Thanksgiving: Practice Round

Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce & DessertDisclaimer: This is a long one.

While enduring a long car ride back to NYC through Middle-of-Nowhere, Pennsylvania, my mind got to wandering about food, the mouth-watering Thanksgiving feast my aunt and uncle prepare every year, and my minimal involvement in the operation. So with that in mind, I posed the idea of a "Thanksgiving practice round" potluck to my roommates. We determined that our poor little oven would cease to function at the sight of a turkey, so we got some help in that department, but once the remaining responsibilities were divvied up, it was time to get to brainstorming. My main task - the stuffing. With so many fantastic recipes out there it was a tough choice, but I settled on a slightly modified version of Fennel, Sausage and Caramelized Apple Stuffing from Cooking Light. Upon subscribing to CL, my close friend in media broke the news that the average reader was ~25 years my senior (ha!), but I have to say I've been thoroughly pleased with the recipe ideas thus far.
When I arrived at Whole Foods to pick up a few last ingredients, I was helped by the lady at the bakery counter who handed me a loaf of sourdough bread fresh from the oven. Now normally this would be a welcomed predicament, but I was a bit concerned about just how fresh (and still hot) the bread was - considering stuffing usually calls for at least day old bread. I decided to trust the recipe and go with it. Low and behold, the fresh bread, which ends up going in the oven to brown and crisp the edges, creates a similar effect to day-old without actually being stale.

While the bread was in the oven I went to work on the other parts of the dish aka I slaved away over the cutting board fighting back onion tears and fending off unruly flying carrot pieces.

As I continued to work my way through the recipe and the ingredients piled up in my bowl, all I could think of was Rachel Ray's "garbage bowls", but instead of reducing trips to the trash can, I was reducing the amount of time I would later hover over the sink hand-washing multiple dishes and pans. Yes, hand-washing. Sadly our dishwasher has been yet another victim of repairs our management company doesn't seem to be competent enough to arrange.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying leftovers, but a few notes on the ingredients I chose and how I would potentially tweak them. I opted for chicken sausage to cut out some of fat and make the dish a bit lighter, which I am certain I compensated for by unintentionally using extra bread. To that note, I think a whole wheat baguette would've also been a nice choice, but regardless, be sure to keep the bread to 12 oz. so the other ingredients don't get lost. I think I've proven by now that I'm a flavor junkie, so I likely would have added in an extra sage, fennel seed, garlic and pepper. Lastly, the apple flavor was not all that present in the dish, so if that is something you want, I would go for a more "powerful" apple, like a granny smith.


FENNEL, SAUSAGE AND CARAMELIZED APPLE STUFFING
The Recipe:
12 ounces sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Cooking spray
1 12 oz. package of Chicken Sausage (I used Sweet Italian)
5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 cups onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups fennel bulb, chopped
1 1/4 cups carrot, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 cups chopped Golden Delicious apple
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes or until golden, stirring after 8 minutes. Place in a large bowl.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut chicken sausage into small pieces. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 8-10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Add sausage to bread.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add 3 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, fennel, carrot, sage, fennel and garlic. Add 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add vegetables to sausage mixture.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add apple and sugar; sauté 5 minutes or until apple caramelizes, stirring occasionally. Add to the sausage mixture.

Combine broth and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add broth mixture and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper to sausage mixture; toss well to combine.

Spoon sausage mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover with foil. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Uncover dish; bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.

HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE
Any magazine I read seems to insist that homemade cranberry sauce is a requirement for Thanksgiving, so in an effort to avoid the canned jelly blob monster, I thought I too would try my luck at making my own. Mission accomplished. Luckily I had onion left over from my earlier chopping frenzy, so the process was low maintenance.

I did cut the sugar in half from the original recipe, which meant I still used 3/4 of a cup. It felt like a lot of added sugar (maybe agave would be a substitute candidate), but it was worth it.

The recipe:
1 tbsp. canola oil
3/4 c. onion, chopped
3/4 c. sugar (yoiks!)
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 c. water
1 package fresh cranberries
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. fresh grated orange rind

Cook the onion in the oil for about 4 minutes. Add the sugar, wine, water, ginger and cranberries. Bring mixture to a boil for about 2 minutes then reduce to a simmer for about 8 minutes. Add the orange rind to the mixture once in the serving bowl.

THE FINAL ACT: PUMPKIN FLUFF LAYER DESSERT

With so much good food on the way, I wanted to make sure that dessert was light. Going with the flavors of the season, pumpkin seemed an appropriate base. I came across a pudding-type dessert that seemed just perfect - Pumpkin Fluff. I made it my own by creating a "layer dessert". This was a real crowd pleaser and a perfect way to end the meal.

1 16 oz. can pumpkin
1 1.5 oz. box sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 8 oz. container fat-free cool whip
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 pack cinnamon graham crackers

Take the cool whip out of the freezer so it has a few minutes to "thaw". Make the pudding and allow it to set (about 5 minutes). Mix in the pumpkin, cool whip and pumpkin pie spice.

In a serving dish crush 2 graham crackers to layer the bottom surface. Spoon or pour in half the pumpkin pudding mixture. Crumble 2-3 more graham crackers to create a middle layer. Add in the remaining mixture and top with crushed graham crackers. Put back in the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour.

Note: If you make this too far in advance the graham crackers might start to get a little soft/borderline soggy, but I have to say, I still somehow managed to enjoy leftovers 24 hours later...proof I love dessert?

And with that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Eat well, be merry and enjoy the company of family and friends!