HOLIDAY FEASTS TO GO
CATERED SPREADS TO THE RESCUE
“MORE CELEBRATION AND LESS STRESS” sounds like the ideal holiday recipe so many of us crave, yet it escapes our grasp year after year. If one less pie to bake or turkey to baste helps you survive Thanksgiving dinner, look no further than the ovens of local bakeries and markets.
If uniqueness is your calling card, Batch Bakehouse should be your first stop. Every pie at this East Side Madison bakery is hand-rolled and baked to order. Each bread loaf is made the morning of pickup, often still hot from the oven upon arrival. The vine-shaped Buche de Noel baguette and double-crust apple pie are culinary works of art-and the dark chocolate bourbon pecan pie is a scrumptious fusion of three items destined to be together: liquor, cocoa and nuts.
Figuring out how to balance entrees and sides can be difficult enough for one meal, so if you’re expecting overnight guests, Middleton’s Bloom Bake Shop is the morning menu’s holy grail. Hearty buttermilk biscuits, sugar- and cinnamon-dusted pumpkin donuts and cinnamon roll cupcakes are baked from scratch every morning from organic, locally sourced ingredients. The final creme de la creme of their menu is that any item can be made vegan and gluten-free.
Perhaps your guests’ dietary needs have you preparing to run for the hills—or at least someplace that keeps you away from your oven. Check out Willy Street Co-op’s pre-ordered meal packages for a traditional, vegan or gluten-free feast Each comes with four sides in addition to the main course featuring free-range oven-roasted turkey or veg-friendly hazelnut cranberry field roast. Extra sides items can be added a la carte, including coconut mashed sweet potatoes and ginger candied carrots.
One other word of advice: Place your orders by Nov. 20. Even better, order earlier and celebrate in style! batchbakehouse.com. btoombakeshop.com. wiltystreet.coop.com
