Apple Walnut Bacon Stuffing

1 1/2 c toasted walnut pieces (approx)

1 c apple cider
2 c dried cranberries

3 tbsp butter
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2c apples, cored and diced (We used some crab apples from Lisa's mom's tree. Perfect. But most baking apples would work just as well)

4 slices thick cut smoked bacon

about 4–5 c dried bread cubes (we never measured. But use about a bag and a half of pre-purchased.)

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c heavy cream
3 tbsp chopped fresh sage
coarse salt and pepper


• Heat cider and cranberries in small saucepan. Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat. Stir frequently about 20 min until berries absorb almost all liquid. Set aside to cool.

• In large fry pan, heat butter with onion, celery and apples. Cook about 5–8 minutes, until onion is translucent. Let cool.

• Fry bacon until cooked. Don't crisp it.
• Let cool on paper towels. Slice / crumble into small pieces.

• In a large bowl, mix together walnuts, bread crumbs, apple mixture, cranberries and bacon.
• Pour eggs and cream over top. Add sage and generous pepper. Mix well.
• Stuffing can be refrigerated if desired, up to one day ahead.
• If you are using this to stuff the bird, fill cavity with mixture as is.
• If you are baking, season with salt before filling a large baking dish.
• Bake at 350 for about 40 min. If you are baking from cold, add another 10 minutes or so.

• Serve hot! Covered with gravy! And be sure to save enough to make turkey sandwiches the nest day.



Sunday, November 9, 2008
Purr Girls' Early American Thanksgiving Feast

(Both this and the yam recipe were part of the same Thanksgiving menu. Lisa and I worked together on the whole thing and I was very happy to find another perfectly compatible kitchen partner. Considering there are only 2 or 3 at this point, it's a significant accomplishment. Whole menu follows.)

Pomegranate champagne cocktails
Roast Turkey with dijon herb butter and bacon
Cider gravy
Party Potatoes
Apple Walnut Bacon Stuffing
Maple Streusel Yams
Green beans with maple butter and pecans (posted last 2007 Thanksgiving)
Amaretto apple crisp
Chocolate cranberry tart

Maple Streusel Topped Yams

(from Bon Appetit magazine, barely altered)


3–4 yams / sweet potatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick, reserving one end

1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c butter
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
coarse salt and pepper

1 c flour
3/4 c brown sugar
2/4 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, melted

about 1 tbsp maple syrup


• Butter a 9 x 13" (approx) baking dish. Layer yam slices around the dish until you have about four layers.
• Heat maple syrup, butter, cider vinegar in a small sauce pan. Bring to boil and season with salt and pepper.
• Pour over yams. Cover.

• Grate reserved yam end. You should have about a 1/2 cup.
• Mix with flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Pour melted butter over and rub with fingers until crumbly.

(Both yams and streusel can be made up to a day ahead and kept refrigerated.)

• Bake yams, covered, in 350º oven for about 40 minutes. They should just be starting to get tender.
• Remove lid, top with streusel and drizzle with about a tbsp of maple syrup. Return to the oven for about 30 minutes.
• Crank oven to broil, let streusel brown for about 10 minutes.
• Serve immediately. It's like sweet potato crumble!



Sunday, November 9, 2008
Purr Girls' Early American Thanksgiving Feast

Roasted Vegetable Bake (Pizza Party Leftovers)

Shell pasts (or any other small bite pasta), about 2 cups (cooked)
Roasted Vegetables
Pizza / tomato sauce
Mixed cheeses ( mozza and goat )
Toasted pine nuts
Pepper


• Cook about 2c shell pasta until al dente. Drain.
• Mix in leftover roasted vegetables, pizza sauce, small amount of goat cheese, about 3/4 remaining shredded cheese. Mix well until cheeses are melted.
• Pour into casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and pine nuts. Pepper as needed.
• Bake in 350º oven for about 30 minutes, until bubbling. Brown cheese under broiler if desired.



This was a delicious use of the leftovers from the previously mentioned pizza party. Cooked on it's own would also be excellent.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped (cut all the following veggies to apprx 1/2" cubes)
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
about 10 small red potatoes, chopped
12–15 red pearl onions, peeled and halved (regular red onion would be way easier, but the store was sold out)
about 6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
4–6 oregano sprigs
olive oil
coarse salt and pepper

1/2 c pine nuts, toasted

mozzarella cheese, shredded

feta cheese, crumbled (or use a bit of goat cheese)

pizza sauce, store bought or make your own

fresh pizza dough


• start by roasting vegetables: spread all chopped vegetables on a large rimmed baking sheet.
• evenly space oregano sprigs.
• drizzle pan with olive oil, season with salt and pepper
• bake in a 375º oven for about 45 minutes (you want them to be slightly undercooked, as they will cook further when you put your pizza in

• punch down dough and break off desired size piece. roll / toss / spread out crust to whatever size and thickness you want. Remember that the dough will rise during baking.
• spread dough with thin layer of sauce
• sprinkle with a small handful of mozza
• pile on as many roasted veggies as you like
• sprinkle with pine nuts and feta. Salt and pepper as needed
• bake in the 375º oven for about 20–30 minutes, until the crust and cheese is golden
• let cool a few minutes and enjoy!

Please bear in mind that the amount of vegetables this makes is exponentially more than what you will likely use for pizzas. The rest can be refrigerated and put to other uses.


Friday, October 17, 2008
Pizza Party!
This was one of many pizzas made at Friday's Bring Your Own Topping Pizza Party. With dough, sauce and cheese provided, everyone else was free to bring and make whatever they wanted. Other favourite pizzas included:
margherita
pepper salami with banana peppers, roasted red pepper and arugula
four cheese with pine nuts
caramelized onions with goat cheese

Cranberry Maple Butter

some frozen cranberries
a dollop of butter
a bit of maple syrup
a splash of water

• Just heat it up on the stove until the berries start popping.

• Then mash it up.

• And smear it on your turkey sandwich (along with stuffing, mayo and lots of pepper, of course)


Tuesday, October 14, 2008
(I didn't have any cranberry sauce. And really I just needed a starting point to get this going again. My as well start up where I left off a year ago.)