Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta

I made this Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta (though it really should be called dressing since it is cooked outside the Turkey) last year and it was a huge hit! I was nervous since I made it for my in-laws who settle for STOVE-TOP as their choice of Thanksgiving stuffing. Since I am not hosting this year won't be making any stuffing but if you are and want something a little different then check this out.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
8 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (7.4-ounce) jars roasted peeled whole chestnuts, coarsely broken
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 pound day-old ciabatta bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten to blend

The How To:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 15 by 10 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a large bowl. Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, rosemary, and garlic. Saute until the onions are very tender, about 12 minutes. Gently stir in the chestnuts and parsley. Transfer the onion mixture to the large bowl with the pancetta. Add the bread and Parmesan and toss to coat. Add enough broth to the stuffing mixture to moisten. Season the stuffing, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mix in the eggs.

Transfer the stuffing to the prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until the stuffing is heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the top is crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.

The Verdict: I couldn't stop eating it. It was a nice change from the bagged stuffings (Pepperidge Farms, Bell) that I am used to having on Thanksgiving. In fact, I think I might just make this anyway and bring it along as an extra side! I mean, my motto always is you can never have enough stuffing/dressing!

Don't Settle for Dry Turkey Again!!!!

If you haven't joined the brining craze, I highly suggest you try it. Unless you deep-fry your turkey, this is the only other way to guarentee yourself a perfectly moist and juicy turkey this Thanksgiving. This recipe comes straight from the authority himself, Mr. Alton Brown:


http://brianstack.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-turkey-time.html

Stack Family Pumpkin Cream Pie w/ Toasted Pecans

For the Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Next day, roll out dough on a floured counter, being careful not to over work it. Place dough in a 9inch pie pan and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool.

For the Filling:

1 and 1/2 cups cold milk
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup canned pumpkin (16 oz)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked (see above for crust recipe)

Combine milk, pie filling mix, pumpkin, spices, and whipped topping in a deep, narrow-bottom bowl. Beat at lowest speed of an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Pour filling into cooled pie shell. Chill until set, about 3 hours.

For the Topping:

2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp brown sugar
1/2 package crushed pecans

Melt butter and sugar in a pan over medium low heat. Add pecans. Stir constantly for three to five minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Then, place a layer of whipped topping on the chilled pie and sprinkle with the pecans.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

If you're like me and FAIL at making pies but love the smells and tastes of pumpkin, then you will love this bread recipe for Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread. My friend Susan made this and I got to have a piece while we enjoyed our coffee and watched our little ones play! It was so yummy and I had to try it out myself!

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

The How To:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The Verdict:
I made mine in a bundt pan because I was too lazy to wash out my loaf pans. In hind sight I would have gotten the loaf pans out. It took a lot longer to cook through in the bundt and I was afraid it was going to burn around the outside so some of the inside was a little undercooked. It still tasted amazing though so I was happy about that. For some reason, like pasta sauce, it tastes much better the next day. This is really easy to do and would be a big hit for your Holiday feast!

Sausage and Kale Soup

This is a great soup for those cool nights that will be creeping upon us shortly. It's also super fast and super healthy!

This makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:
* 2 links chicken sausage
*2 links HOT Italian sausage
*1 sweet onion, diced
*4 tsp bacon pieces (the real bacon bits)
*2 tbsp minced garlic
*6c water
*2 tbsp Chicken better than Bouillon (or enough cubes for the amount of water)
*1 1/2c mini potatoes cut in half (I get these gumball sized potatoes at Trader Joes, if you can't find them use 2 medium potatoes cubed)
*1/4 bunch of kale, chopped to bit size
*3/4c heavy cream

The Making:
In a large pasta pot, or dutch oven heat about 1 tbsp olive oil. Squeeze the sausage out of the casing and sautes until crumbled and cooked through. Remove and reserve in a separate bowl.

Add a bit more oil and saute onion, garlic and bacon pieces till onions are tender.

Add water and bouillon making sure to scrape all the good bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil.

Add potatoes and sausage and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Reduce heat to a simmer and add kale.

When kale is wilted, add the cream.

Tips and Talk:
Phil thought this was really great, and Miles liked it too! With the kale and the sausage and the potatoes this is such a well rounded meal, I only served it with some garlic toast. You can use all chicken sausage and just add red pepper flakes instead of the Italian sausage to make it even healthier, or if you like it really spicy add some more red pepper flakes.