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                                    PHOENIX WINE AND FOOD SPECIALH e le n A begg of M o n k e y %u2019s W ed d in g c u ts into apum p kin c h ee se ca ke th a t is w a itin g to be purchased in hono r o f the holiday season.T h e s ta ff at C ran b erry %u2019s (left to right) G in a Furno, C hris M a ttie , Joe Petrone (ow ner), D aw n A lgieri, and M iriam M c G ib e o n posew ith som e of th e m arvelo us c o n fe ctio n s th at can grace your ow n d ining room ta b le during th e holiday season. S ele ctio n s include fresh bread, and pastries. (P h oenixK irk Photos.)Thanksgiving In Brooklyn A Moveable Feast:Over The River Through The Streets To Caterers We GoBY ELIZABETH FOSTERYour family has gathered in peace and harmony for the great national Thanksgiving feast. Ideally, it%u2019s chilly out, everyone is snug inside as they eagerly anticipate the familiar repast. You emerge from the kitchen with a steaming plate of Reuben sandwiches. They%u2019re sure you%u2019re joking. Roast beef? Delicious, maybe a little easier to take, but no way. The holiday season begins with Thanksgiving, and it brings with it a set of culinary rules which may be bent, but never, never broken.The holiday season cuisine gathers momentum with party hors d%u2019oeuvres and more or less traditional Christmas feasts, until New Year%u2019s Eve explodes in a sea of champagne, caviar and every delicacy one can consume before the sobering first of the year.But at Thanksgiving, tradition says the menu should stay the same. Thanksgiving equals turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, and pumpkin pie.Maybe your mother has a special recipe for creamed spinach or an oyster side dish, but Thanksgiving is not the time to experiment with that new recipe for seafood burritos. Unless Meliagris gallopava becomes an endangered species or cranberries are killed off by some mysterious weevil, theThanksgiving menu is set until Doomsday.Tradition may wear rather thin for the city dweller, though, when it comes to using up precious time blanching chestnuts for stuffing or preparing an elegant side dish to complement the turkey. But tradition dies hard, and the thought of Thanksgiving without that delicious mush of cranberries, potatoes, gravy and stuffing seems sacrilegious. %u201cThe sentimentalist in us pops up at holidays,%u201d says Josephine Knopp of My Sister%u2019s Kitchen, a Park Slope food shop she runs with sister Catherine.In the spirit of preserving tradition, there are many food shops in the Downtown brownstone neighborhoods where you can find a fine selection of Thanksgiving dishes %u2014 even the turkey. And if you%u2019re in the mood for a gourmet touch here and there, you%u2019re in luck. Whether you want to ditch pumpkin pie for the pumpkin cheesecake sold at Monkey%u2019s Wedding in Carroll Gardens or add Steve Heinzerling%u2019s cranberry loaf cake to the menu, you%u2019ll find that area food shops provide an exciting variety to the Thanksgiving standbys.THE TRADITIONALS, PLUSYou name it, he%u2019s got it, and the price is probably right, too, at Eagle Provisions specialty supermarket. %u201cWe have everything,%u201d says owner Richard Zawisny. %u201cCandied yams, sausage for stuffings, andimported beers.%u201d Eagle will probably sell a couple hundred pumpkin, custard, apple, and mincemeat pies for the Thanksgiving holiday alone. Customers come to Eagle, Zawisny says cheerfully, %u201cWhen they want the traditional and a little something else.%u201d Eagle Provisions is located at 628 Fifth Ave., comer of 18th St., hours from 6am7pm, Mon.-Sat.; 6am-5pm, Sun.; 6am-2pm Thanksgiving Day. for info, 499-0026.IT%u2019S JUST GOOD FOOD%u201cI don%u2019t believe in gourmet food,%u201d says Helen Abegg of Monkey%u2019s Wedding. %u201cGourmet food is just good food. I think of my food as being just good food.%u201dDishes prepared at Monkey%u2019s Wedding usually contain no added salt and low to no sugar, often to customer%u2019s surprise. Appetizer platters cost between $3-5 per person served and feature an array of bread, cheese and pate. Raw or cooked cranberry relish is $5 a pound. Cranberry loaves are $5 and cranberry squares $1 each. A 9%u201d apple-pear-cranberry pie costs $8.Monkey%u2019s Wedding will also supply a rich pumpkin cheesecake at $20 for a 10%u201d cake. Monkey%u2019s Wedding is located at 225 Court St. and is open 8am-8pm, Mon.-Fri.; 8am6pm, Sat.; 8am-noon, Sun. The shop closes at noon on Nov. 26. For info, 852-7308.APPETIZERS, SIDE DISHES, DESSERTMy Sister%u2019s Kitchen is prepared to supplyall the side dishes for the chef who is either too busy or too lazy to cook more than the turkey. Orders can be placed in advance. The Knopp sisters%u2019 selection of appetizers includes mushrooms stuffed with walnuts, cheese and cream and spinach in phyilo pastry. A tray of appetizers (6-8 pieces) runs $5 each. At $2.75 a pint, you can feed your guests soup, either curried butternut squash or cream of mussel.Side dishes at My Sister%u2019s Kitchen include gingered sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts with chestnuts and madeira sauce, a cooked cranberry/walnut relish, broccoli and cauliflower in a rich momay sauce, herbed oven roasted potatoes, and traditional applesauce with lemon peel. You can stuff your turkey with either wild rice and giblets or a fruit and nut dressing. All of these dishes cost from between $4.25 and $5.50 a pint. In addition to pumpkin pie, try something a little richer, like bourbon pecan pie or cranberry-apple-walnut pie with a crumb topping. Pies (9%u201d ) are $7.95. Orders must be placed by Nov. 24. 382 Seventh Ave., bet. 11th & 12th Sts., hours from 10am7pm, Mon.-Fri.; 10am-5pm, Sat. For info, 499-6928.UP TO LAST MINUTEThe Herzog Brothers Deli is ready, willing and able to supply you a complete Thanksgiving feast at the very last minuteC ath erin e and Josep h in e K nopp ow ners o f M y S ister's K itch en in Park S lope show D iana M ille r (left) and Julia K iley gladly d isp lay a tart th at could grace your dinnero ff th e w ide variety of fo ods available year round) but esp ecially tasty at th e holidays table for Thanksgiving th is year. The store is G ood Taste, a relative new com er on theat th e ir shop. (P h o en ix/G arcilazo Photo) gourm et food shops list. (P h oenix/K irk Photo)November 20,1986, THE PH O EN IX, Section Two, Page 9
                                
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