Pastoral Song, by James Rebanks

Pastoral Song, by James Rebanks (Custom House, 294 pages)

Occasionally a book does so well across the Atlantic that publishers in the U.S. pick it up, hoping that American readers will warm to the author as well despite the peculiarities of some English words. This worked out splendidly for J.K. Rowling.

There are similar hopes for Pastoral Song, which the U.K.’s Sunday Times pronounced “nature book of the year” when it was first published as English Pastoral. Subtitled “A Farmer’s Journey,” the book is a meditation on the plight of small farmers who struggle to keep family farms going even as the despised “factory farm” gobbles a larger share of our food dollars each year.

James Rebanks, the author, is a thinking-man’s farmer, although he makes it clear that no true farmer has time to sit and think. He inherited his land from his father but got his love of farming from his grandfather, who was the bigger influence in his life. Of his father he writes, “I would try to help him and would inevitably do something wrong and be shouted at.”

The grandfather was gentler in his approach, not only to his grandson but to farming.

“He would simply gaze at his cows or sheep for what seemed like ages, leaning over a gate. As a result he knew them all as individuals. He could spot when they behaved differently because something was wrong, when they were coming into season or were about to give birth. He thought only fools rushed around,” Rebanks wrote.

This is all well and good for the practice of farming, but unfortunately for the reader, Rebanks brings his grandfather’s style to this book. In sum, it is Rebanks leaning over a gate, for what seems like ages, musing leisurely about the challenges of farming. It’s watching the grass grow, with very little happening in long stretches, but for the occasional offing of varmints. (And I wish I had not learned how Rebanks’ father rid his fields of rabbits, but it’s too late for that now.)

To be fair, Rebanks memorably conveys the harshness of a lifestyle that has been romanticized. “My parents were half-broke. I could see it in the second-hand tractors, rusting barn roofs, and old machinery that was always breaking down and never got replaced. But I could taste it too, in the endless boiled stew and mince that was served up.”

The family earned a tenuous living that would be foreign to workers with biweekly direct deposit. Their pay varied with the weather, and with rising interest rates and diving market prices, and the occasional murder of crows that could swoop in and destroy a field of barley. And farming requires an extraordinary amount of emotional toughness, what with all the horrible ways in which farm animals can die, even outside of slaughter. (When’s the last time you watched a rat try to drag away a chicken?)

“The logic chain is simple: we have to farm to eat, and we have to kill (or displace life, which amounts to the same thing) to farm. Being human is a rough business,” Rebanks writes. But, he says, there is a difference “between the toughness all farming required and the industrial ‘total war’ on nature that had been unleashed in my lifetime.”

The past 40 years, Rebanks says, has upended thousands of years of farming practices that came before it, and when his father died, leaving him the land, he was faced with the same dilemma confronting his father and grandfather — how to earn enough from the land “to pay our bills, service our debts, and make some money for us to live on” — in circumstances vastly different from theirs.

Then, after all this musing in his motherland, Rebanks up and comes to America to visit friends. And traveling through Iowa and Kentucky, eying the Confederate flags and Trump signs, he figures out who to blame: those grungy Americans!

This may have played well in the U.K., but it was a startling turn of events in an otherwise mournful elegy for the farmer, to have him pick up a bat and start swinging it wildly in the Iowa cornfields. He said Kentucky felt like a “landscape littered with ghosts and relics” and called Iowa “dark, flat and bleak.”

“Everything old was rotting. Barns leaned away from the wind, roofs half torn off.” The cause of this dystopian Midwest: “America had chosen industrial farming and abandoned its small family farms,” as if there was a lever we pulled in our last election. In fact, we vote for factory farms every time we visit a supermarket, he says. “The people in those shops seemed not to know, or care much, about how unsustainable their food production is. The share of the average American citizen’s income spent on food has declined from about 22% in 1950 to about 6.4% today … The money that people think they are spending on food from farms almost all goes to those who process the food, and to the wholesalers and retailers.”

Fair enough. But read the room. An English farmer coming over here to lecture Americans about their grocery shopping, diss our fruited plains? It feels a little rude.

And Rebanks concedes that “the overwhelming majority” of farms are not factory farms. “About 80 percent of people on earth are still fed by these small farmers,” he writes. That said, the work of a small farm is a “tough old game and doesn’t fit with any economic principle of minimizing work and maximizing productivity.” So what to do? Besides supporting your local farmers, “thinking longer term and with more humility,” Rebanks suggests planting trees. He plans to plant a tree every day for the rest of his life.

It’s clear to see why English Pastoral was a hit in the U.K., with its call for more sustainably produced food there “in order to avoid importing more from sterile, ruined landscapes like those of the American Midwest, or from land being cleared of pristine ecosystems in places like Indonesia and the Amazon.”

It’s less clear why this occasionally plodding, occasionally melodic memoir would do well here. As our grandmothers would say, don’t bite the hands that feed you. C

Book Events

Author events

• HILARY CROWLEY Author presents The Power of Energy Medicine. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Thurs., Nov. 18, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• WENDY GORTON Author presents 50 Hikes with Kids: New England. Virtual event hosted by Toadstool Bookshops of Peterborough, Nashua and Keene. Sun., Nov. 21, 4 p.m. Via Zoom. Visit toadbooks.com.

• TANJA HESTER Author presents Wallet Activism: How to Use Every Dollar You Spend, Earn, and Save as a Force for Change. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Mon., Nov. 22, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. Registration required. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• BRENE BROWN Author presents Atlas of the Heart. Virtual event hosted by Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. Thurs., Dec. 2, 8 p.m. Via Zoom. Tickets cost $30. Ticket sales end Dec. 2, at noon. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com or call 224-0562.

• JACK DALTON Kid conservationist presents his book, Kawan the Orangutan: Lost in the Rainforest. Toadstool Bookshop, 375 Amherst St., Nashua. Sat., Dec. 4, noon. Visit toadbooks.com.

• DAMIEN KANE RIDGEN Author presents Bell’s Codex and My Magnum Opus. Toadstool Bookshop, 375 Amherst St., Nashua. Sun., Dec. 5, noon. Visit toadbooks.com.

• JEN SINCERO Author presents Badass Habits. Virtual event hosted by The Music Hall in Portsmouth as part of its “Innovation and Leadership” series. Tues., Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. Includes author presentation, coaching session and audience Q&A. Tickets cost $22. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.

• KATHRYN HULICKAuthor presents Welcome to the Future. Sat., Dec. 11, 2 p.m. Toadstool Bookshop, 12 Depot Square, Peterborough. Visit toadbooks.com.

Poetry

• DOWN CELLAR POETRY SALON Poetry event series presented by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Monthly. First Sunday. Visit poetrysocietynh.wordpress.com.

Book Clubs

• BOOKERY Online. Monthly. Third Thursday, 6 p.m. Bookstore based in Manchester. Visit bookerymht.com/online-book-club or call 836-6600.

• GIBSON’S BOOKSTORE Online, via Zoom. Monthly. First Monday, 5:30 p.m. Bookstore based in Concord. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com/gibsons-book-club-2020-2021 or call 224-0562.

• TO SHARE BREWING CO. 720 Union St., Manchester. Monthly. Second Thursday, 6 p.m. RSVP required. Visit tosharebrewing.com or call 836-6947.

• GOFFSTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY 2 High St., Goffstown. Monthly. Third Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. Call 497-2102, email [email protected] or visit goffstownlibrary.com

• BELKNAP MILL Online. Monthly. Last Wednesday, 6 p.m. Based in Laconia. Email [email protected].

• NASHUA PUBLIC LIBRARY Online. Monthly. Second Friday, 3 p.m. Call 589-4611, email [email protected] or visit nashualibrary.org.

Language

• FRENCH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE CLASSES Offered remotely by the Franco-American Centre. Six-week session with classes held Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $225. Visit facnh.com/education or call 623-1093.

Album Reviews 21/11/18

Blonder, Knoxville House (Cool world Records)

At this writing, this debut record from Long Island native Constantine Anastasakis isn’t due out until February 2022, so there’s obviously an initiative to get the buzz going as quickly as possible before reviewers realize how much it sucks and tell people like you about it. I mean, Pitchfork Media will probably love it, as it conjures images of Pavement reborn as a half-synth-powered cyborg, and basically every song has a woozy, discombobulated feel to it, everything wandering in and out of pitch like a vinyl album that was left on top of a radiator for a few hours. Think of it this way: Brian Eno and Manchester Orchestra reinterpreted by the dumbest college student you’ve ever known, mixed into a hybrid no one would have ever asked for, except the melodies aren’t all that bad. Better than Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. accomplished, which is simultaneously the closest stuff to this, and yes, the faintest possible praise I can muster at the moment. D

Salt Ashes, Killing My Mind (Radikal Records)

The stage name of Brighton, U.K., singer Veiga Sanchez, Salt Ashes is diva pop with a good amount of retro house, tunes that are form-fitted for velvet rope clubs but could also work as soundtrack for a beachside Tilt-A-Whirl. “Love, Love,” the touchstone single, is pure Mariah Carey meets Janet Jackson, which is about where her voice fits. Unsurprisingly, she digs ’80s floor-filler stuff, checking off Giorgio Moroder, The Knife and Fleetwood Mac as influences; she’s been a dance-music player since her 2016 self-titled debut album, which was produced by the late Daniel Fridholm (a.k.a. Cruelty). Her lyrics deal with a laundry list of things that aren’t wildly unique to today’s young women: unrequited love, sex, anxiety, relationships, mental health, sexual harassment and such. The LP kicks off with a foggy, steam-driven, goth-infused electro-dance joint, “Lucy,” which is more Kylie Minogue than anything else. “Mad Girl” is ’80s as heck, down to the busy organic synths; “I’m Not Scared To Die’ covers the obligato ballad entry with aplomb enough. B

PLAYLIST

• Nov. 19 is here, and with it some new rock ’n’ roll albums. Some will be good and some will be bad, depending on one’s individual tastes or lack thereof. I’m looking at a rather large list of new albums, and I’m sure there will be something that won’t make me power-guzzle a six-pack of Pepto Bismol, but you never know. We can be nice and casual this week, because there is a plethora of albums to choose from, starting with Phantom Island, from a band called Smile, a project from Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John) and Joakim Åhlund of the Teddybears. I think this will probably be safe for me to check out, because the Teddybears are awesome, so I’ll take my chances on the latest single at this writing, “Call My Name.” This song features vocals from mononymed Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn, who isn’t a very good singer, but the tune is a low-key, piquant, very pleasant blend of ABBA and Miss Kittin, very 1970s-radio if you can get past Robyn’s not-very-great voice. There’s a snowy, upbeat feel to it, which is just what the doctor ordered if you need something smooth and cocoa-y to wrap your ears around as we descend into the frozen North Pole of yet another New England winter.

• Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it. Hmm, dum de dum, why don’t we — wait, hold everything, here we go, a new album from Elbow, called Flying Dream 1, why didn’t someone tell me about this before? Elbow is one of the few indie bands in the world that still tinkles my jingle bells; they are from Bury in Greater Manchester, England. If past is prologue here, this will probably be awesome; their previous stuff has been like a cross between We Were Promised Jetpacks and VNV Nation, and — wait, I did a fly-by, didn’t I; you haven’t the foggiest idea what that even means. Unfortunately I do, so I’ll try to translate. Picture a stuffy literature professor starting a mildly aggressive rock band but never doing anything really punky, sort of like a British version of Bruce Springsteen except the singer doesn’t suck and it’s mostly mellow-ish, and the tunes are really catchy and cool. That’s Elbow, at least up until this moment, when I’m about to find out if their single “Six Words” is any good. OK, it is, it’s a mellow, almost Coldplay-ish tune comprising a synth arpeggio but without being annoying like Coldplay. It’s awesome, mildly mawkish but ultimately upbeat and very pretty. I so totally love these guys.

• Not bad, I haven’t even thought about uncorking the Pepto Bismol during this exercise at all! I’ll tell you, gang, this may be my lucky — oh no, it can’t be. Do you hear those booming tyrannosaurus footsteps, coming for me, to ruin my day? Yes, look, it’s the hilariously overrated Sting, smashing buildings as he strides toward me, holding out some awful new album! The LP is called The Bridge, and it has a single, called “Rushing Water.” Oh jeez, oh jeez, this sounds like like every boring elevator-music song this egomaniacal Matrix-clown has ever foisted onto listeners of dentist-office-rock, basically a souped-up version of “Every Breath You Take” except with some rap-speed lyrics. Don’t worry, you’ll probably only hear this once, either on Jimmy Kimmel or The Today Show; it’s definitely not interesting enough to warrant anything more “hip” than that.

• We’ll wrap up this week’s business with 30, the new album from Adele, whose hobbies include publicly sucking up to Beyonce and being this decade’s Celine Dion. “Easy On Me” is a depressing but powerful pop ballad as always, and she does some high-pitched professional singing. As if you couldn’t guess, it is a song that will be loved by 20-somethings who don’t trust their boyfriends, and with good reason.

If you’re in a local band, now’s a great time to let me know about your EP, your single, whatever’s on your mind. Let me know how you’re holding yourself together without being able to play shows or jam with your homies. Send a recipe for keema matar. Message me on Twitter (@esaeger) or Facebook (eric.saeger.9).

Too much hops

Sometimes you need anything but IPA

There are so many incredible craft-brewed IPAs and pale ales these days that it seems they are everywhere you turn. In fact, sometimes, it feels like hops are just slapping you in the face every moment of the day. If you go out to a restaurant for dinner, you might as well just ask for the “IPA list” instead of the beer list. It’s all IPAs anyway.

That’s all well and good because IPAs are delicious and they are packed full of fresh, hoppy exciting flavors — and let’s be honest, they haven’t taken a break from driving the bus for the craft beer movement since it started, I don’t know, 15 years ago.

Sometimes, though, and I feel at least somewhat confident I don’t just speak for myself, enough is enough. Sometimes you want anything but an IPA. Give me a stout or a Pilsner or a sour or a Bud Light or even one of those Cranberry Lambics from the Sam Adams holiday mixed pack that’s probably still in your fridge from 2006.

I was rummaging through my parents’ fridge recently and spotted a Mike’s Hard Raspberry Lemonade that I absolutely know has been there for more than a decade, so don’t just discard the notion that there might be a Cranberry Lambic lurking somewhere in your home.

It can be so rejuvenating for your palate to walk away from the hops for a bit and just appreciate that there’s a lot more great beer out there than just IPAs and pale ales.

Depending on my mood, when it hits me that my mouth needs a hop break, I tend to turn to what I call basic styles: Pilsners, stouts and amber ales. I’m not typically turning away from IPAs to turn toward some crazy sour that’s brewed with elderberry, jalapenos and peanut butter.

When I say basic, I don’t mean beers that are in any way lesser. I just mean brews that are more what I think of as traditional beers. Here are three basic brews that speak to me and I think will speak to you when your taste buds want to step away from IPAs.

Love Me For A Long Time by Throwback Brewery (North Hampton)

This Bohemian Pilsner is the epitome of crisp and clean. It’s a beer. It’s light, refreshing and flavorful. Pilsners get a bad rap sometimes and, when it gets right down to it, I just don’t understand it. They’re easy to drink, they taste great and they pair with basically any food and any situation. If your vision of pilsners starts and ends with Coors and Budweiser, it’s well worth exploring the array of craft brewers pumping out Pilsners these days.

Nations ESB by Millyard Brewery (Nashua)

I love the ESB or extra special bitter style, though it’s almost funny to think of this style as bitter compared to the pronounced bitterness you find in today’s brews. I haven’t had this particular brew, though I will, but I typically equate the style with a rich amber pour and a nice malty mouthful in a very, very easy to drink package. At 4.1 percent ABV, this is a beer and a style that begs for another.

Working Man’s Porter by Henniker Brewing Co. (Henniker)

This is a hearty brew but don’t be fooled; this is exceptionally easy to drink at 5.2 percent ABV. This English-style dark ale lends big malt flavors and a little complexity. This is just a terrific all-around porter. This is a great beer to grab when you want something smoother and richer.

What’s in My Fridge

Oktoberfestbier by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (München, Germany)
Actually brewed in Germany, this true Oktoberfest brew is about as authentic as it gets when it comes to the Marzen style. The classic brew features a rich amber pour, mild bitterness, a bready malt and a medium body. This is flavorful, easy to drink and makes you feel like you’re in Germany for Oktoberfest. Cheers!

Featured photo: Love Me For A Long Time Bohemian Pilsener by Throwback Brewery. Courtesy photo.

Pecan biscotti with a bourbon kick

It’s a week before Thanksgiving, and you may be up to your eyeballs with menu planning, grocery shopping and kitchen scheduling. Thus, you may wonder why on Earth you need a biscotti recipe this week. The answer is easy: They’re delicious and versatile.

If you have time to bake these before Thanksgiving they can serve many roles: a part of the dessert table, a breakfast offering for houseguests, a gift for the host. If you don’t have time to bake them now, save the recipe to use either as (1) a treat for yourself or (2) a homemade holiday gift that ships and stores well.

There are a couple notes for this recipe. First, it obviously contains alcohol. Some of the bourbon is used in the glaze, which means the alcohol doesn’t bake off. This might be considered an adults-only treat. Second, you want to use a bourbon that you would drink straight up or on the rocks. As it’s used in the biscotti and the glaze, its flavor will be prominent.

Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007, the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.

Pecan biscotti with a bourbon kick
Makes 30

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Tablespoons bourbon, divided
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1½ cups powdered sugar
1½ Tablespoons bourbon
Skim milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on speed 2.
Add eggs one at a time, beating until fully combined.
Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons bourbon, mixing for 1 minute.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and blend.
Stir pecans into dough.
Divide dough in half.
Shape each half into a 10″ x 3″ rectangle, using floured hands.
Set loaves 2 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the dough is set.
Leaving the oven on, remove the biscotti loaves and cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet.
Then, using a chef’s knife, cut the loaves into diagonal slices, 1/2 inch thick.
Place the slices on the baking sheet with the cut sides down; brush with 1 tablespoon bourbon.
Bake for 8 to 9 minutes.
Turn slices over and bake for 8 to 9 minutes more.
Remove biscotti from the oven and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Combine powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon; stir well.
Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Using a spoon, coat the top side of each biscotti with glaze.
Allow glaze to harden; then eat or store in a sealed container.

Photo: Pecan biscotti with a bourbon kick. Photo courtesy of Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Phil Mastroianni

Phil Mastroianni is the co-owner and founder of Fabrizia Spirits (fabriziaspirits.com), a Salem-based producer of all-natural limoncello that he launched in 2008 with his younger brother, Nick. Fabrizia Spirits has become a leading purveyor of limoncello in the United States and has since expanded its product line to include a variety of ready-to-drink cocktails, like its Italian margarita and Italian-style lemonade; multiple flavors of vodka sodas, like Sicilian lemon, blood orange and raspberry; and liqueurs, the newest of which is the Crema di Pistacchio. In November 2020 the Mastroiannis launched the Fabrizia Lemon Baking Co. (fabrizialemonbakingcompany.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @fabrizialemonbakingco), which now offers its own line of limoncello-infused baked goods including cookies, whoopie pies, biscotti, blondies, loaves and white chocolate-dipped truffles. Each item is baked fresh on site at Fabrizia’s Salem headquarters. Orders can be placed online and can be shipped anywhere in the country within three business days.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

The mixer at our bakery is hands down the No. 1 important tool, besides the oven, obviously.

What would you have for your last meal?

Spaghetti and meatballs with a fresh tomato sauce, made by my mother.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

The Copper Door. I love their service, and the quality of their food is amazing. Everything that they make is delicious. … I used to go to the one in Bedford a lot, but the Salem one that opened is right down the street from our facility, so it’s very convenient.

What celebrity would you like to see trying one of your baked products?

Giada De Laurentiis. If I had a wishlist of people, she would be on it. … I would send her our cookies and our limoncello loaf and I would love to get her thoughts on them.

What is your favorite baked product that you offer?

A warm limoncello cookie coming right out of the oven is still hands down my favorite item. … It’s also my kryptonite. … I had to cut myself off of them. I would find myself eating a cookie at 11 o’clock in the morning and then I wouldn’t eat lunch and I’d be hungry by the afternoon.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

If I could foray a bit into the spirits world, I would definitely say the proliferation of the spritz. … I think you’re starting to see all kinds of restaurants start to offer them. Aperol kind of started it, but it’s bloomed into others as well.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I like to make pizzas as often as my wife will let me, because it always makes a mess. I have a nearly three-year-old mother dough I’ve kept alive that I love to do homemade pizzas with.

Fabrizia limoncello scallops
From the kitchen of Phil Mastroianni of Fabrizia Spirits in Salem

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound scallops
½ cup Fabrizia limoncello
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon heavy cream

In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil, garlic, lemon zest and salt and cook for less than a minute, stirring throughout. Add the scallops, cooking for about three to four minutes and flipping about halfway through. Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside. Carefully wipe out the pan and return to the stovetop. Add the limoncello and cook over medium-high heat until it is reduced by half. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter and cream. Pour over the previously cooked scallops.

Featured photo: Phil Mastroianni. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 21/11/18

News from the local food scene

• Dine in for Thanksgiving…: Thanksgiving is almost here (Thursday, Nov. 25) and several Granite State eateries are once again taking reservations for special holiday meals. Here’s a snapshot of a few local restaurants open for business on Thanksgiving Day:

Alan’s of Boscawen (133 N. Main St., Boscawen) will host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, with seatings from noon to 6 p.m., as well as a grand Thanksgiving buffet. Visit alansofboscawen.com or call 753-6631.

Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford) will serve a multi-course menu for Thanksgiving in its dining room from noon to 6 p.m. The lobby bar will also be open for breakfast from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and for dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. Visit bedfordvillageinn.com or call 472-2001.

Belmont Hall (718 Grove St. in Manchester; 625-8540, belmonthall.net) is taking reservations for breakfast (opening at 6:30 a.m.), lunch (beginning at 11:30 a.m.) and a Thanksgiving dinner buffet (seating starts at noon). The buffet costs are $18.99 for adults, $15.99 for children 8 and under (plus tax and tip).

The Coach Stop Restaurant & Tavern (176 Mammoth Road, Londonderry) is taking reservations between noon and 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, with a variety of entree options to choose from. Visit coachstopnh.com or call 437-2022.

Derryfield Restaurant (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester) is serving a Thanksgiving dinner with seatings at 11 a.m., noon, 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Individual or family-sized meals will be served. Visit thederryfield.com or call 623-2880.

Gauchos Churrascaria (62 Lowell St. in Manchester; 669-9460, gauchosbraziliansteakhouse.com) is taking reservations for an all-you-can-eat meat (including turkey) and seafood dinner from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $44.99 for adults, $19.99 for kids 6 to 10 (children 5 and under eat free), which includes the meal, dessert, coffee, tea and soft drinks.

Granite Restaurant & Bar (96 Pleasant St., Concord) will serve a special menu for Thanksgiving with seatings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit graniterestaurant.com/menus/thanksgiving or call 227-9005.

The Homestead Restaurant & Tavern (641 Daniel Webster Hwy. in Merrimack, 429-2022; 1567 Summer St. in Bristol, 744-2022, homesteadnh.com) will have a dinner menu with seven entree offerings (priced at $32 or $35) that all include sides and homemade pie. A children’s menu (for 12 and under) features entree offers priced at $15 for the meal.

Mile Away Restaurant (52 Federal Hill Road, Milford) is taking reservations for Thanksgiving, featuring special meals with your choice of an appetizer, an entree, a salad and a dessert. Visit mileawayrestaurantnh.com or call 673-3904.

• …Or order out for your holiday: If you’d rather stay in this Thanksgiving, here’s a short list of local bakeries and restaurants accepting takeout orders of their own:

At Angela’s Pasta & Cheese (815 Chestnut St. in Manchester; angelaspastaandcheese.com, 625-9544), the deadline to order is Saturday, Nov. 20. The offerings, available on the website, include 9-inch pies (including Midnight Pumpkin Pie and maple bourbon pecan pie), cakes, sweet breads and baked goods and gluten-free pies as well as dinner elements such as pork pie; gravy, stuffing and other traditional Thanksgiving sides, breads and special pumpkin items, such as a pumpkin cannoli dip platter.

The farm store at Apple Hill Farm (580 Mountain St. in Concord; applehillfarmnh.com, 224-8862) is open daily (8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) through Wednesday, Nov. 24, with apples, winter squash and potatoes as well as pies and baked goods.

The Bakeshop on Kelley Street (171 Kelley St. in Manchester; thebakeshoponkelleystreet.com, 624-3500) will make smaller 5-inch pies and half-pies as well as 9-inch pies in a variety of flavors like pumpkin streusel, peanut butter mousse, dulce de leche, as well as a pumpkin roll cake, pumpkin whoopie pies, holiday cakes, rolls and more (find their holiday menu on their Facebook page). Deadline to order pies is Friday, Nov. 19, for a Wednesday, Nov. 24, pickup, 7 a.m. to noon.

Buckley’s Bakery & Cafe (436 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 262-5929; 9 Market Place, Hollis, 465-5522; buckleysbakerycafe.com) is taking orders for pies, cakes, loaves, rolls and pastry trays. Order by Nov. 20.

Concord Food Co-op (24 S. Main St., Concord, 225-6840, concordfoodcoop.coop) is taking orders for fully cooked Thanksgiving meals with all the fixings (serves 8 to 10 people), as well as fresh homemade pies. Order by Nov. 19 at noon.

Place your orders for pie and more in at Crosby Bakery (51 E. Pearl St. in Nashua; crosbybakerynh.com, 882-1851) by Saturday, Nov. 20. Offerings include pies such as apple, blueberry, banana cream, pecan, mince and pumpkin as well as savory pies, cakes, dinner rolls and breads and cookies and dessert platters.

The Crust & Crumb Baking Co. (126 N. Main St. in Concord; thecrustandcrumb.com, 219-0763) is accepting orders through Friday, Nov. 19, for rolls, pies (including Midnight Pumpkin Pie and a maple cream pie with graham crust) and savory items such as quiche and tourtiere.

The Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille (40 Andover Road in New London; flyinggoose.com, 526-6899) is offering a Thanksgiving feast, serving four to six people, for $100 and featuring roast turkey, a Waldorf salad, green beans, whipped potatoes and stuffing. Add on a pie for $20. Order by Sunday, Nov. 21.

Giorgio’s (524 Nashua St. in Milford, 673-3939; 707 Milford Road in Merrimack, 883-7333; 270 Granite St. in Manchester, 232-3323; giorgios.com) is offering a Thanksgiving meal for $27.99 per person (featuring turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, a slice of pumpkin pie and more) as well as an option for additional sides and desserts. Order by Sunday, Nov. 21, for pickup Wednesday, Nov. 24.

Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant (233 Daniel Webster Hwy. in Meredith; 279-6212, hartsturkeyfarm.com) won’t be open for dine-in on Thanksgiving but it will be open for curbside pickup of hot and ready to eat whole roasted turkey family meals or individual turkey dinners on Thursday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family meals (which are also available for pickup Monday through Wednesday) come with a whole turkey of varying sizes plus sides and a pie; individual meals are also available in small, regular and jumbo based on the serving of turkey. The Grab & Go lobby store will also be open.

Just Like Mom’s Pastries (353 Riverdale Road, Weare, 529-6667, justlikemomspastries.com) is taking orders for pies and cakes in a variety of flavors, plus breakfast loaves, dinner rolls and some gluten-sensitive pie flavors. Order by Nov. 20.

Mr. Mac’s (497 Hooksett Road in Manchester; mr-macs.com, 606-1760) offers party platters of mac and cheese in a variety of flavors (such as pulled pork mac, lobstah mac and garden veggie mac). Order by Tuesday, Nov. 23, for Wednesday, Nov. 24, pickup.

Pinard Street Bakery (1 Pinard St. in Goffstown, inside Charlie’s; 606-1835) offers 9-inch pies for pre-order in flavors including pork pie, pumpkin, Maine blueberry, chocolate crème, apple and pecan), according to a post on Charlie’s Facebook page.

Presto Craft Kitchen (168 Amory St. in Manchester; 606-1252, prestocraftkitchen.com) is taking orders through Friday, Nov. 19, for take-and-bake sides (such as stuffing, green beans, gravy and spiced sweet potato with charred pineapple), an all-the-trimmings package, desserts (including a cannoli platter) and pies (like peach razz, cannoli cream and cookies and cream).

Red Beard’s Kitchen (red-beards-kitchen.square.site) is a new Manchester-based company offering Thanksgiving meals to go, in addition to a la carte sides and dessert pies prepared by students at Manchester School of Technology. Order by Nov. 19.

The Red Blazer Restaurant and Pub (72 Manchester St. in Concord; 224-4101, theredblazer.com) will offer rolls and whipped butter, cakes, pies and dessert platters for order by Saturday, Nov. 20.

Tuscan Market (9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) is taking orders for a variety of items for Thanksgiving, including turkey dinners and a la carte entrees, sides, breads, soups and desserts. Pickups begin on Nov. 24 with at least a two-day order notice.

• Chocolatesgiving: Granite State Candy Shoppe (13 Warren St. in Concord, 225-2591; 832 Elm St. in Manchester, granitestatecandyshoppe.com) has special Thanksgiving-themed chocolates including foil-wrapped fall leaves (in milk or dark chocolate), chocolate turkeys (of varying sizes and in milk, dark and white chocolate), fall chocolates and pumpkin pie almonds. Van Otis Chocolates (341 Elm St. in Manchester; 627-1611, vanotis.com) also has a variety of Thanksgiving offerings including decorated Swiss fudge, the Swiss Fudge Van Turkey, foil-wrapped chocolate leaves, chocolate turkeys (in milk, dark or white chocolate) and a chocolate cornucopia filled with nuts.

• Greek sweets and treats: Following the success of its gyro and baklava pop-up last month, St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church (500 W. Hollis St., Nashua) is planning a pastry pre-order event just ahead of the holiday season. Now through Wednesday, Nov. 24, pre-orders are available for a variety of homemade Greek pastries and desserts, including traditional baklava with honey syrup and chopped walnuts; kourambiethes (shortbread butter cookies covered in powdered sugar); koulourakia (hand-twisted butter cookies brushed with an egg glaze); and melomakarona (cinnamon spiced egg-shaped cookies soaked in honey syrup and topped with chopped walnuts). The church will also be accepting orders for variety packs and larger holiday-wrapped hostess platters for each pastry. Visit nashuagreekfestival.com or call the church office at 889-4000 to place your order. Pickups will be at the church on Friday, Dec. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m., or Saturday, Dec. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Party at Pipe Dream: Join Pipe Dream Brewing (49 Harvey Road, Londonderry) for a Fall Fest on Saturday, Nov. 20, throughout the day from noon to 10 p.m. Pipe Dream will be pouring some of its seasonal fall brews, including its Festbier lager release, and will also be offering bratwurst and sauerkraut specials in addition to its full food menu. Live music from the local reggae band Slack Tide will also be featured from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. that evening. Visit pipedreambrewingnh.com/event.

• Auction and eats: Join St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (1160 Bridge St., Manchester) for its annual auction and bake sale on Saturday, Nov. 20. The event will feature a Greek meatball dinner plate with orzo and green beans available for purchase, along with assorted Greek baked goods and pastries, between 10 a.m. and noon. The live auction will begin at noon. Call the church office at 625-6115 for more details.

• Seeing the light: LaBelle Winery is introducing the inaugural season of LaBelle Lights, a new festive outdoor light show that will be held at its Derry location (14 Route 111) beginning Nov. 18 and through Feb. 26, 2022. According to a press release, the light display will be changed periodically throughout its 18-week run, taking place on the facility’s golf course along a paved walking path. The display will include a 15-foot-tall selfie station made of wine barrels, designed and installed by LaBelle vineyard manager and professional woodworker Josh Boisvert. A number of themed events are also being planned in coordination with LaBelle Lights, including a “Crazy Christmas Hat Night” on Dec. 3 and an “Ugly Holiday Sweater Night” on Dec. 17. Hours of operation are from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on select days throughout the season. Tickets are $15. Visit labellewinery.com/lights to view the full calendar schedule.

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