Sweet-Potato and Parsnip Purée

Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and parsnips and boil gently until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a food processor.
Add butter and purée until smooth. Add milk, brown sugar, and salt and blend well. Season with pepper. Serves 4.

Gourmet | January 2001

Turkey Stuffing

Ingredients
1 loaf of day old French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)
1 cup walnuts
2 cups each, chopped onion and celery
6 Tbsp butter
1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
3/4 cup of currants or raisins
Several (5 to 10) chopped green olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
Stock from the turkey giblets (1 cup to 2 cups) (can substitute chicken stock)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

Steps
1. If you haven't already made the stock, take the turkey giblets - heart and gizzard - and neck if you want, and put them in a small saucepan, cover with water and add a little salt. Bring to a simmer; simmer for about an hour, uncovered. Strain the stock into a container for use with the stuffing. Alternatively, you can use chicken stock or just plain water with this recipe.

2. Toast the walnuts by heating them in a frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring until they are slightly browned (not burned) OR put them in the microwave on high until you can smell the aroma of them toasting, about a minute or two. Let them cool while you are toasting the bread, then roughly chop them.

3. Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the pan, add the bread cubes, and stir to coat the bread pieces with the melted butter. Then let them toast; only turn them when they have become a little browned on a side. Note, if you aren't working with somewhat dried-out day-old bread, lay the cubes of bread in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them out first, before toasting them in butter on the stove top. The bread should be a little dry to begin with, or you'll end up with mushy stuffing.

4. In a large Dutch oven, sauté chopped onions and celery on medium high heat with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread. Add cooked chopped walnuts. Add chopped green apple, currants, raisins, olives, parsley. Add one cup of the stock from cooking the turkey giblets or chicken stock (enough to keep the stuffing moist while you are cooking it). Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.

5. Cover. Turn heat to low. Cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every ten minutes or so and add water or stock as needed while cooking to keep the stuffing moist and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Serves 8-10.

www.simplyrecipes.com

Yam Souffle

Ingredients
4 large yams (approx. 4 pounds)
3T butter
1/2 c heavy cream
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 egg whites at room temp.
Pinch cream of tartar

Steps
Bake yams at 375 for 30 minutes. Prick and bake 30 more minutes or until very soft.

Scrape flesh into a bowl, mash with the back of a spoon and season with salt and pepper. They can be prepared up to this point a day ahead.)

Heat butter and cream in saucepan just until the butter melts. Stir into yams and add egg yolks.

Beat egg whites with pinch of salt. When frothy, add cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into the yam mixture.

Spoon into buttered 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish. Smooth the top and score it lightly. Optional: sprinkle with brown sugar.)

Bake at 475 for 15-20 minutes, until yams are puffed and lightly browned at the edge.

Gourmet Magazine
October 1984

Thanksgiving Dinner

TURKEY, STUFFING & GRAVY

STUFFING
2 pkg Pepperidge Farms stuffing mix
1 c onion, chopped
2 c celery, chopped
½ c nuts, macadamia
½ c raisins
¾ c parsley, fresh, chopped
1 c mushrooms, chopped
1 c apple, diced, w/ or w/out skin
½ t marjoram & sage
½ c butter
1 c chestnuts, chopped (microwave 12 at a time on high for 1 minute.)
1 can chicken broth; use w/ stuffing mix instead of H2O as per package.

Sauté the onion, celery, mushrooms. Cool. Mix all ingredients in a BIG bowl.

GRAVY
2/3 c butter or turkey drippings
2/3 c flour
4 c chicken broth, homemade=best, canned, okay, too
½ t salt
½ t pepper
Heat butter on medium heat until foaming, wisk in flour and stir 1-2 minutes. Add chicken and heat until thickens - on med-hi heat. Add salt/pepper to taste.

TURKEY
Preheat 400. Cook at 350 20 min/lb.

Remove neck and packet with liver, etc. Rinse turkey, pat dry (inside and out) with towels or paper towels. Lightly salt/pepper cavities.

Fill neck cavity first and use the skin and skewers to secure the opening. Fill the main cavity, loosely, and top with approx a handful mound on top. Using string, tie the legs together, unless the turkey came with a wire for that purpose. Fold the wings behind the back, tie with string. Make a tent with aluminum foil to cover top. Remove last 45 min for browning. If already brown, leave tent on.

While the turkey is cooking, make the broth for the gravy....

BROTH
1 onion, cut in quarters
2 cloves
1 parsley, a third of a bunch
2 t salt
¼ t pepper
½ t thyme
1 qt water
All the extra parts removed from turkey cavities

Combine the above, bring to a boil, and boil 5 min, after which reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 1 hour. Drain and reserve for the gravy. If you like, chop the gizzard, heart and liver and add to the gravy.

RU