Closing out the season in colonial style
New London — Saturday's menu at the Hempsted Houses: colcannon (a cabbage and mashed potato dish), root vegetables, turkey, sausage stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, a whole roasted pumpkin and a Johnny Appleseed apple pie.
Unfortunately for guests to the annual Hempsted Thanksgiving open house, the food wasn't for public consumption. But there was plenty to admire in Lorraine Ballsieper's traditional hearth-cooked meal.
Ballsieper, a longtime guide who also cooks in the hearth at her historical home in Deep River, said she starts preparing for the meal about a week in advance. The turkey goes in the reflector oven, also known as a "tin kitchen," in the morning before guests arrive, and in about four hours, she has a turkey she says is better than any bird cooked in a traditional oven.
Cara Scognamiglio, who first came to the Hempsted Houses as a fifth-grader on a field trip and has been involved ever since, serves as the hearth cooking assistant. As Ballsieper tended to the potatoes boiling in a pot over the fire and added coals to the Dutch oven to cook the pie, Scognamiglio, dressed in period clothing, answered questions from visitors about everything from the cooking methods to the history of the houses on the property.
Scognamiglio said people respond to historical presentations better when they can see it in action. "Learning from a textbook is great, but a textbook isn't going to tell you how wool feels against your skin," she said. "To feel it, to taste it, to touch it, to do it is what really brings it all to life, and I like to bring it to life for people."
Thanksgiving in its modern interpretation is the result of an 1863 proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, but Aileen Novick, program manager for the Hempsted Houses, said colonial governors would make one-time declarations for days of thanksgiving. She cited Connecticut's first official declaration, by Gov. Gurdon Saltonstall in October 1721 calling for thanks after a rough year.
At this time of year, the Hempsted family would have been celebrating the harvest, especially the apple harvest from Joshua Hempsted's orchard, Novick said. Hempsted's writings include documents on how he made hard cider to sell and trade, and a grinder and press were set up in the yard Saturday to demonstrate the process.
The LeBlanc family of Waterford stopped by during the open house because it was the last event of the year; father Dane said he wanted to introduce their two young sons to local history, and mother Kelly said the boys had a great time with the cider equipment.
Both Joseph, 6, and Timothy, 3, said their favorite part of the visit was grinding and pressing the apples.
And lest Ballsieper's work be put to waste, the Hempsted Houses staff gather after the open house for an end-of-the-year dinner.
The Hempsted Houses, located at 11 Hempstead St. in New London, reopen in May for the 2020 season, which runs through October. For more information, call (860) 443-7949.
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