Aside from the turkey, the next most important piece of the Thanksgiving meal has to be stuffing, so I thought I would hurry up and do a post on my favorite kind of stuffing.  I didn’t grow up eating cornbread stuffing.  My mother always prepared stuffing with freshly baked, crusty French bread which she would slice the night before and leave out to stale up a bit overnight.  She always included lots of onions and celery, and every year she would alternate the other ingredients, including sausage some years and chestnuts others.  I never thought it could get any better than that stuffing, and believe me, I still appreciate her methods.  But there is just something about cornbread.

If you are like me, and you love cornbread, you will like this recipe.   It is just a little sweeter than regular stuffing, with a nice texture from the cornbread.  I would recommend preparing the cornbread the day before, both to alleviate some of the work the morning of Thanksgiving, and because it will firm up a little bit, which is you want.  Don’t be ashamed to prepare the boxed version.  You are making the stuffing from scratch and you have plenty of other things to worry about.  I would recommend the Trader Joe’s variety.  It is super easy and really quite delicious!  To save yourself even more time you could stop by your favorite local bakery and pick it up pre-made.  Just don’t eat half the loaf on your way home!

As with any stuffing recipe, feel free to substitute with any ingredients that you love or anything that screams Thanksgiving and honors your family’s traditions.  If you really like stuffing with sausage, go for it.  Or if you are up to the challenge of roasting up some chestnuts, that would make a delicious addition.

I think it is also worth mentioning that it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to make stuffing.  I will often stuff Cornish game hens or chickens throughout the year, as you will see in the picture below.  I love stuffing smaller poultry because then everyone gets their own miniature little bird on their plate.  It is pretty easy to do and it really impresses guests!

The recipe below is enough to stuff a medium sized bird and serve six people.  You may adjust according to your guest list.  Here are the ingredients that you will need:

• 1 loaf of cornbread (9X9X3)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, cleaned and chopped
• 3 peeled carrots, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of dried apricots, chopped
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, removed from the stems
• 1/4 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups of chicken stock

Cut the cornbread into 1 inch cubes and place into a large mixing bowl.  In a heavy skillet over medium (not high!) heat, melt the butter.  Add the vegetables, apricots, salt, pepper, and thyme, and cook them until they have softened, about ten minutes.

Add the vegetables to the mixing bowl with the cornbread.  Add the stock.  Combine the ingredients by folding them in so that you don’t break up the cornbread too much.

Stuff your turkey at this time, if you plan to do so, and put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole dish or dutch oven.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until it becomes golden brown on top and is heated through. Enjoy!
Serves 6

This one is for Aimee, as since our relationship began, beef hasn’t really been on the menu much in our house.  For ecological reasons, Aimee doesn’t eat cow – a stance that I respect and admire, though one that does have me missing a good steak every now and then.  In any case, we use turkey for a lot of our ground meat needs (as well as lamb and pork), especially for the great American meal: the burger.  Turkey burgers rule in our house, and I like to think we’ve gotten pretty good at making them.  Hopefully, some of our tricks and tips will help you appreciate the turkey burger the way we do.

A lot of people almost immediately complain that Turkey burgers are not good because they are made of a leaner meat, which is true, but we make up for it by adding some ground pork into our mix.  This will add in a nice balance of fat back to the burger – and we all know that fat = flavor.  I also like to add some other big flavors to my burger mixture (turkey or beef).  These include Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and fresh garlic (not to mention lots of diced, raw sweet onion).

I also like to get a little creative with my burger sides – tonight I decided to do a non-traditional sort of potato chip – using butternut squash which has just started to come into season.  These are wicked good – topped with some Manchego cheese and salt – delicious!  FYI, you should prep the chips FIRST, scroll down for the explanation.  Here’s what to do – first for the burgers:

• 1 lb of fresh ground turkey
• 1/2 – 3/4 lb ground pork
• 1/4 of a large sweet white onion – small dice
• 1 large clove of garlic – minced
• A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. plain or panko breadcrumbs

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and let the mixture rest for a while while prepping the other ingredients.  For the toppings for your burger, here are some ideas for you:

• Apricot mayonnaise: Simply buy some apricot preserves from the market and mix and equal amount with some good mayo, then add a little lemon juice and a pinch of salt – perfect for a turkey burger.

• Avocado slices – it wouldn’t be a turkey burger without the avocado.
• Smoked ketchup – mix smoked paprika with ketchup to kick it up a notch
• My personal favorite – thin sliced onion rings:  Slice 1/2 of a large sweet onion (part of the onion that you use to put into the burger mix) on a thin setting of a mandolin or really carefully with a sharp knife.  Then take 2 plates and lightly cover them with flour (whole wheat preferred!).  Also take a bowl and fill it with a bit of buttermilk.  Take the onions and coat them in the flour, shaking off any excess, then dip them in the buttermilk and back into the other pile of flour.  You then want to fill a heavy bottomed pot with about 2-3 cups of oil (peanut, olive or vegetable preferred – or a mixture).  When the oil reaches 350 F drop in the onions and let them cook for a few minutes until they’re golden brown.

• Smoked cheese (I use smoked mozzarella, but you can use what you like)
• Bacon – if you really want to do it up right.

Once your condiments are prepared, you can cook your burgers.  I recommend doing this on the grill, but in a pinch or in the winter time, you can make delicious burgers on the stove.  Take a heavy bottomed skillet (don’t use non-stick here) and over medium heat, add in 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Shape your burgers into the size and shape of your choice and place them into the hot pan.  Let them cook for a few minutes until they easily lift off of the man without ripping or scrapping!

Meanwhile, you can make the butternut squash chips.  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 medium butternut squash – top part only, reserve globe bottom for something else
• 5-6 sprigs of thyme (lemon thyme preferred) – leaves take off the stems but left whole
• 2-3 sage leaves – chopped
• Small block of Manchego cheese
• Salt
• Oil for frying (use the same oil as you used for the onions)

Peel the squash and slice on a very thin setting on your mandolin.  Place the slices into a bowl of ice water and let them rest for 15-30 minutes.  Meanwhile, fry the herbs in the hot oil, removing them when they become dark green and crispy.  Remove the squash from the water and dry the slices off with paper towels – then place them in the hot oil and fry them for around 7-8 minutes per side.  You’re looking for the squash to turn a darker color of orange so that they are partially crispy.  Experiment and you’ll get the hang of it.

Once the chips are cooked, remove them to some paper towels, top them with some salt, the fried herbs and grate some Manchego cheese on top (with a microplane).

Flip the burgers and finish cooking them by topping with cheese, moving them to some fresh buns and topping with your favorite toppings.  Plate with the chips and enjoy!

A long time ago, I made up the decision to give up eating beef and, consequently, I didn’t eat meatballs for many years. About a year ago, I saw a woman in an Italian restaurant eating spaghetti and meatballs and seeming to enjoy every bite, and I realized how much I missed eating them.  It then occurred to me that meatballs, like burgers, could certainly be made without beef.

I began a search for authentic meatball recipes, and I found one that used buttermilk, an ingredient that I don’t often use, but the author of the recipe claimed to have tried several different recipes and suggested this method above all others so I decided to give it a try.   I chose to substitute the ground beef with ground turkey and hot Italian sausage meat, and the result was even more delicious than any meatball I remember from my years of eating beef.  The recipe would work just as well with ground pork, lamb, chicken, beef, or veal any combination you prefer.

The reason I love this meatball recipe is it produces very moist and tender meatballs, despite the fact that I use turkey, which is leaner than beef, and therefore has a tendency to dry out. The Parmesan, parsley, and garlic add wonderful flavor.  I often don’t mention that the meatballs are made without beef to my guests until the have already tried them, and most admit that they would not have been able to tell the difference, or even that they like them better.  Try them out and you can be the judge.  Here’s how they are made:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey meat
• 3 hot Italian sausages, removed from its casing
• 1 egg
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 3 slices of white or Italian bread
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. (standard package) dried semolina spaghetti
• 4 cups prepared simple tomato fennel sauce (see previous post)

Begin by soaking the slices of bread in the buttermilk until the bread becomes soft enough to smash into a mush with a fork, about 1/2 hour.  In a large bowl, mix the meat, egg, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper, and bread mixture until thoroughly combined.  Do not be afraid to use your hands to mix.

To form the meatballs, use a tablespoon and scoop heaping spoonfuls of the meat mixture into your palm.  Gently roll into a ball, taking care not to over work the meatball, and place on a cookie sheet.  Try to form the meatballs to be uniform in size.

Once all the the meatballs are prepared, heat a large, heavy bottom pan, such as a dutch oven, over medium high heat and add about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Place one layer of meatballs in the pan, being careful not to overcrowd them.  Do not try to turn the meatballs until they are brown on the first side, and then turn them to cook on the other side.  Once the meatballs are browned on all sides, remove from the heat.  At this time, cook the remaining meatballs in the same way.

Once all of the meatballs are browned on all sides, add the sauce to the pan (see previous post for recipe).  Stir to work all of the browned bits into the sauce, and reduce the heat to low.  Add the meatballs back into the sauce, making sure they are fully submerged.  Let them finish cooking in the sauce, for at least another twenty minutes or so.

Pour the sauce and meatballs over spaghetti, garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese and serve.

Serves six people. Enjoy!

When I think of Mexican food, I think about my sister Sabrina, who loves cooking Mexican, and now I understand why – simplicity, convenience and most of all, deliciousness.  Living in Southern California, it’s not surprising that she has taken to this great cuisine.  The Mexican culinary traditions and flavors are very evident in the area, where you’re more likely to find the local taqueria than the steak house walking down main street.

Sabrina has told me a few times about her taco salad, and I’ve tried a few variations of it at her house.  This is my first attempt at making the dish myself and it actually turned out pretty well.  Hell, the way I see it, it’s not hard for a dish to be good when you add seasoned sour cream and guacamole to it.

The key to this dish was the meat – Aimee’s idea and specialty: ground turkey seasoned with a homemade Mexican spice blend that includes cayenne, cumin, salt, chili powder, garlic and onion powder and black pepper.  You can really add anything you want to this though, including ancho chili or fresh garlic that you can blend together in a mortar and pestle.  This spice blend gets added to the meat as it cooks together with some stock and creates a delicate, moist base to the salad (or tacos or anything else).

The rest of the salad is really up to you in terms of ingredients.  Being winter time, we chose to use cabbage and lettuce, but some fresh tomatoes and corn in the summer time would be surely welcome.  Here’s how it went:

For the Meat:

• 1 package ground turkey (or beef, lamb or pork) according to your tastes
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 2 cloves garlic – mashed
• 2 poblano peppers – rough dice
• 1 jalapeno pepper – seeded and diced
• 1 small habanero pepper – seeded and diced (omit if you don’t like it spicy)
• ~1.5 cups of chicken or beef stock
• Mexican spice blend: 1 Tbsp. each of: cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, salt, black pepper – mix together in a small bowl or mortar and pestale
• Vegetable oil

For the Salad (add and remove ingredients as you like!):

• Romaine lettuce – shredded
• Red cabbage – shredded
• Red onion – sliced thin
• Shredded pepper jack and/or cheddar cheese
• Sour Cream
• Avocado – or Guacamole of mashed avocado, cilantro, diced onion, lime juice and salt
• Fresh salsa
• Prepared meat from above
• Chopped cilantro
• Black beans
• Sliced lime for garnish
• Corn tortilla – cut into strips and fried in a little vegetable oil

Method:

So start by preparing the spice blend from above – you can really adjust the levels of the spices as you so choose, but you might want to make a little extra to add to the sour cream (really good!) or just add more to the meat.  So start by sweating the onion in some oil over low-medium heat.  Add the peppers – mild to spicy, so the poblanos first, followed by the jalapenos and then the habanero.  Add the garlic and continue to cook down.  At this point, turn up the heat a little bit and add in your meat.

Cook the meat down, browning it a good amount.  Once it it almost cooked through, add 1/2 of the spice blend and a little of the stock.  With a wooden spoon, take up some of the meat bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Let the stock cook off and add a little more and repeat.  Once most all of the stock is cooked off, add the rest of the spice blend and cook until the meat reaches a consistency of almost a very thick stew.  Adjust seasonings as needed at this point.

At this point, you can mix up the guacamole, and assemble the salad, greens and vegetables on the bottom.  Remember, you can add what ever you want to this!!  Spoon the meat on top of the lettuce with some of the cheese and other fixings.  I found that mixing some of the spice blend with the sour cream makes a really good condiment.  But go nuts and add whtever you want!  This is tacos in salad form really, so whatever you want to add is great!  As a serving note, I would probably serve this in a big bowl next time (now I know why those big tortilla bowls are convenient).

Here are some other really good looking takes on the recipe:

• Small Kitchen, Big Taste
• The Crumbling Muffin Top
• The Street