As Thanksgiving approaches, you may be wondering about ways to incorporate local products into your Thanksgiving celebrations. This is a great time to not only support local businesses, but also show off all the Cleveland culinary bounty to out-of-town friends.
Here are some of my favorite ways to incorporate local food and beverage on your Thanksgiving table:
Wine
Ohio wines have come a long way from just sweet, Concord flavors. There are a lot of great local wines that complement your Thanksgiving feast well. My favorite for pairing with turkey is Golden Bunches Riesling from Ferrante Winery, which you can find at the winery or local stores such as Heinen’s.
Beer
Cleveland has quite a reputation as a beer town, so having local brews for Thanksgiving is a great choice. I recommend a pumpkin ale for with dinner and then a Christmas Ale for kicking off the next holiday season. For local pumpkin beers, I enjoy Franklin Castle from Market Garden Brewery. And for Christmas Ale, there’s nothing like the Cleveland classic Great Lakes Brewing Christmas Ale.
Turkey (and more)
Fresh Fork Market, a local CSA, offers Thanksgiving turkeys that are locally-raised and fresh, never frozen. There are lots of size options, too. You must order ahead of time to score one of these super local, super delicious turkeys.
Fresh Fork Market also offers an “all the fixings” option that allows you to add on all locally-grown produce to fill out your Thanksgiving table.
Kraut
A lot of Clevelanders must have sauerkraut as part of their Thanksgiving table. Cleveland Kraut offers a local option for this Eastern European staple. From Beet Red to Classic Caraway to Curry, there are lots of flavorful sauerkraut options!
Pumpkin Pie
Gray House Pies in Westlake knows their way around pies, so whether you’re craving pumpkin, pumpkin pecan crumble, apple, Apple Jack (with Jack Daniels), or something less traditional, you can wow the crowd without baking it yourself!
Mitchell’s Ice Cream
If you want your pie a la mode or just need to have a dessert option for kiddos who don’t love pumpkin pie, ice cream is always a good idea. Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream is locally-made with quality ingredients for a fantastic taste! You can’t do better than a scoop of their vanilla bean on a piece of pie!
What are some of your favorite local products to have on your Thanksgiving table? Whatever you’re eating, have a delicious, wonderful holiday!
From Cleveland That I Love,
Jen