Foodstuffs: Talking Turkey And Local Flavor

Join Florence Fabricant and special guests Carissa Waechter of Carissa’s The Bakery in East Hampton and Roman Roth of Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack for a special virtual Thanksgiving “Stirring the Pot” event on Sunday, November 8, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The trio will discuss all things Thanksgiving, what to serve, what and how to bake and what to drink. They’ll answer cooking questions and provide plenty of useful tips to make the holiday a pleasure for cook and guests.

Fabricant, a food and wine writer for the New York Times, contributes the weekly Front Burner and Off the Menu columns, is a member of the wine panel and writes the pairings column for the wine tastings. She frequently writes features that appear in the Food section and also covers food and travel elsewhere in the Times. She has written 13 cookbooks. This spring, her latest, “The Ladies Village Improvement Society Cookbook: Eating and Entertaining in East Hampton,” was published by Rizzoli.

Waechter has quickly ascended to a household name throughout the Hamptons and elite culinary circles with her eponymous Carissa’s Bakery. Having spent 12 years honing her craft as a pastry chef in New York City, Waechter offers croissants, pies, loaves, and more, each one more beautifully made than the last in her picture-perfect shop that is a staple of East Hampton. She’s become a patisserie phenom with desserts that are pure art and a business that is built to last.

A gifted winemaker, Roth can often be heard singing in an enviable tenor voice amid the barrels in the winery. But most of all, he gives “voice” to his wines, produced by experience that covers three continents and stems from the dream of a 16-year-old boy in Rottweil in Germany’s Black Forest.

Roth began a three-year apprenticeship at the Kaiserstuhl Wine Cooperative Oberrotweil while attending technical school as a teenager. Following that, he worked at wineries in the United State and Australia before returning to Germany where he became a winemaker at Winzerkeller Wiesloch near Heidelberg. He earned his Master Winemaker and Cellar Master Degree from the College for Oenology and Viticulture in Weinsberg.

In 1992, he became the first winemaker at Wölffer Estate Vineyard and established the estate’s distinctive character — European elegance combined with the Long Island terroir. At the 2003 East End Food & Wine Awards (judged by the American Sommelier Society), he was named Winemaker of the Year.

To join the virtual “Stirring the Pot” Thanksgiving session on Sunday, November 8, visit guildhall.org. Tickets are $10 ($8 members).

Fabricant will also take part in a conversation with chef Alex Guarnaschelli in a free Zoom event hosted by East Hampton Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 12. The library, in collaboration with the East Hampton Ladies’ Village Improvement Society, will present Fabricant and Guarnaschelli discussing “The Ladies’ Village Improvement Society Cookbook.”

Guarnaschelli is one of the book’s contributors, while Fabricant is the book’s editor and author. The presentation will kick off with an introduction by Anne P. Thomas, board member of the East Hampton Library and past president of the LVIS, and will include an interactive Q&A with participants.

A melding of traditional taste with the flavors of the Hamptons, the cookbook offers 100 recipes for entertaining as well as for everyday meals. It includes a collection of recipes from members of the Ladies’ Village Improvement Society, renowned chefs and celebrities who live or vacation in East Hampton (including Guarnaschelli, Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Hilaria Baldwin and Eli Zabar), and favorite local figures like farmers, vintners, painters and poets. Organized into 20 menus, including “Dinner After the Movies,” “Autumn Catch,” and “Lunch by the Pool,” the recipes encompass the uniquely broad range of gatherings, from special-occasion celebrations to casual family meals or big beach picnics for a crowd.

Original photographs by Doug Young shine a light on the freshness and originality of the food and the local spots from beaches to farm stands, while historical photographs and anecdotes from the Ladies’ Village Improvement Society archives and local newspapers express the best of Hamptons eating.

This is a free event, but advance registration is required. Register online, via eventbrite.com or contact the library at 631-324-0222 extension 3 or reference@easthamptonlibrary.org.

Publick House Specials

Fall is here, and so are weekday lunch combos at the Southampton Publick House. Mondays through Fridays until 4 p.m., diners are invited to make their own lunch combo for $14. Or if dinner is more what you’re up for, enjoy Monday Night Madness with $5 pints and half-price burgers and wings from 5 to 10 p.m. On Tequila Tuesdays, Publick House offers $5 margaritas, $5 tacos and half-price quesadillas. On OMGFridays, it’s happy hour all night at the bar and dining rooms. Weekend brunch is offered Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Southampton Publick House is at 62 Jobs Lane in Southampton Village and offers tented and heated outdoor seating for fall and holiday dining. Visit publick.com or call 631-283-2800 for details.

Harbor Market and Kitchen in Sag Harbor is offering a takeout Thanksgiving menu featuring roast turkey, vegetables and sides such as roasted delicate squash and wood roasted Brussels sprouts, plus stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato puree and cranberry relish. Also available are starters including squash soup and a charcuterie and cheese board, and pumpkin, apple crumb and chocolate pecan pie, plus pumpkin cheesecake or cookies for dessert.

Orders should be placed in advance by Thursday, November 12. Pick up on Thanksgiving, November 26, by noon. Call Harbor Market at 631-725-4433 or visit harbormarket.com for details.

Cowfish in Hampton Bays is back for fall and offering five family meals to go, including steak, surf & turf (now with an all-seafood option), BBQ or burgers. All packages include a choice of appetizer, soup or salad and dessert. And don’t forget to add on a quart of your favorite cocktail.

The meals are available daily and all-day-long. Call to place a takeout order. Cowfish will also be offering a Thanksgiving takeout menu including salads, starters, traditional sides, seasonal desserts and an herb-marinated turkey breast (all seasoned and ready to cook.

For more information, visit cowfishrestaurant.com or call 631-594-3868. Cowfish is at 258 East Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays.