Cool Stuff You Can Do: 20081120

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Savory Sausage Turkey Stuffing

I always liked stuffing my turkeys and chickens with rice mixtures, but I thought it would be nice to make a stuffing that makes the bird self basting while contributing delicious flavor of its own.

To get a really unique flavor I like to make this stuffing with Italian Sausage. I brown it ahead of time to get rid of the excess fat, but that leaves enough to make your bird very juicy. For extra firmness and flavor I use my Bread Crumb Recipe.

This stuffing is so tasty, you will be tempted to eat it as is or on a sandwich.

This recipe makes enough stuffing for 10-12 pound bird. If you have a larger turkey, multiply accordingly.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb Fresh Italian Sausage, buy it loose if available
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup Lizabetti Bread Crumbs
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 tbs garlic, chopped
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

Directions:

Remove the sausage from its skin and break up
Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat until light tan in color. Do not over-brown at this time because it will continue cooking as you add the other ingredients.
Slide the sausage to one side of the skillet and add the onions to the open side.
Brown the onion in the rendered sausage fat.
Mix the onions and sausage and slide to the side of the pan.
Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.
Mix the mushrooms with the sausage and onions.
Stir in the celery, cook for 3 m.
Stir in the garlic, oregano, and paprika.
Cook 2 more minutes and remove from the heat.
Mix in the parsley and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Stir in the bread crumbs.
You are now ready to stuff your bird.

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Wholesome and Delicious Apple Crisp

I am not usually a fruit dessert sort of person, but I have come to absolutely love this sweet dish. Not only does it satisfy your sweet tooth , it is good for you as well. I first tried to make apple crisp when someone sent me a recipe. I don't know why, but that recipe did not work for me, there was just not enough crisp in the whole thing. So I went about trying to get just the right texture and taste for me. This is a great dessert to make ahead of time since it can be refrigerated for at least 2 days and then reheated when you are ready to serve. It can also be served at room temperature, but I really like mine warm. A scoop of vanilla ice cream adds the final touch to the whole thing. This is a great alternative to the apple pie for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:
Crust

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of baking soda
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter
1/4 cup of chopped nuts

Filling

3 tbsp of white flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
juice of one lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk the oatmeal, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, brown sugar together.
Unwrap the butter and use the wrapper to grease a 9 X 12 baking dish. There is enough butter left on the wrapper that it will give the baking dish enough butter so that the crisp will not stick to the baking dish. I would recommend using a nice baking dish since this is a dessert that goes from the oven to the serving table. I like using my Le Creuset cast iron dish.
Cut the butter into small pats and add to the oatmeal mixture. This makes incorporating the butter into the dry mix a lot easier.
Using a pastry blender, work the crust until the butter is incorporated into the oatmeal mixture. It will probably take about 5 minutes of blending. The crust should be crumbly.
Press about 1 to 1 1/2 cups into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Add the chopped nuts to the remaining crust.
In the meantime, peel and cut the apples using an apple cutter. You will have 8 slices at this point.
Cut each slice in half. Each apple will give you 16 slices.
In a container mix the flour, brown sugar and cinammon together. Add the apple slices. Make sure all the slices are well coated.
Using a slotted spoon, carefully place the apple mixture over the baked crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crust over the apple mixture.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes. The crust will be a golden brown and you will see some bubbling of the apple mix.
Let it cool for about 20 minutes before cutting.
Serve with a scoop of ice cream. Will generously serve 8-10 people.
The entire dish can be prepared up to 2 days in advance of serving. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. To serve, just warm in a 300 F oven for about 10-15 minutes or serve at room temperature. Don't forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of hot tea.