eateries are closed on Thanksgiving Day!

Make your menu, decide what you're making and what you're ordering, and get to dialing!

Cheeses at Beacon Pantry.

CHEESE TEMPTATIONS
Because cheese can be stressful if you don't know how to order it, Beacon Pantry will hand select an array of artisanal cheeses for you, perfect to serve to company the night before Thanksgiving so that you don't have to cook, or on Thanksgiving afternoon as everyone waits for the turkey! You can also find artisanal cheeses at Homespun, but special to Beacon Pantry's Thanksgiving Catering Menu are cheese platters served with dried fruit, nuts, and sliced baguette or crackers. And if you're partial to your own platter, or want to spruce up your serving table by getting a new one from Hudson Beach Glass or Utensil, and bring the platter to Beacon Pantry and she'll plate your cheese for your order. Need a little olive oil for dipping? Stop into Scarborough Fare and pour your own flavor to take home.
Pumpkin fondue at Ella's Bellas.

Pumpkin Fondue...because you've never tried it, or because you've enjoyed a slice of pumpkin fondue at Ella's Bellas with a salad. It's also another reason to have a pumpkin on the table and because you don't have to prep this fondue! Ella's Bellas has a fully baked Pumpkin Fondue on their catering menu that comes stuffed with layers of cheese, bread and rosemary, baked to perfection. It also comes with re-heating instructions, and yes, you can eat the pumpkin flesh as you scoop for melted
 cheesy bread.

Thanksgiving is not complete without shrimp cocktail, and Beacon Pantry has mixed a house-made cocktail sauce to go with domestic wild caught shrimp.


THE TURKEY & STUFFING
You've got options, and an ability to give back to the community by ordering turkeys from these stores:
Beacon Natural Market is getting their turkey from three different farms this year:
Murry
Snowdance
Hidden Camp

Beacon Pantry is getting their turkey from two farms with a few options on the type of bird:
Campanelli Farm in Kenoza Lake, NY
Northwind Farm in Tivoli, NY

Key Food has partnered with I Am Beacon for the "Turkey on Every Table" food drive. Key Food will be storing all of the donated turkeys in their warehouse to be distributed. And of course you can get a turkey at Key Food.

Ella's Bellas is offering a Mushroom Herb Stuffing made with Ella's Bella's bread, celery, raisins, and apple, to be ordered per person. They are also offering seasoned cubed stuffing by the bag.


ROLLS
Oh brother, you have some tough choices to make. We are lucky enough to have a few really, really good bakeries in Beacon. We have so many good choices, that for this article, we needed to divide this carb section into Breads and Rolls. At All You Knead, find challah rolls, cranberry raisin pecan rolls, and regular white or multi-grain rolls. At Beacon Bread Company, find brioche loaf rolls, harvest grain loaf rolls, and rye rolls. At Beacon Pantry, find country white, challa, and whole wheat multigrain. And at Ella's Bella's, find rosemary or plain rolls. As with everything at Ella's Bellas, the rolls, bread, and anything is gluten-free.


BREADS
This is where your dinner planning gets tricky, but fear not, there will be a bread for your style of a meal. At All You Knead, find challah bread, cranberry raisin pecan bread, seeded rye bread, marble rye bread, and sourdough – plain or whole wheat, multi-grain, rosemary herb, or white wheat Pullman. Beacon Bread Company has a brioche loaf (it's perfection), a harvest grain loaf, as well as a baguette. Find sweet breads like orange gingerbread, banana, pumpkin cranberry, and apple raisin bread at Beacon Pantry. And expect to find has their rosemary or plain baguette at  Ella's Bella's all if which is gluten-free.

And because you need bread pudding, All You Knead has it in banana, pumpkin or chocolate flavors.


PIES AND OTHER SWEETS
Making your own pie? Utensil posted
a link to this recipe at FOLK.

You thought you were already in trouble? Brew a pot of coffee from Tas Kafé (at Ella's) or Sumptown (at Beacon Pantry), or Starbucks (at Key Food) because you're about to indulge in a lot of pie that will require your very own home made whipped cream that you whipped together from a pint of Hudson Valley Fresh cream (at Key Food,) vanilla, salt and powdered sugar.

Homespun is offering a variety of pies, starting with the basic pumpkin pie, and ranging to a caramel pecan tart, vanilla cranberry jam cake with pumpkin spiced buttercream, pumpkin cheesecake, almond daquoise with pumpkin buttercream (gluten free), and an apple pecan crumble in a deep dish aluminum tin.

At All You Knead, choose from an old fashioned pumpkin pie made with Denning's Point Distillery whiskey. Or go sweet and traditional with pecan, apple buttermilk, and apple pie.

Dennings Point Beacon
American Whiskey
in All You Knead's pumpkin pie.
Beacon Pantry has pumpkin, apple, apple crumb, cranapple, and a mixed berry crumb for those who need a fresh flavor after dinner. Beacon Pantry also spiced it up with Frangipane Tarts in many flavors including blueberry, raspberry and more.

Beacon Bread Company has traditional pumpkin, apple and pecan pies. Ella's Bellas has the traditional pumpkin, apple and pecan, but also tempt yourself with a fudge pie with a chocolate chip cookie or hazelnut shortbread crust. (!?!)

Get Frosted Cupcakery is also baking pies in the flavors of Apple, Cherry, Pumpkin, Peanut Butter, Lemon Meringue and Chocolate Cream. Want a cupcake? Pumpkin spice cupcakes and pumpkin cheesecakes are also available.

Check all stores for hours and ordering and pickup deadlines, and no, this isn't even everything you will find on their menus. Choices...you've got choices for a great dinner, and a reason to have a second party for leftovers with a fresh pie.

Bakeries in Beacon, NY: So Many Yummy Bakery Choices!

Main Street in our small town of Beacon, NY is quickly becoming one of the best destinations for bakery-hopping. The actual street of Main Street is quite long, and in fact, used to connect two towns. Our small town is big enough to house a bakery for everyone's craving. There used to be one bakery in town. Now, they need to be organized by category! Take your pick!

BAKERIES
ELLA'S BELLAS
Specialty: Gluten Free Bakery Treats
Treats You Wouldn't Expect: Woopie Pie
Treats You'll Love: Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies, Specialty Cakes, Brownies, Apple Pie, Soups, Tas Cafe Coffee


ALL YOU KNEAD ARTISAN BAKERS
Specialty: Bread
Treats You Wouldn't Expect: Samosas, Chicken Pot Pies
Treats You'll Love: Chocolate Croissants, Blueberry and Different Flavored Muffins, White and Oat Bread, More Bread



GET FROSTED
Specialty: Cupcakes
Treats You'll Love: Butter Frosting, Coffee Garnishes, Pink Sprinkles, Cupcake Art



CAFE BAKERY TREATS
HOMESPUN
Specialty: Lunches and Deep Dish French Toast
Treats You Wouldn't Expect: Chocolate Mouse
Treats You'll Love: Any Flavor Quiche, Middle Eastern Plate (hummus, baba ghanoush, feta), Carrot Cake, Tiramisu, Teas, Coffee, Orangina, Cheeses, Little Toasts, Eating Outside on the Back Patio


BEACON BREAD COMPANY
Specialty: Bread + Eat-In Cafe
Treats You Wouldn't Expect: a honey bread something that I need to double check the name of.
Treats You'll Love: Grilled Cheese + Soup, Beer Bread



GROCERY STORE BAKERIES
BEACON PANTRY
Specialty: European Grocery Items, Cheeses
Treats You Wouldn't Expect: The whole store is filled with different treats. Every day could be different!
Treats You'll Love: More Good Sryup, Phin + Phebe Ice Creme, Dry Pasta, Frozen Vegi Burgers, Tarts


BEACON BAGEL
Specialty: Bagels
Treats You Wouldn't Expect: he's always inventing a special sandwich...
Treats You'll Love: Lattes, Order the "Double Egg + Cheese Bagel Sandwhich"

View from The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls on the Patio

We late-lunched with our Cold Spring friends yesterday at The Roundhouse patio at Beacon Falls, and yes, the view is that great, and the sound of the waterfall transports you to yet another side of Beacon. Don't let those empty tables in the picture fool you - it was quite packed while we were eating, and our party and those around us have finished and aren't sitting there anymore.

Yesterday was a most ideal Saturday: started at Crumb for an early chicken sandwich lunch on their back garden patio while I did a little mom-preneur work while my husband watched Ruby. Then moseyed on down to Bank Square for a lovely iced vanilla latte to cruise through the rest of my work, then received a text from hubby that we were all meeting at The Roundhouse and that he was already in the parking lot to pick me up, followed by a quick stop at Vintage Cafe for a delicious grilled cheese and fruit cup for young Ruby whose daddy thought she could order off the sophisticated menu at The Roundhouse, followed by a trip back to Vintage for pie because it looked so good when I was picking up the grilled cheese.

But I digress, as you want to read about The Roundhouse! Very Manhattan and minimalist - so far. The views are amazing. No matter what side of the table you're sitting on, you will gaze at something pleasing. Either the Beacon Falls, or the bar which is a dark brown wood (very modern and clean looking), or the sloping side of Main Street since the restaurant is nestled into the river bed, or the rugged construction look of work being done to round out the old building structure for the real future restaurant.

The waitress was apologetic while setting our table with paper and plastic dining tools, explaining that they aren't the real deal yet, with their "makeshift" kitchen in the back, you can see as you walk down the steps descending onto the patio. It might be the best makeshift kitchen around, as it churns out scallops with a touch of bacon in a cream sauce, fried pig (this had a fancier name I cannot remember). I get the feeling from their Facebook page, that the menu changes weekly, or at least from time to time with fresh, seasonal specials. They offer craft beers and artisanal cocktails, yet we went with an easy bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. I didn't get to gaze at the drink menu, as I was arms full with Ruby.

So far, The Roundhouse is kid friendly (although you'd want to go there to relax and enjoy the view) in that Ruby could run up and down the steps, yet wanted desperately into that kitchen. I saw two mom-friends, with kids, meeting friends and family. Menu-wise, it's pretty sophisticated (or, the version at 2:30pm is). Even the fries had an upscale cheese squiggle on them, and were delicious. There is a cheeseburger, but we haven't tried it yet. I had the scallops, and my friend the tuna ceviche and fresh tomatoes.

Our takeaway was that The Roundhouse was definitely going to be an "it" place to be, where you'll need reservations. They don't take reservations yet and are very accommodating. Their Facebook page already has 1200 fans who are very involved with the page. Another good sign. This is absolutely a place you want to come to relax and enjoy a cold drink or bottle of wine with friends in serenity.