Happy to #PickCider for Thanksgiving

I enjoyed hosting Thanksgiving and birthday dinner and putting 4 lovely ciders on the table. The day was remarkably stress free and the food came out deliciously. I thought I'd share some pictures of the feast! I shared my plans for the day in this recent post: https://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/11/pick-cider-for-thanksgiving-and-my.html

As promised, we started with Eden's Sparkling Dry Cider. It remains crisp, austere, extremely bubbly and delicious. I simply love this cider. If you have any chance to try it, you should.

After a glass of this, we were ready to fill our plates. Here's the breakdown: sweet potatoes with pecans, dressing, Brussels sprouts with faux bacon, biscuits, mushroom gravy, corn pudding, mashed potatoes, yeast rolls, cranberry relish, and two vegetarian centerpieces. The picture cannot come close to the wondrous reality.

I offered two cider choices for the main meal. The first was a black currant cider from Number 12 Cider House. This ended up being amazingly tart and quite dry. If we worried that all of the carbs could put our palates to sleep, this cider was the cure.

I also wanted to share a still cider, but not just any still cider, something I knew would still have substance enough to stand out. I chose a Finger Lakes option from Good Life Cider, their Hickok. As I hoped this had plenty of fruit and richness while still remaining refreshingly dry. It had a subtly herbal aroma that really did complement my dressing well. This is a very savory cider with notes of black pepper along with well balanced minerality. I really like this one a lot. 

Here's a view of my plate before the destruction began.

Last I'd like to share pictures of our dessert course: two pies and Slyboro's Ice Harvest Cider. A nice long meal like Thanksgiving strikes me as the ideal time for an ice cider because one can really take the time to savor it. And this is an ice cider worth savoring.

The first dessert was for my birthday: dark chocolate tart with a gingersnap crust. 

And for our Thanksgiving pie we had apple pie with walnuts and blue cheese. The little twist on a classic was perfect and this pairs exceptionally well with Slyboro's Ice Harvest Cider.

All in all, I could not have been happier with my cider picks. Folks had choices and variety. Several of the pairings brought out an extra element in the food successfully. And I got to share some really special ciders with special people in my life. This is what I'm thankful for.