Don’t become the official turkey of Thanksgiving.
Dine safely this weekend. This is not the time to show off those new can’t-breath-to-fit-in jeans. Stretchy athletic pants are as much a staple as a second helping of bread stuffing — and both inspire a good jog afterwards.
For the baking belligerent, let Golden Crust bakery save you from a burnt-pie-crust, ill-set-pumpkin-filing fate.
Last Sunday I strayed from my traditional choice of pecan tarts and bought the Cinderella equivalent of the silkiest pumpkin tarts. No fairy godmother is required, only a trip to the Golden Crust Bakery kiosk at the Whistler Farmers’ Market. So cinnamon good, you can leave the whipping cream for your nightstand.
The market wraps up this weekend with plenty to gobble gobble about: wonderful root vegetables and fragrant basil from North Arm Farms, crunchy sweet gala apples from a B.C. farm, Brussels sprouts and fall cabbage from Across the Creek Organics and of course everything in between. The Market closes out the Thanksgiving weekend with both a Saturday and Sunday showing from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Upper Village, located at the base of Blackcomb Mountain.
Now if you are in a real hurry, get a turkey dinner on the run at Ingrid’s Village Café, next to the Amsterdam Pub. Cranberry sauce and turkey, it’s all there, neatly compartmentalized between two thick slices of focaccia — although I prefer the toasted sun-dried-tomato swirl bread with plenty of Dijon to give bite to the cranberry sweetness.
If you are looking for the full-on Pilgrim spread, there are three days to indulge with a Thanksgiving celebration Oct. 6 to 9 at the Fifty Two 80 Bistro and Bar at the Four Seasons Resort. The four-course dinner (with two choices for each course) may include standard thankfuls such as a fall butternut squash soup, turkey entrée and of course pumpkin pie, but there are also non-Thanksgiving motivated choices for those of you turkeyed out, including roasted ribeye. Dinner is $48 for adults and $24 for children.
Smokin’ response to barbecue
It was standing room only at the final Friday night dinner hosted by Adam Protter’s Big Smoke Mountain BBQ at the Riverside Campground Café. The smoker was left empty after locals ate up every last morsel of award-winning barbecue chicken and ribs. The catering company closed shop on its Mount Currie restaurant location a year ago, but thanks to last week’s success, Protter will host a monthly Big Smoke night at the Riverside Café. Protter next expects to fire up the smoker the last week of October. Stay tuned for details.
Toasting Cornucopia
Picking out tickets for Cornucopia, Whistler’s biggest wine and food festival, Nov. 9 to 12, can be a daunting task.
Does the guzzle rather than swirl and swish kind of wine drinker have a place in the event? If you only have time for one experience, which is the most all-encompassing choice? Do you want to learn more about Australian wines? What are the “it” parties? Do all events require deep pockets?
Like the 85-plus wines poured at the Crush! tasting, there is something for every palate and pocket book at the festival, so in the coming weeks, look for Table Scraps Toasting Cornucopia to get the insider tour on festival highlights and soon-to-become favourites.
This week Table Scraps dips into a new, locally-produced event called DiVine Soul, with chocolate and more chocolate. Ladies, how can you go wrong with this night?
The Higher Ground Entertainment-produced event is one sweet, sweet showcase with live music, wineries, Cirque du Soleil performers, entertainers and dessert.
I was won over right from the start with opening mention of support from Tomas Haas Fine Chocolates. Haas is a god in the chocolate world with his craftsmanship raved about all over the globe. Fans include Oprah and Martha Stewart. The fourth-generation pastry chef’s chocolate cakes will join chocolate fountains and other deadly desserts paired with wines and specialty coffees. Purdy’s chocolate “scientists” will also take chocoholics on a tasting tour of world chocolates.
Silky smooth chocolate is paired with the equally velvety R&B stylings of The Mike Henry Band, fronted by an Aretha Franklin look a like. The eight-piece band will add sophisticated croonings to the decadent evening. Entertainment spans everything from an ex Cirque du Soleil performer bringing in aerial silk performers to an award-winning yo-yo performer who spins fireballs.
From Motown to Memphis with a twist of circus and a lot of dessert, this new edition showing Nov. 11 at the GLC provides another Crush! after party choice. Araxi’s Bubbles, Jazz and the Sea also shows the same evening. DiVine tickets are $115 and are available at www.whistler.com.
