Tutto il Giorno

56 Nugent Street

Southampton

377-3611

Dinner, Thursday through Monday

Lunch, Saturday and Sunday

If you are a fan of Tutto il Giorno in Sag Harbor, you will definitely like Tutto il Giorno in Southampton. For starters, you have a better chance of getting a table. The Tutto in Sag Harbor is a tiny, or should I say “piccolo” restaurant with a mere 38 seats that fill up fast. The Tutto in Southampton is much bigger and airier, but has similar, attractive decor and plenty of banquettes with pillows.

The walls are grayish, actually rather difficult to define as the lighting is exceptionally low. This is great for looking more attractive across the table but hell when you’re trying to read the menu. There are mirrors and beautiful Mary Ellen Bartley photographs, and some black and white portraits of gentlemen at a funeral in Sardinia.

The menus are almost identical — faithfully Italian, with plenty of homemade pasta options, and quite expensive. High prices don’t bother me so much when the food lives up to it and the environment is pleasant. Thankfully, there are excellent prix fixes and date night specials that take the sting out of the cost.

We took advantage of the prix fixe menu offerings on a recent Sunday evening, beginning with appetizers of roasted octopus, polenta with cauliflower, and mussels with clams in spicy tomato sauce. The octopus came to the table in its own little cast iron skillet, leading us to believe it would be scorching hot, which it wasn’t. It was warm and tender and tasty, but we agreed it could have used a bit more char. It was served with plenty of lemon juice and olive oil, and had a good amount of sweet fingerling potatoes, green olives, and cipollini onions scattered around in the pan. It was a nice contrast between chewy polpo, fluffy potatoes, and sharply salty olives.

The polenta had good flavor but the texture was way more Cream of Wheat cereal than the traditional coarsely ground cornmeal used for this dish. The bits of local cauliflower added sweetness and the crumbled Gorgonzola cheese swirled through gave it richness and tang. The mussels and clams in spicy tomato sauce were the best of all, a generous bowl with plenty of tender Manila clams and good-size mussels. The sauce was chunky, full of tomatoes, fennel, onions, and garlic. The dish was topped with a crostini with a dab of excellent garlic aioli.

For entrees we tried the black sea bass in parchment paper, tagliatelle with bottarga and spicy chilies, and ravioli stuffed with butternut squash. All three were superb.

The fish, which came out in its charred paper envelope with the top sliced open, was on a bed of fresh spinach and haricots verts. The fish was fresh and moist, topped with fresh herbs, capers, and black olives.

The tagliatelle was spicy from slivers of fresh red chilies and had toasted pine nuts, thinly sliced garlic, and marvelous bits of bottarga. Bottarga is the salted, cured fish roe from grey mullet or tuna. Bottarga di muggine is the grey mullet version, usually so firm it is grated with a microplaner. The bottarga di tonno (tuna) is a bit softer. I’m not sure which kind our dish had, but it adds a mysterious, umami, briny funk to dishes. We loved it.

The roasted butternut squash ravioli was perfect — super thin pasta pockets, cooked al dente, filled with more squash than ricotta, making them quite light and virtuous. This is good because they were swimming in a delicious browned butter sage sauce. The addition of toasted pumpkin seeds made this dish even better. It’s the little things, folks!

The service on the night of our visit was very good. We had an entertaining waiter who pointed out to us that getting the date night special for $25 was just as cheap as three hamburgers at McDonald’s. Not quite, but we were amused at his enthusiasm for a good bargain. Prices at Tutto il Giorno are high for Italian food. Appetizers are $15 to $21, pastas are $22 to $29, entrees are $33 to $40, sides are $12. I failed to find out dessert prices as we got the prix fixe special. I’m going to guess they are between $10 and $12.

For desserts we got the biscotti, tiramisu, and ricotta cheesecake. The biscotti were excellent, crunchy and hard with bits of dark chocolate in them. The tiramisu was as good an execution for this dish as you can hope for, well soaked ladyfingers, full of espresso flavor, layered with whipped mascarpone and dusted with cocoa powder. The ricotta cheesecake was also very good and simple, with mild vanilla flavor, a cookie crumb crust with a bit of cocoa powder in it, and streaks of good caramel sauce. The other dessert option was flourless chocolate cake. I will say here that while the desserts were tasty, the choices seem like something from a 1980s time warp. Considering the creativity and fine quality of all the other menu options, it would be nice to see something like a blood orange sorbet or olive oil cake or fruit crostada, still faithfully Italian, just more original.

I have never been disappointed with a meal at Tutto il Giorno in Sag Harbor, and if I lived in Southampton I would certainly patronize this location as well. The food is always good, the staff professional (occasionally amusing), and the dining rooms serene.

Winter memberships in Quail Hill Farm’s community supported agriculture program in Amagansett are still available and cost $395 for a family. A first-time fee for new members is $50. Individual shares are $250. 

The bounty can include carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, burdock, squash, beets, celery root, parsley, dried beans, wheat berries, and smoked hot peppers, among other things. Carissa’s Breads is also offering season-long bread shares through Quail Hill, and people can buy loaves individually on Friday pickup days.

Pickups are every other week on Fridays or Saturdays. Members can pick greens from the greenhouses any day of the week, and there are still kale and Brussels sprouts growing in the fields. The next pickups are Friday, Dec. 19, and Dec. 20, and will continue through February or even into March if supplies hold out.

Shares can be ordered by phone at the Peconic Land Trust office in Southampton or be bought online at peconic­landtrust.org.

Edible Gifts

Two ideas for food-related holiday gift hunters come from Sagaponack this week. Townline BBQ is selling its own house-made beef jerky, bottles of barbeque sauce, and hats and T-shirts. And, just up the road at Pantigo Farm, Sam Lester is offering his homemade jams and jellies, including beach plum from the bumper 2014 crop.

E.N.E. and the Palm

East by Northeast restaurant in Edgemere Street in Montauk has happy hour food and drink specials at the bar most nights from 5 to 7 p.m. and two-for-one sushi in the dining room on Sundays. E.N.E., as it is called, is open from 5 to 9 except on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and until 10 on weekends.

Members of the Palm 837 Club can get the restaurant chain’s featured wines of the month at significant discounts, including at its East Hampton Village location at the Huntting Inn on Main Street. During December, a 2011 Rodney Strong red from California’s Alexander Valley is $30 off the wine list price, and Gosset Champagne Brut Excellence is $15 off. The one-time $25 membership fee comes back to you in the form of a $25 gift card good towards a Palm meal or bar tab. The sign-up form is at thepalm.com/837-Club.

Duryea’s All Winter

Duryea’s Seafood Market on Tuthill Road in Montauk will stay open through the winter under the management of its former owner, Perry B. Duryea III. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Two pound-and-a-quarter lobsters, a quart of New England clam chowder, and a choice of two pounds of mussels or two dozen Littleneck clams are $39.95 in an off-season special. Seafood orders can be cooked on request at no additional charge.

Loaves and Fishes

Feeling lucky, cook? Well, Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton’s annual lottery sale is underway. Shoppers can dip into a jar at the register for a slip of paper, each good for between 5 and 25 percent off their entire purchase. The deal is offered until the end of the year.

New Year’s Plans

It is not too soon to begin thinking about New Year’s Eve, and Gurney’s Inn in Montauk has announced a $206-per-person black-and-white masked party that will include an hour and a half of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a five-course dinner, open bar, live music, and D.J.s imported from New York City. After the ball drop, which will be viewable on large-screen TVs, a round of light food will be served at 2 a.m.

Guests who perhaps wisely might plan to say the night can book a room for two now starting at $610. The room charge includes use of the Seawater Spa. Prices will rise after Monday.

Grilled oysters with lemon horseradish beurre blanc and shallots; mussels Skagen; Greenland shrimp; steak tartare with horseradish, mustard cream, quail egg yolk, and pickled beets, and lobster and duck are on the New Year’s Eve menu at the Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone in East Hampton Village. The cost is $125 plus tax and tip. Reservations are being taken now.

This is the time of year when warm, comforting foods are very appealing. What can be even more appealing are melty-cheesy dishes like Welsh rabbit, Kentucky hot brown, fondues, and raclette. The fun of fondue and raclette is that they are interactive meals. You simply set out the ingredients and let everyone do their own thing. While some would consider fondue a meal, I prefer to have it as a fun first course, followed by a light, yet heartily packed vegetable soup like ribollita.

Perhaps the simplest dish is Welsh rabbit (not rarebit), which requires no special equipment. It is simply toasted bread with a cheese sauce poured over it. The sauce is usually a bechamel to which cheddar cheese has been added. Other possible additions are beer or ale, mustard, paprika, and/or cayenne.

The Kentucky hot brown, invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Ky., in 1926 as a late-night meal, consists of toast on the bottom, slices of turkey, a hot cheesy mornay sauce, then slices of crisped bacon. You could also add sliced tomatoes but why add a vegetable or color at this point? You’re in the South! If you stowed some leftover Thanksgiving turkey in your freezer, pull some out and try this delicious dish.

Fondues and raclette are the most fun of all but do require equipment. You can melt cheese in almost any fireproof vessel, but to maintain the proper texture and temperature throughout the meal, you need a fondue pot or raclette coupelle so you can have a continuous low flame keeping it warm.

If my mother, Honoria, had a Proustian food memory it was most certainly raclette. I remember her talking about it often — how delicious and nutty the melted cheese was, being scraped off the wheel onto a plate with boiled potatoes and cornichons. I wish we could have shared this dish with her as I have just recently discovered it. Raclette is the name of the cheese used and the recipe itself, after the verb racler, “to scrape.” Most stories about its history describe farmers or herdsmen setting up camp for the night high up in the Alps. They would lay a cheese wheel near the fire, and as it softened, scrape it off onto bread. The traditional accompaniments are cornichons (little French pickles), pickled onions, and small boiled potatoes. You can also dip bits of good ham into it. In my research for this dish I spoke with Michael Cavaniola of Cavaniola’s Gourmet Cheese Shop in Sag Harbor. It sells everything you need for either fondue or raclette. He asked if I was going to roast the potatoes in duck fat. So of course I had to. . . . This elevated the raclette to new levels of flavor and naughtiness. And since I didn’t have any pickled onions, he suggested cipollini onions, which turned out to be far better than plain old cocktail onions from a jar. They were sweeter and less vinegary.

Fondue has so many variations and dipping possibilities. As far as I’m concerned, anything that tastes good with cheese will taste good dipped into fondue.

There are also some etiquette rules for fondue. Rather than transfer your cheesy bread cube or apple slice directly from the pot into your mouth, you should transfer it from the pot to your plate, then eat it. No double dipping. If a gentleman’s bread cube falls into the pot, he must buy a round of drinks for all. Let’s remember, this dish is popular at ski resorts, where much jollity and drinking apres-ski are also considered sports. If a lady drops her bread cube into the bubbling cheese lava, she must kiss her nearest dining companions. The skewers that come with a fondue set are color-coded so each person can identify his or her own.

For my first fondue experiment I wanted to remain traditional and went with Mr. Cavaniola’s recommendation of a third Gruyere, a third Emmental, and a third Appenzeler. For additional binding and blending you can add a bit of cornstarch or flour. I prefer cornstarch as it thickens quickly and flour takes longer to cook.

Begin by rubbing a cut clove of garlic in your fondue pot or cooking vessel on the stove. Boil some dry white wine (preferably from the same region as the cheeses), then add cheese a bit at a time, stirring continuously and melting each addition before adding more. You can toss the cornstarch with the grated cheese to save a step, or add it as it cooks. A bit of lemon juice also enhances the emulsification of the fondue. A lot of traditional recipes also call for kirsch, a cherry liqueur, but I didn’t bother.

From here you transfer the fondue to the tabletop, with an appropriate heat source underneath, whether candles or Sterno or whatever came with your fondue set. Bread cubes are all you need, but cubes of ham, slices of apple, blanched broccoli florets or cauliflower, steamed potatoes, other root vegetables, and anything else you think would taste good are all appropriate.

There are some dangers of the cheese mixture separating, which is why certain cheeses are considered best for this dish. While I did see numerous recipes that used cheddars and goat cheese, Mr. Cavaniola warned against these as the altitude at which the cows are raised, the milk produced, and cheeses made, makes a difference. In other words, altitude matters.

If your fondue does separate, it can be revived by the addition of more wine (or other liquid), can be whipped into submission with an immersion blender (not sure about this), and one person suggested adding an egg yolk. I had no trouble with my maiden voyage and also had success reheating it the next day without problems. If your fondue party is so successful that you are left with no more than a browning cheesy crust at the bottom of the pot, turn the heat down and let it crisp up. This is known as le religieuse or “the nun.” It is delicious.

In Italy, a similar dish is referred to as fonduta, usually made with fontina cheese. A friend who grew up there and remembers the dish well says it was referred to as il pasto pericoloso, “the dangerous meal.” No doubt this refers to sharing an interactive meal with small children, an open flame, and sharp skewers on the kitchen table, not the fat content of the meal!

For self preservation, I enjoyed some outdoor hiking both before and after indulging in fondue and raclette, my pathetic replication of a day spent skiing in the Alps, and justification for such rich dishes.

If you have an old fondue pot gathering dust somewhere (I’ll bet your parent have one!), dig it out and start playing with fondue. Or just get a little contraption to melt raclette. Even a cast iron skillet will do.

It was fun researching and discovering these ancient dishes. I only wish I could have enjoyed them with my mother, whose memories and reminiscences inspired this cheesy journey.

Click for recipes

Cavaniola’s Traditional Swiss Fondue

It is important to use the best ingredients for best flavor. Supermarket cheeses probably won’t yield the same results, so I strongly urge you to get the best cheeses you can for this fondue recipe.

Cavaniola’s very kindly shared its recipe for fondue, and the results were spectacular. If you want, the shop will blend the cornstarch and grate the cheeses for you beforehand. Bring cheese to room temperature before beginning.

Serves two to three.

3 oz. grated Gruyere

3 oz. grated Emmental

3 oz. grated Appenzeller

1.5 Tbsp. cornstarch or flour

1 clove garlic, peeled and halved

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tsp. lemon juice

Fresh ground pepper

Pinch of nutmeg

In a medium bowl, combine the three cheeses and toss. Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove halves. Add the wine and heat over medium until hot but not boiling.

Whisk in the cornstarch and lemon juice. Add a handful of cheese to the wine mixture. While stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, wait for each portion of cheese to completely melt before adding the next. Continue until all the cheese is completely melted, bubbling gently, and has the appearance of a light cream sauce. Season to taste with pepper and nutmeg. Remove the pot from the heat and place over an alcohol-safe burner.

Nancy’s Ribollita

This soup recipe is from my friend Nancy Greenwald and has been included in my column before. It makes a huge batch, so freeze some! It is perfect after a first course of fondue.

Serves a lot of people.

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cans cannelini beans, or soak and use dried beans as directed

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato sauce

4 carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 bunches Swiss chard or one each chard and kale, center stems removed and coarsely chopped

1 bunch basil leaves, chopped

1 bunch rosemary, left whole (I tie this in a bundle with kitchen string)

1 bunch thyme, left whole and tied in a bundle

1/2 cup sage leaves, chopped

4 cups water

3 vegetable bouillon cubes

Saute onion in large stockpot or Dutch oven with olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and saute another 10 minutes.

Add broken up tomatoes, tomato sauce, and paste. Add layers of cooked beans, chard, kale, basil, and other herbs. Pour in four cups water with bouillon cubes, and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and cover, then simmer for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove stem bits of herbs before serving.

Holiday Meals

Michael’s restaurant at Maidstone in East Hampton has put together a special menu to be offered on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day next week. Besides a lineup of a la carte starters such as bouillabaisse, foie gras with diver scallops, and duck served two ways, and entrees including roasted truffle and manchego cheese-stuffed chicken, pistachio-crusted New Zealand rack of lamb, and traditional paella, the restaurant will offer a traditional Feast of Seven Fishes Christmas Eve dinner. For $75 per person, or $130 per person with wine, diners will be served seven seafood courses. Dessert will be toasted panettone served with a pinot noir-poached pear and chocolate ganache and red wine syrup.

On Christmas, Michael’s will serve a buffet-style brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for $50 per adult, or $25 for children under 10.

Nick and Toni’s in East Hampton will be open for dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, serving a holiday menu that includes a choice of zuppa di pesce, with lobster, monkfish, clams, and mussels with saffron, spinach, and ceci beans, as an entree. The restaurant will be closed on Christmas.

At Rowdy Hall, also in East Hampton, lunch only will be served on Christmas Eve, with special choices including crab bisque, an omelette with smoked salmon and chives, and a lobster B.L.T. Rowdy will also be closed Christmas Day.

 At the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, a Christmas Eve menu will feature entree choices of salmon, blackfish, bay scallops, Long Island duckling, English prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, and more. All will be served with starters and holiday desserts both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The prix fixe costs $85 per person, or $40 for children.

Year-End Giving?

The Amagansett Food Institute, which works to support local farmers and food purveyors, is making a year-end appeal to raise $50,000, as it has been offered a $50,000 matching grant by a supporter. This year, the institute opened South Fork Kitchens at the Stony Brook Southampton campus, a food business incubator and cafe, and launched its Farm to Pantry program in partnership with Long Island Cares, which funnels surplus produce from farmers to food pantries. An East End CRAFT program matches farm apprentices to local farms and provides training. The organization’s website is at amagansettfoodinstitute.org.

Round Swamp Specialties

Though the Round Swamp Farm market in East Hampton has closed for the season, its Bridgehampton location, at 97 School Street, will be open for one last gasp this weekend. Prepared dinners, including beef bourguignon, meatloaf, shepherd’s pie, and more, are available through Sunday, as are side dishes such as butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower-four cheese potato casserole. Also at the market are soups and salads and baked goods including muffins, holiday cakes, and pies. Peconic Bay scallops are on sale for $20 a pound, while supplies last.

Hampton Seafood Co.

At the Hampton Seafood Co. takeout shop in East Hampton, daily specials are offered. Thursday is taco day, with a deal on fish and shrimp tacos. Prepared foods for holiday meals, such as crudités, cheese and fruit platters, and seafood, of course — both ready to eat and ready to cook — are available. A new baker, Jennifer Corazzo, the Flour Girl, is providing the shop with bread puddings, cookie trays, pies, and other baked goods.

When it was suggested to me that I participate in a latke-making party and write a story about it, my initial response was, “Hmmm, doesn’t sound like much of a food story. Grated potatoes fried in oil? How interesting or complicated can that be?” When I heard that a number of children would be helping, I thought, “Now it’s getting interesting.” And when I learned about all the delicious varieties of latkes in existence, I was much enthused.

The latke-making marathon was held at Toby and Arnold Spitz’s house in Sag Harbor for a Hanukkah party and concert to be held at the Temple Adas Israel, the oldest synagogue on Long Island. Toby, a fun, energetic lady, is the chairwoman of the cultural programs committee and, we were delighted to discover, an awesome cook. She had already prepped most of the ingredients to make several hundred of three varieties of latkes — classic potato, a curried sweet potato, and zucchini with feta.

When the kids arrived — Clark, Jessica, Julian, and Siena, ranging in age from 8 to 12 — we got to work. There were still plenty of potatoes that needed peeling, onions to grate, spices to be measured, and eggs to be beaten. Jessica and Siena enjoyed dancing to the Klezmatics as they peeled potatoes . . . mostly over the trash can. Clark and Julian took on the manly tasks of egg beating and onion grating. Fortunately, the food processor was standing by to perform in three seconds what it was taking eight people an hour to do.

There were two big nonstick skillets and one griddle on the stove ready for frying. We began with the Sephardic zucchini pancakes, which were full of green onions, fresh herbs, and feta cheese. These are Toby’s favorite latkes, especially in late summer when zucchini is so plentiful.

As the kitchen floor got a bit littered, the countertops covered in flotsam and jetsam, and the air filled with oily-fry odors, I asked Toby what made her so lucky she was saddled with this massive task. “Apparently, I’m the only member who has a five-burner stove!” she laughed good-naturedly. In between directing the kids and moms, she explained that the Festival of Lights is considered one of the minor Jewish holidays, but certainly a wonderful one for food. In essence “we were persecuted, we survived, let’s eat!”

Next up were the sweet potato latkes, inspired by the now-defunct New Prospect Cafe in Park Slope. These were lightly sweetened with brown sugar and had a bit of curry and cumin in them. Toby suggested serving them with chicken and a salad.

There were now 10 of us in the kitchen, in various degrees of helping out, and we were getting more peckish by the hour. Latkes were disappearing. “This is a latke-making party for the temple, not a latke-tasting party!” I might have heard someone say.

At one point, Arnold, who had been a jovial good sport throughout the takeover of the kitchen, asked, “Could I have some lunch now?” Alas, the major production of a quadrupled potato latke recipe was about to begin. Out came some red wine. The kids tested the old wives’ tale theory of “a piece of bread in the mouth will protect your eyes from grated onion gas.” It does not work.

Then the moms, Soozy and Sharon, took over the frying. I marveled at the kids’ willingness and camaraderie of working for hours together on a cooking project. They are all experienced cooks and had no fear of spattering oil, sharp box graters, and unwieldy peelers. They have been friends for life and attend Hebrew school together.

I asked Toby her theories on potato starch. Rinse the grated potatoes or not? Squeeze out in a dishtowel? Submerge in water to discourage discoloration? Cook in schmaltz? I even tossed out a bit of my own Yiddish knowledge, explaining “fleishig” to the kids. This earned me the nickname “goychick.” Haha, I’ll take it.

Finally, the three kinds of latkes were done, drained, and getting stacked up on parchment-covered sheet pans for Sunday night’s concert and celebration. I enjoyed imagining the members of Temple Adas Israel marveling at the delicious and plentiful array of latkes, made with small hands and big hearts. It was an honor and an education to be a part of it. Thank you, Toby, Arnold, Soozy, Sharon, Jessica, Julian, Siena, and Clark!

Click for recipes.

For New Year’s Eve

Those looking toward the last night of December to have an evening meal out and ring in the new year have numerous choices as to where they might go.

At Almond in Bridgehampton, a four-course prix fixe on New Year’s Eve will be centered on local foods. The menu will include appetizer choices such as Peconic Bay scalloped hash and smoked Montauk Pearl oysters, and entrees such as surf and turf — with lobster ravioli and braised short ribs — and herb-crusted halibut. The prix fixe will begin at 9 p.m. and include a champagne toast and party favors. The cost is $105 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

Dinner a la carte will be available earlier in the evening, with holiday specials on the menu. Later diners who don’t wish to indulge in the prix fixe can order snacks and cocktails at the bar.

Nick and Toni’s in East Hampton will ring in the new year by serving a la carte holiday specials, starting with scallop ceviche as an amuse bouche, an appetizer of chilled lobster and avocado salad, and a grilled veal chop as an entree. Cara­melized white chocolate profiteroles with pomegranate will be the dessert special of the night. Reservations have been recommended.

Rowdy Hall in East Hampton will be open for lunch and dinner on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. A la carte specials on the eve of the new year will include truffled Balsam Farm cauliflower soup, country pate on a toasted baguette with a fried egg, and trout served with braised leeks, fingerling potatoes, and American caviar. On Jan. 1, there will be “hair of the dog soup,” omelettes with poached salmon, caviar, and chives, Balsam Farm sweet potato and duck confit hash served with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, and fried chicken and biscuits with maple syrup.

In Noyac, Bell and Anchor will offer an a la carte menu, with specials, on New Year’s Eve.

Out and About on Christmas

In Amagansett, D’Canela will be open for breakfast and lunch today, as it was yesterday, Christmas Eve.

On New Year’s Eve, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served, and the restaurant and gathering spot will remain open into the new year, till 4 a.m. On New Year’s Day, breakfast and lunch will be served.

For those whose Thanksgiving plans don’t include trussing and roasting a turkey at home, there is the following list, by no means exhaustive, of places where one could eat or get takeout for the holiday next week.

Pierre’s restaurant in Bridgehampton will serve an a la carte Thanksgiving dinner all day next Thursday — turkey along with lobster, lamb, and burgers. Child-sized portions will be available.

The market at Pierre’s will have 8-to-15-pound turkeys available, along with all the trimmings, including organic chicken and pork stuffing with chestnuts and Alsatian spice bread, glazed sweet potatoes, braised Brussels sprouts, and cranberry dressing. There will also be desserts, such as chocolate cakes and pumpkin and pecan tarts. Orders should be placed as early as possible. The menus can be seen online at pierresbridgehampton.com.

At the 1770 House in East Hampton, Michael Rozzi, the chef, will prepare a three-course Thanksgiving meal, and Michael Cohen, the wine director, will select wines to be paired with it. The meal will cost $95 per person, plus tax and gratuity; two courses for kids 12 and under will be offered for $40. Along with turkey, the entree choices will include maple-soy cured pork chops, a vegetarian truffle risotto, seared sea scallops, and New York strip steak.

South Fork and Spoon catering will not only prepare the food for a fuss-free Thanksgiving dinner at home, but will set the table, select wine and alcohol, and decorate with flower arrangements. The menu features dishes made with local and organic ingredients, and includes not only entrees and side dishes but also breakfast and hors d’oeuvres, including a Feast and Football platter with things to nosh on while watching the game. Deliveries will be made without additional charge from Southampton to East Hampton, and to Montauk for a fee. Additional information is available at southforkandspoon.com.

Also taking orders for Thanksgiving is Smokin’ Wolf BBQ in East Hampton. Smokin’ Wolf also has Sunday football specials on orders of wings, sliders, nachos, and grilled buffalo chicken salad to feed a crowd, and offers a free quesadilla with every three purchased. 

Art of Eating in Amagansett (Hamptonsartofeating.com) will accept holiday takeout orders through tomorrow for pickup by 10:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day; a minimum purchase of $600 is required. Cheryl Stair, the executive chef, has designed a menu of more than 40 items, based on organic and local ingredients, to create a five-course meal, or portions thereof. The fresh, free-range turkeys she serves are raised in Bridgehampton at Ludlow Farms. Orders may be placed by phone or emailed to [email protected].

At the Montauk Yacht Club, there will be a Thanksgiving Day buffet from noon to 6 p.m. for $32.95.

Bridgehampton’s Topping Rose House restaurant will center its Thanksgiving menu on organic turkey with traditional holiday side dishes. Reservations are being taken for holiday meals from 1 to 6 p.m. next Thursday, at $125 per person, plus tax and gratuity, or $55 for children 10 and under.

Also in Bridgehampton, Fresh Hamptons restaurant will serve Thanksgiving dinner from noon to 6 p.m., with holiday specials offered in addition to the regular dinner menu.

At the Living Room in East Hampton, a four-course feast will be served from 1 to 8 p.m. for $89 per person, excluding tax and tip, or half that for kids 12 and under.

New at E.N.E.

East by Northeast in Montauk has a new executive chef. Jeremy Blutstein, who was nominated for a James Beard award and has a decade of experience, was previously chef at the Crow’s Nest, also in Montauk. He is revamping the restaurant’s menu, and the new culinary lineup, described as “Asian flair meets farm-to-table,” will be unveiled tomorrow.

E.N.E. has a $24 prix fixe offered Sunday through Tuesday nights and until 6:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and serves half-price sushi and bar appetizers during happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday through Monday, and all night on Tuesdays.

Lights! Carrots! Action! It was Colin’s Carrot-Palooza at Estia’s Little Kitchen last week, as splashy a media event as you can expect for a Wednesday . . . in November . . . for a vegetable. There were local rock star chefs and their Daucus carotas, served raw, steamed, and in various dishes. The carrots, that is.

Colin Ambrose conceived of the event, a yearly root tasting, last summer. He asked a number of chefs and their favorite farmers or gardeners to grow a control seed (Scarlet Nantes) and another of their choice. There were hybrids and open-pollinated types, many with names that sounded more like medical marijuana varieties: Purple Haze, Atomic Red, White Satin, and Bolero.

Colin modestly pointed out the difference between himself and the other growers. “I’m a gardener, these people are farmers. This is educational for me, how they do it, what I can learn from them. Farmers have to blow the socks off of people who go to the farmers markets and taste their carrots.”

As people nibbled the raw and steamed samples, each chef and farmer was asked about his or her 65-day growing odyssey. Marilee Foster of Foster Farm, who was paired with Jason Weiner of Almond, emphasized the importance of preparing the soil the year before growth, making sure it’s not too acidic. Scott Chaskey of Quail Hill Farm, partnered with Chris Polidoro, a private chef, pointed out that once seeds are set, germination takes a long time, and weeding, weeding, weeding is important. Giggles all around from those in the know, except the press people whose mouths were stuffed with free food and wine.

Jeff Negron, who helps with the garden at Nick and Toni’s and Topping Rose House and has a number of private clients, said the sandy soil is good but needs plenty of nutrients. He also lamented the fact that carrots are slow growers and that his private clients expected carrots to be ready on time for all appropriate holidays. More giggles.

Dennis MacNeil, the chef at Provisions in Sag Harbor, said he had tried purple carrots in a chicken soup and they turned the soup purple. Cassandra Shupp, the pastry chef from Topping Rose House, said she uses carrots in a lot of desserts.

In their raw and lightly steamed state, the Atomic Reds had a somewhat strong flavor, the Purple Haze had a green taste, the White Satins were a bit soft and mild, the Dale’s fresh mix very vegetal. Yeah, I know those are vague descriptions.

And then, out came the dishes. From Topping Rose House there were some dainty and delicious carrot cake squares. From Bay Burger was a carrot panna cotta, light and silky. Todd Jacobs of Fresh Hamptons brought carrot fritters for dipping in a marvelous zesty mayo, yuzu, and jalapeno sauce. Bryan Futerman and Joe Realmuto of Nick and Toni’s provided beautiful and tasty harissa carrots. For sure one of the best was Colin’s Mr. McGregor’s Shepherd’s Pie, made with a layer of carrots between the mashed potatoes and (sniff, sniff, snuffle) Peter Rabbit stew filling. If there had been a Mrs. Tiggy Winkle pie I would have just about fainted then and there. Mr. Polidoro’s perfectly balanced carrot gyoza with a garlicky soy dipping sauce was my favorite.

We ate, we learned, we laughed, we jockeyed for position to take pictures. Stay tuned for next year’s event, where we again follow the seed to the plate at . . . BEETle Mania!

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There are three new cookbooks out right now with local connections. Ina Garten, a k a the Barefoot Contessa, has come out with her ninth book, called “Make It Ahead.” The folks of Edible School Gardens have published the “Delicious Nutritious FoodBook,” compiled and written by Judiann Carmack-Fayyaz. And the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living have come out with “One Pot.”

Let us first explore the Ina-verse of “Make It Ahead” (Clarkson Potter, $35). Basically, this woman can do no wrong. I have yet to try a Barefoot Contessa recipe that didn’t work. Same goes for any of my friends, whether they are experienced cooks or not.

The recipes are foolproof, fairly simple, and you can find the ingredients just as easily in Hamtramck, Mich., as you can in New York City. The concept and promise of “making it ahead” is a good one. Whether you just want to simplify a weeknight meal or prepare a grander feast for company without being at the stove when they arrive, this book covers all the bases, from prepping to cooking to baking ahead.

The recipes are presented as if you were going to serve them immediately but then offer steps for simplifying the meal in advance, such as chopping slaw ingredients a day ahead, preparing the dressing, and tossing it together just before serving. There are a number of recipes I have earmarked to try that sound delicious, such as leek and artichoke bread pudding, pear and parsnip gratin, twice-baked sweet potatoes, garlic and herb roasted shrimp, and the salty oatmeal and chocolate chunk cookies.

I couldn’t resist trying two of the recipes this past weekend, the Spanish tapas peppers and roasted cauliflower snowflakes. Both were excellent and easy to prepare. However, I must say about the cauliflower, if I had a restaurant, this would be on my menu as a side dish all year round.

Another aspect of the Barefoot Contessa books that is very appealing is the warmth and enthusiasm of Ina herself. She talks about life, surprises, discoveries, travel, her friends, and her husband, Jeffrey, with humor and graciousness. She gives credit for recipes where due, whether they are inspired by a person or place or restaurant. One of the more touching additions is the two pages dedicated to the late Lee Bailey, the author of several cozy cookbooks.

To sum up, how can you resist a book that begins with a recipe for whole-wheat peanut butter dog biscuits and ends with a picture of chocolate cake with mocha frosting?

“FoodBook”

The “Delicious Nutritious FoodBook” (Edible School Gardens, $13.99) is a wonderful educational primer for parents and children to encourage better eating habits from the beginning. The book itself looks like an issue of Edible East End, which makes sense because many of the editors helped with it. It is well designed and beautifully laid out. There are recipes from many local chefs, like Joe Realmuto, Bryan Futerman, Jason Weiner, and Noah Schwartz. There are also recipes from the children of local schools and their parents.

It is peppered with quotes and maxims and helpful tidbits from Michael Pollan to Dr. Seuss to A.A. Milne. The contents go from breakfast through greens, grains, rainbow colors, beans, meat, fish, and fruit. Most of the recipes are basic and encourage ways to involve children in the making of a meal, from the straightforward (smoothies) to learning how to chop vegetables and cook grains, meat, and fish.

Learning how to grow vegetables, how to shop, and how to plan meals takes up a good portion of the book, but it is all explained in an accessible way, with beautiful photography to illustrate. I love the anecdotes sprinkled throughout, like the story of Hannah, a fifth grader from Greenport who won a salad dressing recipe contest and now sells her dressings at farmers markets on the North Fork. There are also a lot of Mark Bittman recipes and tips, such as “101 things to do with such and such ingredients.”

From the simple mango chicken skewers from Sen restaurant in Sag Harbor to the more involved duck cassoulet from Orient Inn, this book has something for kids to do themselves and for parents to introduce to their children in the way of more elaborate international dishes. My only criticisms are: I wish there were a recipe index at the back, and there is a measurement error on the Liquid/Dry Measurements page — a gallon is 16 cups, not 15.

As Julia Child said many years ago, “You learn to cook so that you don’t have to be a slave to recipes. You get what’s in season and you know what to do with it.” This book should be available in every school, at every farm stand, and in every household with wee ones. It is a template for teaching good eating habits to our children from the beginning, when it matters most.

“One Pot”

Martha Stewart Living’s “One Pot” cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $26) is a great concept. Each chapter deals with a specific cooking vessel and what you can make in it. This covers everything from Dutch ovens, skillets, slow cookers, roasting pans, and pressure cookers to stockpots and saucepans, with each container getting its own chapter. Sadly, this automatically subtracted two out of six chapters for me, as I do not own a pressure cooker or slow cooker. If you have a better-equipped kitchen than I, then this book could be useful.

The inclusion at the beginning of each recipe of what is called “active time” and “total time” was a bit confusing for me. What this means isn’t explained, so I assumed active time is the time it takes to prep ingredients, in which case it is misleading. As experienced as I am, there is no way I can peel and mince onions, wash, peel, and chop carrots, dice 1 1/4 pounds chicken, slice green beans and herbs, and assemble dumpling dough in 20 minutes. So I think we should assume the active time refers to the beginning stages of cooking, not the mise-en-place beforehand.

Some of the recipes look delicious, and some are offered four ways, such as macaroni and cheese and pork stew. The macaroni and cheese variations include bacon and Gouda or mushrooms and fontina; both sound worth trying. Roasted tilefish on top of potatoes with capers also sounds easy and quick. The lentil soup with cauliflower and cheese looks tempting for a cold winter afternoon.

Since the premise of this book is based on the various types of cooking equipment and how they can be used to make a one-pot meal, it is important to discuss quality of cooking equipment. When it comes to cast-iron skillets, you can find Lodge skillets anywhere, and they are cheap. The key is to season them and keep them seasoned. You also shouldn’t cook anything acidic in them as this creates an off flavor from a chemical reaction between acid and iron. While this is discussed in the book, there is also a picture of chicken braised with lemons in a cast-iron skillet. Don’t do this!

When using a cookie sheet for roasting, it is very important that you have a heavy, sturdy one that won’t buckle or warp in the oven. As I said before, I don’t have a slow cooker or pressure cooker, so I can offer no advice on these. I would simply recommend buying the best quality you can afford.

Every household should have a Dutch oven; these are cast-iron enameled pots with lids. Le Creuset and Staub are the best brands and are frightfully expensive but worth it. I am still using my grandmother’s!

Which brings us to some interesting information, and I suggest you fasten your seat belt, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Throughout the “One Pot” cookbook, the cookware used is the Martha Stewart Collection for Macy’s. It looks attractive, so I researched it online. The first article to come up was a recall by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on close to a million enameled cookware items made for the Martha Stewart Collection for Macy’s between 2007 and 2011. They were made in China and have chipped, causing burns and cuts.

Please invest in reliable, sturdy, reputable cooking equipment, especially when you are cooking with and for your children.