Take a look at this year’s creation

Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5-9pm from now until Sunday, December 19 visitors are invited to stroll  the lighted paths, explore the Hart Family Maze Garden and vote for your favorite gingerbread house. Santa will visit from the North Pole for photo opportunities in the Model T from 5:30 until 8pm and drop-in craft activities will be offered from 6-8pm

Come visit us at the HoHo! Cafe (aka Magnolia Cafe in season) and warm up with a delicious hot chocolate or mulled cider. Grab something sweet while you roast your complimentary marshmallows over the outdoor fire pits provided by Cape Cod Fire Log!

Its a Gingerbread Lighthouse!

Here at the Casual Gourmet we are gearing up for Christmas. While Christmas orders are keeping the phones busy in the office, the bakers have been keeping busy by preparing our beautiful gingerbread houses. This year Marcy and Barbara are building a new gingerbread house for Heritage Museums & Gardens. Below you will find step by step pictures and the process behind the Gingerbread Lighthouse.

The Gingerbread Dough was mixed and then Rolled out into thick slabs.

the walls and the basic structure of the lighthouse were cut out of the dough

all the pieces were then laid out to bake

once the pieces came out of the oven, Marcy began to decorate them with Royal Icing

the roof for the structure was cut out of gum paste with a cookie cutter

 the pieces were then layered together to form the roof

 the entire gingerbread house sat on cookie base

 Rice Krispy Treats were used to give it a 3D look to the water and the rocks on which the Lighthouse sat on

The lighthouse was then filled on the inside by the same rice krispy treats to give it a more sturdy base

icing was spread all over the base to give the effect of snow

Whats a Lighthouse without a Lightkeeper? a smaller house next to the Lighthouse for the keeper was built.

Barbara puts the finishing touches on their beautiful work of art

and Voila the final product!

The Lighthouse was taken to Heritage Museum and Gardens to be displayed during their Gardens AGLOW  exhibit. The Lighthouse was also featured in the Cape Cod Times.

Pies are Baking, Turkeys are Roasting and the Thanksgiving Orders are piling up.  Have you placed your order yet?

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday and here at The Casual Gourmet it’s part of our tradition to provide you and your loved ones with a hassle free and delicious Thanksgiving Dinner, leaving you with plenty of time for family and football. And as we gear up for this most American of a holiday we thought it would be fun to pass onto you some interesting and quirky facts about Thanksgiving.

Like did you know:

-It was not until 1941, that Congress declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday

- Turkeys have heart attacks. When the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier, fields of turkeys would drop dead.

-91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

-There are regional differences as to the “stuffing” or “dressing” traditionally served with the turkey. Southerners generally make theirs from cornbread, while in other parts of the US white bread is the base.

-50% of Americans put the stuffing inside the Turkey

- TURDUCKEN, a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken which originated in Louisiana is becoming more and more popular at Thanksgiving.

 Here are just a few of my favorite ones, but you can check out the whole list by checking out the website  Thanksgiving Facts

Here are some pictures of the Gingerbread house that Barbara and Marcy have been working on for the past few weeks. Great work guys! Feel free to stop by our Centerville location to see it, and maybe pick up a tasty treat!

Photos by David Chase

For the past week, Barbara and Marcy, our talented cake decorators, have been working (in spare moments) on a phenomenal gingerbread house that will be displayed throughout the holiday season at the Coonamessett Inn in Falmouth. This is the largest gingerbread house the girls have worked on and once completed the house is planned to have brightly colored stained glass windows, an ornate front door and be decorated with all sorts of holiday goodies!

I will be sure to get a picture up so everyone will be able to see the beautiful job they did once they have completed it! In the meantime, feel free to stop by the shop and check out the gingerbread house’s progress, have a cup of coffee and maybe pick up a “sweet thing” while you are here!

While the Casual Gourmet didn’t provide the turkey or trimmings or sweets for that particular Thanksgiving, we have been a part of this holiday celebration for hundreds of Cape Codders for more than 20 years.

Following time-honored recipes, written lovingly on scraps of paper now spotted with grease stains, the Casual Gourmet kitchen roasts nearly 120 turkeys, mashes hundreds of pounds of potatoes, and bakes what seems like a million desserts. Whether it’s because gravy is a pain to make, or our famous Mile High Apple Pie tastes just like what their aunt used to make, or because ordering a whole dinner for 16 allows them a lot more time to enjoy with their family (instead of being in the kitchen!), for so many, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be complete without Casual Gourmet.

In this year, when so many families are experiencing hardships, it is particularly appropriate to spend a few moments to give thanks for the time we have with our family and friends, our health and spirit, and the food that graces our table. And we at the Casual Gourmet want to extend a very sincere thank you to all our customers who allow us to be part of their holiday traditions. Happy Thanksgiving!