Nantucket for Thanksgiving

NANTUCKET, MA - Come celebrate Turkey Day in the same state as the Pilgrims (the Grey Lady isn't so far from Plymouth Rock!). The island is full of charm in the fall; the summer crowds have dispersed, prices have dropped, and the middle moors are awash with vivid crimsons and purples. There's no better setting for a tryptophan-induced food coma and a belly full of pie!

Feast
White Elephant's Brant Point Grill hosts a special Thanksgiving buffet with all of the comfort foods you'd expect at your grandmother's house, without all of the cooking and dishes.

Play
While football may be the traditional Thanksgiving game, golfers will be thrilled to know that post-pie they can go play 18 at Nantucket's top-notch Sankaty Head Golf Club . This members-only club with coveted ocean views and links-style holes is open (for a fee) to anyone from October to May.

Sip
Nantucket's own Cisco Brewers , known for its Whale's Tale Pale Ale and other beers as well as its wine and distilled liquors, is a great place to come in from the fall chill. Taste a flight of beer, wine, or liquor and catch a brewery tour every day at 4pm.

Plunge
Take part in a Nantucket tradition with the 10th Annual Cold Turkey Plunge ! Every Thanksgiving morning, hundreds of brave souls gather on Children's Beach and jump into the cold Nantucket Harbor. Prizes are awarded for best costumes, so be creative!

Stay
With Nantucket Island Resorts' Hot Dates, Cool Rates promotion, rates at White Elephant for Thanksgiving weekend (November 23-27) start at just $195 and rates at Jared Coffin House start at $125. Both come with a $25 dinner credit on $100 spent or $50 dinner credit on $150 spent at Brant Point Grill as well as two $25 spa treatment credits at the White Elephant Spa .

Thanksgiving Morning Scones (makes 20 scones)

Ingredients:
1lb +10oz Pastry flour
2tsp salt
1oz baking powder
3oz sugar
12oz cubed cold butter
2oz egg yolk
2oz egg
15oz heavy cream
6oz cranberries
6oz white chocolate chips
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400�F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, and sugar. Add butter to dry ingredients, mixing on low speed with paddle attachment. In another bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, and cream, then add the egg mixture to the sifted ingredients and butter all at once, mix just to incorporate, then add zest, cranberry, chocolate, and thyme. Pat down dough onto the baking pan about 1" thick.

Allow to rest in refrigerator for about 1.25 hours. Cut the dough into 4"rounds or any desired shape, brush with eggwash (one beaten egg, separate from the recipe above, plus 1 T cold water) and allow to sit for 5 minutes then repeat.

Bake at until golden brown. About 15-18 minutes in a convection oven. Cool to room temp and Enjoy!