My Favorite Stuffing for My Favorite Holiday

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     Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays.  What I love about this holiday is that the main focus is getting your loved ones together, spending the day with each other and sharing a fabulous meal.  I have been hosting Thanksgiving now for at least 15 years and every year I very much look forward to it.

     Over the years the meal has evolved somewhat, but there are things that my family expects every year and if it wasn't there, someone would be disappointed. So for the most part, I'm happy to stick with tradition. One of the things I've managed to tweak over the years is my stuffing.  I gradually changed it and then one year I actually made two different kinds of stuffing.  The recipe I finally landed on was one that I got from Food Network.  I haven't made a lot of changes to it.  The original recipe called for breakfast sausage, but there are some members of my family who don't care for sausage, so I just omitted it and I think it's equally delicious without it.  It is a very good balance of sweet and savory with apples, dried cranberries and lots of fresh herbs and leeks.
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Apple and Dried Cranberry Stuffing

Adapted from Food Network

• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 leeks, sliced (using the white and pale green parts of the leek)
• 2 granny smith apples, cored and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
•  1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 6 cups plain croutons
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 to 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Soak cranberries in boiling water for 15 minutes and drain.

Prep your vegetables.  Slice leeks first by slicing lengthwise and then crossways.  To clean the leeks, fill a large bowl with water and add the sliced leeks and swish around and then let sit to allow the sand to sink to the bottom of the bowl.  Remove leeks from the bowl and dry with paper towels.

Core and chop the apples.

Chop celery and herbs.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  When pan is hot, add leeks, apples, celery and poultry seasoning.

Saute for about 8 minutes, until leeks are soft.

Mix in the cranberries, sage and rosemary.

Add mixture to the croutons along with the parsley and combine.  Then add the chicken stock a little at a time until the stuffing is very moist, but  not mushy.  Season with salt and pepper.

At this point the stuffing can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or place in a 9x13 pan that's been coated with cooking spray.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes until top is crispy and stuffing is heated through.
Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Classic Caesar salad

      Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


       Last winter, I took the most amazing cooking class at Chef's Gallery in Stillwater, Mn.  It was a 5 day intensive, hands on class.  Everyday we started at 9am and chef Marge would demonstrate skills that we needed for that day and then would walk us through the meal that we were going to prepare.  Then we would get to work and prepare a four-course meal for lunch.  It was a serious cook's dream come true!

     The food we made was absolutely amazing.  We learned a lot of classic cooking techniques and made several different soups, including French onion.  We made several classic sauces including buerre blanc (which is to die for!) and aioli.  We learned how to make fresh pasta, coq au vin, chocolate mousse, lemon curd and the list could go on!

     The recipe I want to share with you today from my class is for Classic Caesar Salad.  As far as the history of Caesar Salad, the story goes that it was created at a restaurant in Tijuana by an Italian named Caesar Cardini in 1924.  It is said that he was running out of food and came up with this recipe with things he had on hand and prepared it tableside.  Whether the story is completely true or not, Caesar salad is still delicious!

     The classic preparation of Caesar salad includes raw egg yolks and anchovies.  Do not fear either one of these.  If you're nervous about raw eggs you can always use pasturized eggs.  If anchovies are a little scary for you, don't fear them.  They really add a nice flavor in the background, not at all fishy.  I use anchovy paste and I don't use very much, just enough to get that extra little somethin' somethin' in the background.

Classic Caesar Salad



• 1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces or 2 bags of pre-cut romaine lettuce
• 1 cup olive oil, divided
• 1/2 of a French baguette
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 1 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 egg yolks from large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Start out by making the croutons.  Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes.  Heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add bread cubes to the pan and toss to coat with the oil.  Continue cooking until crispy and brown, tossing frequently.

Once bread is crispy, drain on paper towels until ready to use.  One tip, if you make these in advance and store them in a plastic bag, they may lose their crispiness.  If that happens put them on a cookie sheet and re-crisp them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes.

Put the garlic cloves in a small bowl (not metal) and mash the cloves against the side of the bowl with a wooden spoon until they are broken up. 

Remove galic from the bowl and discard.  Add anchovy paste and stir with wooden spoon.

Add the dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper and egg yolks.  Combine well.

Slowly whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil until mixture is emulsified.

Place lettuce in a salad bowl, pour dressing over the top, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and the salt and toss well.  Top with croutons.

ENJOY!

Shared at Mandy's Recipe Box on 11/15/11

Truffled Oven Fries

        Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


     I love French fries!  I really love French fries that have been drizzled with truffle oil. On Sunday, Steve and I happened to go to an oil and vinegar store in Stillwater, which is a town not too far from us.  One of the oils we bought was white truffle oil.  I also happened to have potatoes at home.  Coincidence...I think not.

    So tonight I didn't feel like working too hard on dinner, but I still wanted something good.  So my first thought was, why not take some of those potatoes that I have, cut them up into fries, toss them with olive oil and bake them in a very hot oven.  Then, when they come out of the oven, drizzle them with some of that fabulous truffle oil!  How good does that sound?  To round out the menu, I made Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and steamed green bean that I tossed with some green onions and bacon bits.

     Well....the fries turned out FANTASTIC.  Baking them at a high temperature made them turn out very crispy and good.  Drizzling them with truffle oil put them totally over the top!  It's hard to even explain why that makes them so good, you just have to try it for yourself.

Truffled Oven Fries



• 4 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• white truffle oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Start out by slicing the potatoes vertically into planks, about 1/4 inch thick.

Then, cut the planks into stick about 1/4 to 1/2 in wide.

Once all of the potatoes are cut, place them in a large bowl and toss with the 3 tbsp of olive oil.

Place potatoes on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray spreading them out into a single layer.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.  At 15 minutes, turn the potatoes with tongs or a spatula and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, place in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and drizzle on some of the truffle oil. A little will go a long way, you shouldn't need more than about 1 tbsp.  Toss well.

Serve immediately.

ENJOY!


Shared at Lady Behind the Curtain on 11/2/11
Shared at This Chick Cooks on 11/2/11
Shared at Miz Helen's Country Cottage on 11/3/11
Shared at Everyday Mom's Meals on 11/6/11
Shared at Food Corner on 11/29/11