Here it is, early November, and the farmer’s market in Sag Harbor this past weekend still had peppers, corn, lettuce, and other greens, along with the usual suspects of winter squash, potatoes, apples, onions, garlic, and more. Maybe it was the fact that the last market of the season (the 12th) was on Halloween, but there was definitely a festive atmosphere, along with a few early-morning costumes.

For the last 20 years out here I have been working as a pastry chef, therefore did not have Friday (Nick and Toni’s) or Saturday (Sag Harbor) mornings off to go to the markets. This past summer was more “leisurely” for me, and I made a point of going every Saturday, stocking up on greens and other vegetables, flowers, fruits, olive oil, soaps, salts, bread, fish, cheese, honey, even dog treats. Some of the vendors I have known for years, but some, like the farm interns from Quail Hill, change from year to year.

Of the 24 vendors participating, only about 12 were still manning their tents this past weekend. Blue Duck Bakery dropped out a few weeks ago; Dennis from True Blue Coffee ran out of coffee a while back; there are no more flowers, and I have no idea why Gula Gula Empanadas hasn’t been there for a while, cuz they make a tasty breakfast treat.

Dave Falkowski                                                                                                                     Laura Donnelly

I find that I linger the longest at Open Minded Organics, Dave Falkowski’s stand. I’m pretty sure he may have been a hawker in an Asian market in a previous life because that boy can sell! You can hear his voice carrying over all others, sharing recipes, explaining the mushrooms’ culinary and medicinal uses, and telling folks how and when to plant seed garlic. This weekend he expressed some relief that the season is over and shared a drawing of a cold smoker he built himself.

Jeri Woodhouse of Taste of the North Fork had discounted his frozen pestos (cilantro, arugula, basil) to $5 each, so I stocked up. I probably have enough jars of Charissa harissa, the marvelous Moroccan condiment that goes with everything, but I bought more anyway. For gifts, I swear!

Philip, representing Wolffer Estate Winery, was wearing a fighter pilot uniform. When I suggested he keep the noise down when he flies into our local airport, everyone laughed. Definitely a local crowd at Saturday’s market.

On that last day I purchased the following: cauliflower, red cabbage, and onions from Quail Hill; a bag of lettuce, fingerling potatoes, and shiitake mushrooms from Dave; cornmeal, apples, and the last-of-the-season sweet corn from Dale and Bette, a.k.a. Under the Willow Farm; a bottle of white wine from Wolffer, and halibut from my buddy Alex of the Seafood Shop in Wainscott.

Alex from the Seafood Shop                                                                                                   Laura Donnelly

The fingerlings were sliced and roasted with olive oil and rosemary, the red cabbage was braised with a bit of bacon fat, apples, onions, vinegar, and maple syrup. I made a polenta with the cornmeal, which was a colorful variety of ground flint corn. As I cooked it, the color changed from light sand to lavender to taupe to something between all three. Not very attractive, but I can assure you, once I topped it with sauteed shiitakes and fresh herbs, it didn’t matter.

I roasted the cauliflower florets with onions and curry powder, and the apples shared a pie filling with huckleberries I’d gotten from a chef friend.

Between cooking I walked back down to the market to watch the dismantling of the season and take a few pictures. Gabriel and Ryan from Quail Hill found it hard to believe I had cooked so much in the few hours since I’d seen them that morning. They rewarded me with some smoked peppers and more cabbage. Thanks, guys!

I steamed the corn to cut off the cob and freeze for winter. I have to admit, this last batch was a bit watery, but I figure once it’s in a chowder in February, nobody will complain.

Lastly, what to do with the lovely halibut? I decided to go all Frenchie and make a mash-up of bechamel-Bercyvelouté. In other words, I just winged it by making a light bechamel, adding shallots that had been boiled down in the Wolffer white wine, and fresh herbs still struggling valiantly in my garden. It was divine. All in all, I was quite pleased with myself and had made enough food for dinner for two, leftovers for three neighbors, and enough still for one more meal for moi.

Halibut                                                                                                                                    Laura Donnelly

The atmosphere at the last market was festive and panicky at the same time. Festive for those who don’t have to work so hard again until spring, panicky for those of us who abhor winter and will miss the ritual of waddling down to the market on the bay every Saturday for company and sustenance.

I will purchase a winter share at Quail Hill, and I can buy Bee’s Needs honey, Charissa harissa, and Blue Duck breads at my local I.G.A., but it’s just not the same. Maybe I should have gotten a few more potatoes and cabbages and peppers and heads of garlic and oil and, and, and. . . .

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A benefit for the East Hampton Lions Club tomorrow will feature a tasting of local beers, from the Montauk Brewing Company’s selections to brews from the Twin Fork Beer Company, Crooked Ladder Brewing Company, and the Southampton Publick House. The sipping gets under way at 4 p.m. at the Montauket in Montauk and continues until 7. Food will be served. Tickets are $25 in advance and can be purchased by calling Tina Piette in Amagansett; they will be sold at the door for $30. Taxis will be available.

Cittanuova Nights

A lineup of nightly specials at Cittanuova in East Hampton begins with pizza night on Tuesday, when any pizza with a draft beer or homemade gelato is $15. Wednesday, or steak night, follows, with a New York strip steak priced at $19. On pasta night, otherwise known as Thursday, any entrée pasta is offered at an appetizer price.

Eat, Talk

The next artists and writers night at Almond in Bridgehampton will be hosted by the well-known painter and sculptor Eric Fischl, whose work is in museum collections worldwide. He lives and works on North Haven with his wife, the artist April Gornik. The event, beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, will feature a familystyle three-course meal starting with a fall salad and followed by Szechuanstyle chicken and angelfood cake with Italian meringue. The cost is $45, which includes tax and gratuity and a glass of local wine or craft beer.

Thinking of Thanksgiving

Who can believe it’s only three weeks until Thanksgiving? With the holiday approaching, thoughts turn to the feast table. Those who plan to place orders for dishes to serve family and guests had best think ahead, as local businesses are already making their lists.

Round Swamp Farm in East Hampton is preparing to close after Thanksgiving weekend, but is stocked with soups, dinners, and baked goods that can be frozen for use over the months until the farmstand reopens. The Round Swamp market in Bridgehampton will remain open for limited hours into December. The market’s Thanksgiving menu can be found online. Orders for items, to be picked up at either location, are accepted only online.

Happy at Nick and Toni’s

Nick and Toni’s in East Hampton now has a happy hour from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, as well as on Sunday from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Deals include a glass of wine, selected by the sommelier, for $8, and select cocktails for half price. A “daily growler” — a glass of tap beer — will be offered for $6, and there will be a bar menu of small plates, including pizza margherita, cheese or salami plates, crispy spiced chickpeas, and bruschetta. On Sunday afternoons, the full pizza menu will be available. Nick and Toni’s serves dinner from Wednesday to Monday, beginning at 6 p.m.

Ramen for Lunch

A $20 lunch special on Fridays at Momi Ramen in East Hampton includes a starter item such as gyoza or edamame and any ramen dish. The restaurant is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but serves dinner the other nights of the week as well as lunch, from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Chowder How-To

Learn how to make a Long Island clam chowder during a workshop next Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Rogers Mansion in Southampton with Kyle Scheure, a chef from Schmidt’s Market in Southampton. Participants will learn how to open clams and prepare a batch of chowder, and will leave class with a quart to take home. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Southampton Historical Museum office, open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdaythrough Saturday. The cost is $35, or $25 for museum members.

Smoked or Deep-Fried

At Smokin’ Wolf in East Hampton, Thanksgiving meals for large or small parties can be ordered, and include a turkey, cornbread, cranberry sauce, gravy, choice of side dishes, and pie. Roasted, smoked, or deep-fried turkeys may be selected. Additional entrée options include grilled filet mignon, ovenroasted pork loin, smoked barbecue brisket, traditional brisket, and smoked glazed salmon. Appetizers can be added for an additional charge.

Thanksgiving at 1770

The 1770 House restaurant in East Hampton will serve a three-course Thanksgiving prix fixe from 2 to 8 p.m. on the holiday. The cost is $95 per person for adults. For youngsters 12 and under, a two-course, $40 prix fixe will be offered. Tax and gratuity are additional. A vegetarian option will be offered as well as the traditional turkey entrée, with fixings.

For Home Cooks

For cooks planning to make Thanksgiving — or other meals — at home, the selection of cookbooks at BookHampton is now 20 percent off.

Farm Produce Shares

Winter shares in the Peconic Land Trust’s Quail Hill farm in Amagansett are available. Individual shares are $250; shares for families are $395. In addition, new members must pay a one-time fee of $50. Those interested can obtain more information online at peconiclandtrust.org., or contact Robin Harris at the land trust’s Southampton offices.

Food is on the front burner, so to speak, as Thanksgiving approaches.

The Amagansett Food Institute, which operates the Amagansett Farmers Market, is taking orders for Thanksgiving foods including locally grown vegetable dishes such as a stuffing mix made with local wheat bread. Also on tap are local honey and Carissa’s pies. They include her bacon lattice apple pie, pumpkin and squash, and five other varieties. Cheese platters from Lucy’s Whey may also be ordered, in quantities for 6 or 12 people. Items must be ordered by Nov. 22 and will be available for pickup at the market between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Nov. 25. The market will have holiday hours on Nov. 24 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Nov. 25 till 3 p.m., but will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. The Gulf Coast Kitchen restaurant, in Montauk at the Montauk Yacht Club, will have a Thanksgiving buffet from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the holiday. There will be a carving station with roasted turkey, smoked ham, and herb-crusted prime rib, a seafood bar, seasonal starters, and main courses of pan-roasted fluke etoufee or lobster-stuffed chicken medallions, along with side dishes. A selection of desserts will round out the meal. The cost is $39.95 for adults and $15.95 for children; children age 6 and under eat for free.

Thanksgiving at the 1770 House in East Hampton will offer a holiday meal featuring first-course choices of seared Peconic Bay scallops, roasted cauliflower and apple soup, Balsam Farms beet and English cucumber salad, spicy Scottish salmon tartare, or porcini mushroom risotto. Main dishes will include traditional turkey and fixings, roasted Icelandic cod, or a roasted Berkshire pork chop. For dessert, there will be pumpkin pie, an apple crisp made with Halsey Farm apples, or the restaurant’s signature sticky toffee date cake.

In East Hampton, the Hampton Seafood Co. has closed for the winter.

Here’s the best advice you’re going to get while preparing for your Thanksgiving dinner. Make room now in your freezer and refrigerator. Be brutal. Just as we are told to change the batteries in our smoke detectors at daylight saving time, you should take the time twice a year to go through those mystery meats, leftover loaves of bread, soups from 2010, chutneys, whatever. And now is the time, well before Turkey Day.

The best way to attempt to make Thanksgiving Day stress-free, low-labor, and well-organized, is to make a checklist and timeline. Order your turkey, create your menu, try as best as you can to determine how many guests you’ll have, and delegate. Does your Aunt Matilda make the best Brussels sprouts dish? Let her bring that in an attractive, ovenproof casserole that can go straight from the oven to the table. Is Uncle Buck a wine aficionado? Let him bring the pinot noir or chardonnay or festive Beaujolais nouveau.

Not a baker? Get your pies from Blue Duck or Carissa’s Breads. Don’t you feel better already?

Now what can you do in advance? If you have a dining room that doesn’t get used much, set it ahead. Polish your silver and put out those wine glasses you only use twice a year. Isn’t that pretty? The only things missing are your floral centerpiece and Grandpa Roy, who’s going to tell you why Donald Trump should be president.

Food-wise, there are quite a few things you can make in advance and freeze. If you are making mashed potatoes with full-on fat content, as in whole milk and/or cream, and butter, this freezes very well. If you use watery, low fat ingredients (broth, low fat milk, and why would you on Thanksgiving?), the texture will not be so great. If you are ambitious enough to make your own pies, freeze them unbaked, then bake when needed.

The most important thing to consider when preparing food ahead and freezing is to allow the cooked food to cool rapidly to room temperature, then freeze tightly wrapped in a shallow layer. To cool mashed potatoes, quickly spread them out in a two-to-three-inch layer, cool, then pack into Ziploc baggies, squeezing out as much air as possible.

I love all manner of cranberry relishes, jellies, and chutneys, even the canned stuff. I have already made Mama Stamberg’s cranberry relish, a recipe that NPR’s Susan Stamberg shares every year. After about 25 years of this popular broadcast, Craig Claiborne contacted her and said, “Uh, that’s not your mother’s recipe, it’s mine.” He-he, oops. Regardless, it is an unusual and delicious combination of raw cranberries ground with onion, enriched with sour cream, and perked up with horseradish. It is frozen, then served partially thawed, in all of its Pepto-Bismol pink glory.

Personally, I like all of the old-fashioned dishes I grew up with, from the green bean casserole with canned fried onions on top to mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows. When I was little, I got the assignment of garnishing the sweet potatoes with the mini-marshmallows. I’m pretty sure this activity planted the seed of my brilliant cooking career.

There are also some things you should have on hand for other meals throughout the weekend. I keep a dense loaf of nutty bread for toast in the morning. For heartier appetites you can make one of those eggy-cheesy-mushroom-sausage casseroles that you assemble the night before and bake in the morning. Plenty of cut-up fruit is handy, along with a big bowl of clementines.

One of my favorite ways to use up leftover turkey is in mole enchiladas, or enmoladas as they say in Mexico. Get some tortillas, Monterey jack cheese, and a jar of mole sauce in advance.

An unusual but tasty leftover turkey idea is sandwiches with a dollop of cheap, supermarket caviar. I thought my English friends were the only ones who knew about this, but even The New York Times offers a recipe for this sandwich. Of course theirs is gussied up with chive enhancements and Cognac tears, whatever. Basically you just construct an open-faced turkey sandwich with whatever fixings you like — leftover stuffing, mayo, white bread — and top it with a tablespoon of caviar.

Do you know how to make perfect gravy? Two choices: either have a canister of Wondra flour to sprinkle into your broth and drippings or make a slurry of equal parts softened butter and flour. Add a bit of hot broth to the slurry, then slowly whisk this into the pan and thicken. Voila! Perfect, silky smooth gravy, sans giblets, I hope.

I don’t believe people should be gorging themselves on heavy cheese platters and boozy drinks before they sit down to the biggest feast of the year. I put out a bowl of spiced nuts, maybe one hard cheese (a little bit goes a long way), and have a light, low-alcohol aperitif like vinho verde or sherry. Stick to your schedule, and if possible, eat early enough in the day so that everyone can take a long constitutional after the meal. Some fresh air and exercise after all that soporific turkey tryptophan will do everyone good. Actually, turkey has no more tryptophan than other poultry, so there goes that myth.

Hopefully, these few tips will help ease your preparations for Thanksgiving Day. Keep in mind that a few grocery stores may stay open that morning, and there are plenty of caterers willing to do the job for you if you want to go that route.

Remember what the day is really about: giving thanks. Or as Oscar Wilde once said, “After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives.”

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Barbecue and Football

Lovers of both barbecue and football might want to earmark Townline BBQ in Sagaponack as well as the Smokin’ Wolf barbecue takeout shop in East Hampton as places to go for football watching victuals.

Smokin’ Wolf’s Sunday football specials include trays of chicken wings, quesadillas, hush puppies, ribs, nachos, and sliders with pork, chicken, or brisket, at various prices. The shop also has daily lunch specials starting at $8.75 and is selling candy to benefit the East Hampton High School football team.

At Townline BBQ, happy hour and football game specials will be offered at the bar on Thursdays and Fridays from 3 to 8 p.m. and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. Among the items on special are chicken wings, warm pretzels, and hush puppies.

Fall at Almond

Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton has introduced new daily specials for the fall. On Meatless Mondays, a three- course meatless menu will be served for $35. Steak frites are served for $19 on Tuesdays, and Montauk Pearl oysters are offered for $1 each on Thursdays. On Sundays, a burger and beer special is available at the bar for $15.

In addition, a $29, three-course prix fixe is available between 5:30 and 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, with a choice among three dishes at each course, changing nightly.

At Navy Road

Navy Road restaurant in Montauk, tapering down its hours in the fall season, will be open this weekend on Saturday and Sunday for lunch and dinner. After that, the restaurant will reopen next Saturday.

Oktoberfest Specials

The special German cuisine dinner featured at Rowdy Hall in East Hamp- ton for its Oktoberfest will be sauerbraten with braised red cabbage, turnip potato puree, and black forest trifle for dessert. It will be available today through Sunday.

Watermill Center Eats

The second in a series of brunches featuring international cuisine from the home countries of its artists in residence will take place Sunday at the Watermill Center from noon to 2:30 p.m. Reservations can be made on the center’s website, which features the weekly menu. The cost is $75.

Sicilian Supper Sunday

Osteria Salina in Wainscott has a Sunday supper special each week from 4 to 8 p.m. Featuring a family-style menu, it costs $45 per adult and $25 for children age 10 and up (kids under 10 can eat free) and offers a choice among two antipasti and other dishes, including salad, main courses, and vegetables. Watermelon is served as dessert. Reservations have been recommended.

Sant Ambroeus

30 Main Street Southampton

631-283-1233

Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

The village of Southampton feels different. The streets are wider, the houses are bigger, the inhabitants smooth and groomed. The shops on Main Street are predictably peppered with high-end real estate offices that have glowing, interactive features in the windows. Press a button and stare at your Water Mill McMansion pipe dream. There are still pockets of charm, the Village Cheese Shop, Silvers, and the Japanese antique store that never seems to be open.

Dining options are few and far between and woefully bereft of ethnic choices. There are now three or four restaurants transplanted from the big city so you can comfortably dine on the same agnolotti that you had on Thursday night on the Upper East Side. You could say that Sant Ambroeus is the pa- tron saint of these European outposts.

Sant Ambroeus plays different roles throughout the day. In the late morning pastries and coffee drinks are available in the front of the long, railroad-car-like building. It is as sleek and glossy and shiny as the glistening gelato in the front cases. Walk toward the back for lunch or dinner and you enter a carpeted dining room divided in half. There is a lot of polished wood, comfortable button-tufted, cream-colored leather banquettes, and cafe chairs. You do not feel like you are in a beach town anymore.

On a recent visit we were greeted warmly, from the young ladies behind the gelato counter to the hostess who accommodated our request for a more comfortable table. I would suggest, however, that the employees probably shouldn’t be idly playing with an electric fly zapper in front of guests coming in for dinner. This gave us a start.

Diners are offered a wide array of breads in a basket after taking their

seats: crusty baguettes, earthy olive bread, and chewy focaccia, all delicious and fresh.

We began our meal with arugula salad, artichoke salad, and a caramelized onion tart with Parmesan gelato. The salads were simple and straightforward, super fresh and light. The arugula was barely dressed, so my guest asked for a bit of lemon. Within 30 seconds our waiter,

Jorge, brought out a plate with a generous amount of lemon and lime slices and a bottle of olive oil. Very nice. The artichoke salad had paperthin slices of raw baby artichokes sprinkled with lemon and olive oil and shavings of aged Parmesan cheese. It was absolutely delicious.

The caramelized onion tart appetizer was a delightful surprise. A large, sweet onion half was baked into a thin crisp pate brisee shell. On the side was a baked Parmesan cup filled with Parmesan gelato, which sounded a bit weird to me but worked. The tart was warm, salty, sweet, and crunchy. The gelato was creamy, moderately salty, and perfectly smooth, not gritty from the cheese. It was pretty darned soigné.

Next we sampled some pastas — the agnolotti Bolognese and ravioli stuffed with spinach. These are the kinds of food you don’t even need teeth for. The agnolotti was filled with a delicate veal mousse and topped with a mild tomato veal ragout. Dainty and delicious. The spinach raviolis were five paperthin

house-made pasta pillows filled with spinach puree. They were swimming in a rich, brown butter sage sauce.

For entrees we ordered veal scallopini with polenta, and a filet mignon with pink and green peppercorn sauce. So old school, right? The veal scallopini was pounded into tenderness and well seasoned. It was served with a mercifully mild Gorgonzola sauce. The polenta was a little grilled disc of deliciousness. The filet mignon was a generous portion — two thick slices cooked to order and topped with a creamy cognac sauce. There were a few token vegetables on the plate — little roasted potatoes, three charred Brussels sprouts halves, and two broccoli florets. The vegetables had a whisper of gas grill flavor to them.

The service on the night of our visit started off exceptionally, but dwindled in attention once the place filled up with larger tables of regulars requiring some serious coddling.

Prices at Sant Ambroeus are high, like Dynasty TV show, 1980s high. Appetizers are $22 to $30, pastas are $25 to $32, entrees are $38 to $48, sides are $9, and desserts are $12.

Since we were in a hurry to get home and see the super moon lunar eclipse, not to mention that there was some serious syzygy going on that night, we ordered a few desserts and gelato to go. Here is where the truly European flair kicks in. The two desserts, chocolate mousse cake and lemon tart, were placed on golden paper trays, covered with wide bands of stiff paper to pre- vent crushing, and then wrapped in thick, apricot-colored paper illustrated with the Sant Ambroeus performing various tasks: blessing babies, preaching, riding horses with angels, having visions, and traveling from Milan to Liguria for some tasty sorbet. Okay, I’m not sure about that last one; my Italian isn’t very good.

The chocolate mousse cake was light as a feather, the cake moistened with simple syrup and the mousse fluffy. The lemon tart had an excellent cookie crust and tart lemon curd filling. The two gelatos, chocolate and coffee, were both delicious, especially the coffee.

Overall, our experience was wonderful, the food refined, the room polished. If you don’t mind spending a pretty penny, then this cocoon is for you.

New at Babette’s

New menu items are on the list at Babette’s restaurant in East Hampton, which focuses on healthy and organic meals with vegetarian and vegan choices. A sample of the new selections offered at dinner, which is served from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, includes Montauk striped bass with lemon sautéed Swiss chard, herbed fingerling potatoes, and oregano vinaigrette, pan-roasted sea scallops with apple, quinoa, and roasted root vegetables, spaghetti with meatballs made with free-range turkey, and “new foo yung,” which is pan-seared, herbed scrambled tofu with vegetables, organic brown rice, and teriyaki over udon noodles. Babette’s also serves breakfast and lunch daily, except for Wednesdays.

Three Courses and Art

The next Artists and Writers Night at Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton will feature Tucker Marder, a Springs native and graduate student in fine arts at Carnegie Mellon. He has shown his work at the National Aviary, the Phipps Botanical Garden, and underwater, and was chosen by Robert Wilson as a participant in the Parrish Art Museum’s Artists Choose Artists program. Most recently, his piece “Stampede!” — featuring more than 200 live ducks and three large abstract puppets — premiered as part of the Parrish’s Roadshow program.

The event, on Tuesday at 7 p.m., will feature a discussion with Mr. Marder and a family-style three-course meal. The $45 cost includes a glass of local wine or craft beer, tax, and gratuity. Reservations are a must.

Farm to School Money

New York State’s Farm to School program, which promotes connections between agricultural producers and local schools, has $350,000 in grants available for projects that will foster its goals, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. recently announced.

Eligible projects in pre-K through 12th-grade schools and other entities that participate in national school lunch or breakfast or summer food programs include training for food service staff in using locally produced specialty crops, the purchase of equipment or capitalimprovements needed to use those crops, and employment of a local or regional farm-to-school coordinator.

Additional information about the grant program is online at agriculture.ny.gov/RFPS.html. Applications must be submitted by Oct. 19, and awards will be made in November.

Foraging for Wild Food

Chandra Elmendorf, a naturalist, will lead a walk in the woods to forage for wild edibles on Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to noon in the area around Trout Pond in Noyac. In addition to the field identification of over a dozen edible plants, Ms. Elmendorf will discuss correct harvesting and the storage and preparation of wild foods. Sponsored by Slow Food East End, the walk will cost $15 for Slow Food members, $20 for nonmembers. Advance registration is required.

At Fresh

At Fresh in Bridgehampton, a lineup of nightly specials includes a Sunday night family dinner with three courses — enough for two to four adults, or two adults and two or three kids, for $72. Tuesday brings tacos for $22 ($12 for kids 12 and under), with half off bottles of wine with dinner on Wednesday, and a burger and beer or glass of wine for $18 on Thursday.

Last Chance

This weekend, Navy Beach restaurant in Montauk will be serving lunch and dinner on Saturday and dinner on Sunday. After that, it will close for the season.

Gosman’s Dock restaurant, down at the entrance to Montauk Harbor, will also close for the season after this weekend. Monday will be the last day of service for 2015.

Dinner and Theater

The 1770 House in East Hampton has teamed up with the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall to offer a special pre-theater two-course prix fixe for $27. Diners who reserve an early dinner spot between 5:30 and the 7:30 p.m. curtain call and use the code “JDT Lab” can claim the deal on dates that the theater lab puts on staged readings. The next will be on Friday, Oct. 16.

Wainscott Main Wine and Spirits has commenced a new series of wine tasting workshops on Wednesday evenings. The 5:30 p.m. sessions include a discussion led by a wine expert and, of course, a taste of the wines under discussion. Upcoming on Wednesday is “Demystifying Burgundy: An Importer’s Tour,” with David Bowler, the owner of David Bowler Wines. On Oct. 28, Andrew Bell, a co-founder of the American Sommelier Association and the president of Wine Symphony, will discuss “tasting fundamentals.”

As attendance at the workshops is limited, those interested have been asked to sign up in advance on the store’s website, wainscottmain.com, or by calling the shop. Later sessions in the series will feature Kareem Massoud, the winemaker at Paumanok Vineyards, a look at Argentinian wines and at Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons, a first-person discussion of becoming a “master of wine,” and a December session focusing on “wines for your celebration table that won’t break the bank.”

Brunch and Art

The Watermill Center, Robert Wilson’s art hub in Water Mill, will continue its series of international cuisine brunches, which take their focus from the home countries of the center’s fall artists-in-residence — Chile, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The meals, in conjunction with the Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, will center on local and seasonal ingredients and be served from noon to 2:30 p.m. Reservations are required. The cost is $75.

Theater Dining Deal

Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater lab has resumed a free series of staged readings, and the 1770 House in East Hampton is offering a pre-theater twocourse prix fixe for $27 on reading nights. The next, when there will be a reading of “Ashes and Ink” by Martha Pichey, is tomorrow. The meal, which includes a starter and main course, or main course and dessert, will be served between 5:30 p.m. and the 7:30 p.m. curtain call. After this week, the final reading will be on Nov. 17.

Winning Chowders

At the Montauk Fall Festival over the weekend, Manhattan and New England-style clam chowders were served, and the best tasting were selected as winners from among the more than two dozen entries by local restaurants.

Pizza Village came out on top in the Manhattan clam chowder contest, followed by Swallow East in second place, and Gulf Coast Kitchen in the third slot.

In the New England clam chowder contest, Gosman’s was the winner — same as last year. The Point Bar and Grill took second place, and tied for third place were the West Lake Fish House and the Backyard restaurant at Sole East.

At a time when many of us are wannabe chefs, when the TV is as apt to be turned to the Food Network as to ESPN, one woman in Springs has revived a veritable tradition: She has gathered recipes from family and friends and created a modest community cookbook.

Her name is Ethel Henn and she has put her academic and organizational talents as a former vice principal of Washington Irving High School in Manhattan to good effect on the “Seasons in the Springs Cookbook” as a fund-raiser for the Springs Library. Pamphlets on local topics have been produced for sale at the library in the past, but this time, Ms. Henn not only gathered the content but wrote seasonal introductions and did all the printing and collating.

Seated with her husband, Bob, in their King’s Point Road, Springs, dining room after showing two visitors around, Ms. Henn said her family has had a passion for cooking that goes back at least as far as her great-grandmother Mary Carter. Great-grandma contributed a recipe for Christmas plum pudding that was brought over from England. The version in the book has been updated somewhat, with butter as an ingredient rather than suet. As for Mr. Henn, he was clear that he doesn’t cook but enjoys the fruits of his wife’s labor.

Other members of Ms. Henn’s family are well represented in the book, with recipes from her mother, son, a nephew, an aunt, and a cousin. She inherited the house in Springs from her parents, who bought it in 1965. It still has the warm and cozy style of that decade, although the kitchen is dramatic in red, white, and black. Everywhere you look you see chickens, in paintings, and on fabrics and ceramics. Ms. Henn explained the collection with a tolerant smile, saying, “Our name is Henn, after all.”

Ms. Henn included a few recipes — coconut cake is one — that her mother, Justine Rothwell, used to make, but she left out her mother’s renowned coleslaw because she never liked it. On the other hand, a few of Ms. Henn’s own recipes call for Miracle Whip as a substitute for mayonnaise, because her mother used it. Her nephew’s recipe is for barbecue sauce, and her son, who loves to cook and gave her a smoker as a recent birthday present, contributed a few that are the most elaborate in the book.

She was not as able to get as many recipes from library volunteers as she would have liked, Ms. Henn said, although local residents are indeed represented. She compensated, not only with family recipes, but with some from old cookbooks in the library’s archives, where she spends time as a volunteer. Jean Stafford’s broccoli salad is an example of a recipe found in the archives. Ms. Henn also culled recipes from “Bonac Bites,” a local series done by Mary Ann Siegfried, and from a very old encyclopedia of cooking.

The result is more than 60 recipes, which run the gamut from that old-time Christmas pudding to beer Margarita and from clam pie to spicy sausage and shrimp sauce for pasta, with anchovies optional.

Ms. Henn said quiche Lorraine was her most popular recipe in the book, while her chicken and blueberry salad is arguably the most inventive.

The Springs Library is in a preserved, old Anderson house across the street from Ashawagh Hall. Owned by the Town of East Hampton and operated by the Springs Historical Society, its hours are from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Copies of “Seasons in the Springs Cookbook,” available there, are $5.

Fall Food Festival

The Amagansett Food Institute’s fall festival at the Amagansett Farmers Market on Saturday will have much to offer foodies of all ages. Among the highlights of the noon to 4 p.m. event will be a hands-on workshop on preserving fall foods with Laura O’Brien of Josephine’s Feast, who will share her quick-pickle method. The cost is $5, and this is the only part of the festival for which advance registration is requested. Spaces can be reserved by emailing [email protected].

All afternoon there will be food and drink from the Sea Bean food truck out of Montauk, the Madeline Picnic Co., Gula Gula Empanadas, and Joe and Liza’s Ice Cream, as well as live music and activities for kids. Entrance to the festival is free.

Dinner and Movie

Cinephiles rejoice. Rowdy Hall’s dinner-and-movie deal has returned, and what a deal it is. From Sundays through Wednesdays, patrons can get a burger and ticket voucher for the East Hampton Cinema for just $20. On Thursdays, they get a choice of a burger, fish and chips, meatloaf, or mussels for the same price. A pint of select beer adds $5 to the bill, wine $7, and dessert is an extra $7. For those who don’t eat meat, a vegetarian option will be offered as part of the deal on Sundays through Thursdays. The restaurant opens for dinner every day at 5.

Thai at Highway

Starting next week, Thursday nights will be Thai night at the Highway Restaurant. The chef, Anand Sastry, will prepare a selection of authentic Thai dishes each week. An example: wing bean salad, followed by green chicken curry, with coconut ice cream for dessert. The three-course meal will cost $35.

The restaurant, which is on Montauk Highway west of East Hampton Village, is also serving Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is open for dinner Wednesdays through Mondays from 5 p.m. and for lunch on Saturday.

At Fresh

Todd Jacobs, the executive chef at Fresh Hamptons in Bridgehampton, will teach a series of cooking classes starting tonight and continuing on Thursdays through Dec. 3 at 6:45 p.m. Participants can attend just one class for $105 or all six for $575.

The first two classes will focus on raw vegan meals. On Nov. 5 and 12, students will learn to prepare some of Fresh’s signature dishes. Thanksgiving foods will be the subject of the Nov. 19 class, and on Dec. 3, it will be football party food. Spots can be reserved by calling the restaurant or emailing [email protected].

Bell and Anchor Specials

October brings a number of specials at Bell and Anchor in Noyac, including a two or three-course prix fixe from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and all night from Sundays through Thursdays. The two-course option, at $30, has just an appetizer and entrée; dessert can be added for $5. Also at the restaurant, Wednesdays are lobster nights, and a prime rib special is offered on Thursdays.

Osteria Salina

Osteria Salina in Wainscott is taking reservations for a Sicilian “carnival” Halloween celebration that will include a buffet dinner from 8 p.m. and dancing until midnight on Oct. 31. The cost is $75 per person including an open bar.

Wine-Tasting Workshop

Andrew Bell, the co-founder of the American Sommelier Association and president of Wine Symphony, will lead the next tasting workshop at Wainscott Main Wine and Spirits on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. “Since Andrew is a leading wine educator in Manhattan, we like to basically just wind him up and let him go,” said Chimene Visser Macnaughton, the shop’s general manager. The workshop begins at 5:30 and costs $10. Space is limited, so advance reservations are recommended at wainscottmain.com or by calling the shop. On Nov. 4, Kareem Massoud, the winemaker at Paumanok Vineyards on the North Fork, will talk about life in the family business. Upstairs at Pierre’s

Pierre’s Upstairs, a members-only private addition to Pierre’s in Bridgehampton, is ready for prime time, the restaurant announced this week. “Upstairs is discrete, comfortable, and most importantly limited in the number of guests in order to provide excellence and privacy,” the restaurant said in a release.

The space, which opened on Friday, is a lounge and bar on the second floor of the restaurant. Membership is open to regular restaurant customers and those recommended by them. The cost is $5,000 for a “lifetime membership” for couples, which includes a special rental rate of the space once a year for a private event not on a weekend or holiday, and preferred seating in the restaurant. They’ll also get a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue that will be kept in the Upstairs cellar. An annual membership will cost $2,000 per couple, including a $1,500 joining fee, and include a bottle of Champagne on the first visit. Annual membership renewals will be $500. There will also be 30-day memberships at $750 per couple. Lifetime members can take three guests at a time; annual members can take two.