Hi!
How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was filled with lots of food. And wine. But mostly food.
We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday and made a feast! Even though it was a smaller group this year we still made enough food for approximately 20 people. You could say there were leftovers! Turkey sandwiches the next day are my favorite. After consuming all this turkey I’m just going to take a permanent nap for three days straight. Just kidding.
Here are some pictures from our feast!
Always a cheese board. If you’re local in Massachusetts, we have been long time fans of Wasik’s cheese shop. They have been jumping through hoops to accommodate everyone and stay open during this pandemic so I love that the community has been showing them a lot of support.
Maju and I made sour cream and chive rolls from Bon Appetit Magazine. They were a little involved (and we had to re-bloom our yeast 3 times but who’s counting) but they were delicious.
Brussel sprout salad. I just sliced brussel sprouts very thin using a mandoline, then added shredded manchego cheese, pomegranate seeds, toasted sliced almonds and tossed it with a simple vinaigrette of shallot, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
It feels obligatory to have something green and fresh on a Thanksgiving menu to balance out all the butter!
The turkey! Roasted turkey breast and confit turkey legs. We confit the turkey legs in duck fat. And by “we” I mean Maju. Oh yes.
The whole spread! Turkey 2 ways, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, leek herb stuffing, cranberries, sweet and sour onions, twice baked honey nut squash, sour cream and chive rolls, and brussel sprout salad. Food COMA.
One of my favorite sides ever is always stuffing.
Leek Herb Stuffing!
I have perfected my stuffing recipe. I will give you a hint. A lot of butter is involved.
It starts with a loaf of sourdough bread. I like to use sourdough because of the flavor and it holds up well to the chicken stock and butter added. I always tear up the loaf the day prior to making the stuffing because you want the bread to be a bit on the stale side.
To make the stuffing I finely minced onion, celery, and leeks.
Add 1 stick of butter to the pan. Yes 1 whole stick. And more to come! This is Thanksgiving after all. Butter calories don’t count 😉
I cook the vegetables on low heat for about 3-5 minutes until they are nice and translucent but not brown in color.
Let’s add another half stick of butter. Because it’s the right thing to do!
Next comes the seasonings. Dried thyme, sage, salt, and pepper.
Once that gets nice and cooked down, add the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the bread along with 1 quart of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of minced fresh parsley.
Mix it so the bread absorbs all the liquid. Then place the mixture in a baking dish and top with the other half stick of butter.
This step can be done up to a few days in advance. Then when you’re ready to bake, just bring the pan to room temperature and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. And that’s it!
Leftover stuffing goes really well on sandwiches!
Herb Leek Stuffing
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of sourdough bread (or Italian loaf) torn into pieces (should yield about 15oz of bread)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 small yellow onion, minced
- 2 stalks celery, minced
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- 1 tbsp dried sage
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup minced flat leaf parsley parsley
Instructions:
- The day before you make the stuffing, tear apart the loaf of sourdough bread into bite sized pieces. Leave out on a baking sheet to dry for a day. (If you don’t have a day in advance to do this, just leave it out to dry for a couple hours)
- In a medium saute pan, add 1.5 sticks of butter and melt over low heat. Add in the onion, celery, and leeks, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the dried sage, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked vegetable mixture along with the bread, chicken stock, and parsley. Mix until nice and combined and so that all the liquid is absorbed by the bread. It may seem too wet but once you bake it, it will be perfect. Place in a baking dish and dot the top with the remaining ½ stick of butter. (You can make the stuffing up to this step a few days in advance and just cover it well and refrigerate until ready to bake)
- Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Serve warm.
YUM. It takes a lot of self control to not eat 2nd and 3rd portions!
I know Thanksgiving looks different to a lot of people this year, but I hope everyone is still treating themselves to a nice Thanksgiving dinner and focusing on all there is to be grateful for 🙂
xx Chelcie
