We have much to be thankful for on the Llano Estacado. Record rainfalls this spring, a good growing season, and a bountiful harvest is just wrapping up. Thankfully (pun intended!) the day to reflect on all of our blessings is less than two weeks away! What better way to celebrate family, friends, and our local communities than to host a Thanksgiving dinner, featuring local foods?
A Brief History of Giving Thanks
The first Thanksgiving was a local Thanksgiving. We all remember the story from grade school:
In November 1621, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians gathered together at Plymouth for a celebration of the bountiful harvest, after a particularly hard year. Before this particular gathering, a celebration of “giving thanks” was said to be a part of the Wampanoag culture, and the Puritans held a special religious observance of thanking God for His Providence.
Since that first thanksgiving celebration, Americans have observed a day of giving thanks in different ways. In 1777, the Continental Congress officially proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving.
As with many holidays, Thanksgiving eventually became commercialized. When the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians went “fowling” for their Thanksgiving birds; today, most Americans scour the superstores for an unbeatable deal on their turkeys – without thinking of the quality or knowing where it came from. While a superstore pumpkin pie fulfills the pumpkin requirement we all crave on this special day, it pales in comparison to our homemade version. (If you don’t believe us, we’ve included the recipe in our Thanksgiving Guide below. We even have one for those of you on special diets – you should get your pie too, without compromising on flavor or cheating your diet.)
We are forever grateful for the many blessings we have, but many people forget to include the blessing of agriculture. Agriculture puts clothes on our backs, food on our tables, and is the driving force of our local economy in the Llano Estacado region. In the spirit of remembering to be thankful for our local harvest, Local Llano is sharing our secrets to a local Thanksgiving feast. Below we have listed six essentials to the Thanksgiving Day dinner tradition and the producers nearest you with the freshest, local ingredients Mother Nature can supply.
Click on the links to contact our local producers!
STUFFING
Below are a few bakeries to help you out with bread (gluten and allergy free only available with participating producers), pie crust, and any other baked confection.
Zinnia Bakery exclusively gluten-free— 5120 S Western Street, Amarillo, TX; (806) 803-9076
Percy Street Bakery— (806) 470-6385;
Simply Decadent Bakery— 5903 82nd Street, Lubbock, TX 79424; (806) 798-2253
TURKEY
What is a Thanksgiving Day dinner without a huge turkey to carve with your family and friends? Find the perfect bird with these local producers!
Honey’s Fresh Farm— 16100 FM 2590, Amarillo, TX; (806) 676-9179; (806) 674-6918
Eat-Rite Health Food— 2425 I-40 Frontage Rd, Amarillo, TX 79109; (806) 353-7476
Mary’s Free Range Turkeys— (866) 444-6279
WINE
Nothing completes a festive celebration like pairing an amazing local vino with all your homemade goodies. Listed below are a few wineries that can your with the best bottle for your feast.
Caprock Winery— 408 East Woodrow Road, Lubbock, TX 79423; (806) 863-2704
Llano Estacado Winery— FM 1585, Lubbock, TX 79404; (806) 745-2258
McPherson Cellars— 1615 Texas Ave, Lubbock, TX 79401; (806) 687-9463
Pheasant Ridge Winery— 3507 E County Road 5700, Lubbock, TX 79403; (806) 746-6033
POPULAR PIES
Once you make fresh pumpkin pie, you’ll never reach for a can again. Working with fresh pumpkin is not as intimidating as it appears – we’ve included step-by-step instructions in our recipe guide below. Click here to find your local pumpkin producers.
Stahmanns Pecans— 22500 NM-28, La Mesa, NM 88044; (844) 739-6887
Caprock Pecans— (806) 893-4442; (806) 893-4436
Pecan Ridge— 6201 114th Street, Lubbock, TX 79424; (806) 794-2022
Custom Shell Inc— 5507 114th Street, Lubbock, TX 79424; (806) 794-2338
Surratt Farms— sales@surrattfarms.com; (866) 764-0710
Impress friends and family with Local Llano’s Thanksgiving Day recipes.
Here at Local Llano, we are thankful for the local producers of the Llano Estacado and everything they do for our community.
