I am sure you have heard that it is not safe to cook your stuffing in the turkey. I always made both and I will confess to sometime living dangerously and stuffing my turkey but I like stuffing so much, I always made enough to fill two, 9"x 13" casseroles. If you are going to stuff the bird safely you must put the dressing in hot, but it isn't a good idea if you want moist cooked just right turkey and dressing at 160 degrees Fahrenheit. the stuffing actually acts as an insulator and does not easily get hot. This year I am making my dressing after Thanksgiving, hopefully with leftovers, because we are sharing the day with friends. This recipe also was devekoped over many years and was also inspired by my time with the American Heart Association. what this recipe's strong point is including fruits and vegitables into the meal. I like the crunch from the apples, celery and nuts. 

HOLIDAY FRUIT STUFFING
 Ingredients: 
2/3 cup           green onions, chopped
1 cup              onion, finely chopped
1 cup              celery, chopped
¼ cup             parsley, chopped
2 cups                        apple, finely diced
½ cup             dried apricots, chopped
1 cup              raisins
10 cups          bread, cut in cubes (a loaf)
½ tsp               sage
¼ tsp               ginger
¼ tsp               nutmeg
1 tsp                pepper
1-2 cups         chicken broth
2 Tbsp            butter melted

 Directions
 Put all the dry ingredients in a baking pan sprayed with “Pam” or a small amount of oil.  Then add broth and margarine and stir to moisten
 
Bake at 350°F for one hour.
 

The three top items in my holiday menu are cranberries, yams and dressing. The turkey is there because without it, there would be no gravy and it sure tastes good on the dressing. I grew up cutting out shapes in cold jellied cranberry, We never ate whole cranberries or sauce. I did make cranberry bread. Then my husband introduced me to homemade cranberry sauce. Over the years because I can't leave well enough alone and inspiration during my stint as a spokesperson for the American Heart Association's Holiday Recipes. I worked on the recipe to reduce the sugar by adding naturally sweet items such as raisins, apples and orange rind. Below is my halved sugar recipe. To totally delete the sugar I use powdered pectin to form the gel instead of the sugar syrup. I also have a much higher percentage of cranberries in the recipe. I make a double or triple batch and freeze it to eat with pork, chicken and turkey all year long. Or, to make my own cranberry yogurt at breakfast with granola. 

Ingredients:
 1 bag              cranberries, cleaned
1 sticks           cinnamon (hard) don’t use powder it makes it dark and cloudy)
4                      whole cloves (use 8 and put in a tea ball…very important for children and
                        folks that could choke.
1                      orange, peeled and chopped –remove white membranes
1 tsp                orange zest
1                      apple (remove seeds and cut in small pieces)
1 cup              sugar (see sugar free version below)
1 cup              water
 
Directions
Put all the ingredients in a heavy lidded saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat.  Use a lid since the cranberries will pop.
 
Use for Sugar free (reminder this is not CHO free and it is high in fiber due to the pectin-sure jell)
 
1 cup apple juice concentrate (do not dilute)
1 pkg of sure jell (found in the canning section of grocery stores or baking section) the powder that lists low sugar version –the other works too but this is better.
Combine the sure jell with 1 tbs of granulated sugar (to omit this use liquid sure gel) Stir well into all the ingredients above including the water and bring to a boil (slowly) cook for about 3-5 minutes, set aside and it will set. To make a cranberry non chunky sauce take the warm mixture and puree in a blender or food processor. It will gel or set when cool don’t add anything to make it thicker.
 
This can be made several days ahead and will keep the 7 days in refrigerator.

Buen Provecho!

I love the holidays, I like feeding people but I also want to be pampered and taken care of.....a conundrum for sure! Going on strike many years ago solved some of it for a while. I have always wanted to go to San Francisco for Thanksgiving and we almost did it. Then Alexis,the eating out kid, put the stop to it. My solution was okay you love eating at home so much, you guys cook Thanksgiving. I made the rolls and pie and spent the day sewing! What we all learned is that I did the meal by feel and my two at home geeks at the time were horrified! I have a lot to thank them for, first the research that they did and which is now part of my holiday recipe files. The most amazing part of that dinner was it was ready at noon, we actually ate lunch on time! Today, Jerry and I are empty nesters, so some Thanksgivings we actually have smoked the turkey and eaten outside picnic style! or we get together with other folks that are also minus extended family but love to cook and hang out. I am not into the big community events, I worry a little bit about food safety and too many people. In this installmnet I am sharing the planning pieces, process, timing, shopping, etc. 

1-have a discussion about what is important on Thanksgiving, is it the food, the game, the parade, old favorites, tradition or novelty?  We once ate a peking duck and I don't remember the sides. It was take out! That day was all about my first Macy's Day Parade. Jerry and I have pared down our Thanksgiving choices and we started with tradition that evolved to a very personal version of Thanksgiving at Casa Brisson. 

2. Spend several days planning the menu. The actual writing it out is fast but the mulling over it and thinking about it is important. An important menu planning tip is to visualize your plate and table setting. 3- 4 items on the plate, plus bread, plus dessert is generally enough. Trying to make too many items can make your crazy and most of us don't have a commercial kitchen. The center of the traditional plate is generally beige so the other 1-2 items need to pop with color, Green, Red or Orange come to mind quickly. So if I serve, Turkey, Stuffing, Green beans (or Broccoli or Brussels Sprouts), Cranberries and Sweet Potato/Yam, I already have 5 then I add rolls and pie. Done! 7 items to prepare. 

3. More planning, now come the recipes, shopping lists and prepping. I started buying fresh turkeys so I would not have to thaw them, Yes, they are more expensive but are so tasty and the texture, Mmmmm! Cranberry sauce can be made as soon as the first cranberries are on the shelves, they can be frozen or just put in a tightly sealed container in the back of the refrigerator. A cooked cranberry sauce is a chutney and they have enough sugar and acid that they stay very well. I actually make a lot of sauce and freeze it so I can have it all year with poultry and pork. I love my cranberry sauce. Warning, it is tart and nothing like canned. Order the turkey in October by November the pickings may be slim. If you do buy a frozen turkey read the label and follow the thawing instructions and it is not a bad idea to add an extra half to whole day in the refrigerator. A week is not unrealistic, also be sure to put a pan that is 1-2 inches bigger around than the bird. Be sure it is at the bottom of the refrigerator so that nothing can be contaminated by drippings that could get out of the packaging. Turkey is a big food safety concern. Everything else is day of Thanksgiving. I try to have all the other perishable shopping done by Monday or when your store stocks it's vegetables. 

I hope this note got you thinking about Thanksgiving planning so on the day you can enjoy your friends and family, Buen Provecho, Elsa