Friday Sips & Nibbles

I am here with a special Friday edition of my usual "Thursday Sips & Nibbles," as it has been a busy week, and the holidays approach.  So here are several more interesting wine and food items that I wanted to bring to your attention.
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1) The Beehive will be hosting their annual Thanksgiving Day dinner with festivities to include an a la carte Thanksgiving Day menu of traditional items and some with a twist. There will be live jazz all day and evening featuring three talented female vocalists: Cece Kim from 12:00PM-4:00PM, Tammy Scheffer from 4:00PM-8:00PM, and the funky soulful sounds of the Marsha Lubin from 8:00PM – 1:00AM. Leave

Thanksgiving Menu:

Appetizers
Seafood Raw Bar Selection (Oysters, Shrimp, Tuna Tartare, Lobster) at Mrkt Price
Cream of Exotic & Wild Mushroom Soup 11
Waldorf Salad, Fresh Lettuces, Apples, Great Hill Blue, Walnuts 11
Candied Baby Back Ribs 12
Truffled Potato & Cheese Perogies, Caramelized Onions, Sour Cream 10
Antipasto Platter, Cured Meats, Cheeses, Olives, Salads 15
Mezze Platter, Hummus, Salads, Whipped Feta, Olives, Pickles 14
Classic Caesar Salad 11
Steamed Mussels with Lager, Tomato & Old Bay 14

Mains
Roast Farm Raised Turkey 28
Mushroom Brioche Stuffing, Parsnip Mashed Potatoes, Spinach Cranberry Chutney, Mustard Gravy
Roast Prime Rib of Beef 30
Mushroom Brioche Stuffing, Parsnip Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Chutney, Mustard Gravy
Grilled Wild Alaskan Salmon 28
Sage Brown Butter Sauce, Wild Rice, Creamed Corn Pudding
Vegetarian Thanksgiving Plate 23
Moroccan Couscous With Chicken & Lamb 24 Vegetarian 21

Little Pilgrim’s
Kids Turkey Dinner 12
Mac & Cheese 8
Crispy Chicken Dinosaurs with Rice 8

Dessert
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Apple Crisp with Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

Menu Subject To Change

Hours of Operation on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, will be: 12pm-2:30am.
Thanksgiving Day Menu: 12pm-10pm, Late Night Menu: 10pm-1am.
À la carte pricing for dinner, no cover charge for entry.
Reservations recommended by calling 617-423-0069

2) Every November, debate heats up around the Thanksgiving dinner table on the topic of stuffing. Everyone’s got a preference, and changes to a favorite recipe can spark controversy, so Swanson broth and Chez Henri chef-owner Paul O’Connell is asking New Englanders to vote in The Great Stuffing Debate.


The debate is part of Taste of the NFL, an organization that rallies the country's top chefs, like O’Connell, and top NFL players, to raise money to support food banks in the U.S. The efforts culminate at the Super Bowl with The Party with a Purpose®. Through the efforts of hundreds of volunteers who help make Taste of the NFL the single most successful charitable event at the Super Bowl, Taste of the NFL continues to help feed the 37 million Americans who have turned to their local food banks for assistance. Millions of needs, thousands of families and dozens of new hunger projects have been affected by this major volunteer effort.

Throughout November, www.GreatStuffingDebate.com will pit O’Connell’s signature stuffing recipe against other regional chefs representing the six football teams playing on Thanksgiving Day. Swanson broth will donate funds to a Boston area food bank, to the chef and team who receive the most votes. The poll goes live Monday, November 1.

Chez Henri’s Turkey Stuffing
--Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
6 cups diced white bread (remove crusts before dicing)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
½ cup diced fennel
4 stalks celery, diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup diced chorizo sausage
2 apples, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup diced dried apricots
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 ¼ cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Organic)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oven to 300°F and place bread onto 2 baking sheets.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bread is crisp. Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 350°F.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chorizo, apples, cranberries, apricots, sage and thyme. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the broth and heat to a boil. Remove pan from heat.
Add the parsley and bread and mix lightly. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon stuffing mixture into a lightly greased 3-quart casserole and cover with foil.
Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover casserole and bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes.

3) Each holiday season from November 1st through New Year’s Eve, the Legal Sea Foods family of restaurants makes waves in assisting Children’s Hospital Boston. For the past fifteen years, a portion of the proceeds from every gift card sold has been contributed to innovative research that will benefit families with sick children. This year, Legal Sea Foods hopes to hit the $1 million marker with the funds they have been able to raise since 1996 through their Holiday Gift “Cod” program. And, as an added incentive for guest purchases, with every $200 worth of gift cards purchased from the restaurants, Legal Sea Foods will grant a “Lobster Dinner Reward” voucher, redeemable for a 1-1.25lb steamed lobster with a choice of two sides.


To date, Legal Sea Foods has raised over $950,000 through its holiday gift card program, making it the longest running annual cause marketing program to support Children’s Hospital Boston. The funds raised through the gift card program benefit Children’s Hospital scientist Leonard Zon, MD’s revolutionary zebrafish research. Zon is a world-renowned stem cell researcher who pioneered the field of zebrafish genomic research. The hope is that discoveries in the fish, whose genetic structure is similar to humans, will translate into cures for millions of people worldwide with malignant, degenerative and genetic diseases such as leukemia, cancer, anemia and immune deficiency disorders.

According to Roger Berkowitz, President and CEO of Legal Sea Foods, “We take great pride in contributing to the cutting-edge research performed at Children’s Hospital Boston. Corporate philanthropy is part of Legal’s DNA and, as a company known for having family-friendly restaurants, it’s our privilege to support an institution that has been so meaningful to families in our community.”

All 17 Legal Sea Foods restaurants in Massachusetts are involved in the program. Gift cards are available for purchase in-store, online at www.legalseafoods.com, or by calling 1-800-EAT-FISH. Lobster Dinner Reward vouchers are redeemable January through March of 2011.