Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and I can’t wait!! I love Thanksgiving; a day of cooking, eating, chilling in front of the TV, eating, playing board games, eating, hanging with family and/or friends, and eating. This year we are making the 5 hour trek to my parent’s house in Indiana which means I won’t have to do much of the cooking (a wonderful break, as any chef will tell you). I’ll still be involved and will gladly help out as part of the joy of Thanksgiving is having the whole family in the kitchen helping out, but I’ll also have a chance to chill in front of the TV watching the Macy’s T-Day parade, yes, cheesy I know, but it’s tradition although I can only handle about 30 minutes at a time, with breaks for helping out in the kitchen.

If you’ve followed this blog over the last couple of years you’ll know that I don’t really do much for Thanksgiving. Many bloggers I know will do “fake” Thanksgiving at the beginning of November so that they have fodder for blogging. Sorry, but for me, that just seems to lessen the excitement of the actual holiday. But I’m trying to get into the spirit of things a bit and hope to have, at least, a couple of Thanksgiving inspired posts.

Our family, probably like most families serve our meal family style with large platters of food gracing our table. But I have been involved (mostly in restaurants) with plated Thanksgiving meals. This recipe is perfect for doing plated meals although you could easily platter these and have people serve themselves.

Corn Bread Stuffing Stuffed Squash
serves 8

8 Acorn Squash (or similar squash)
9 cups corn bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and dried
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
4 Tbl. butter
2 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2-4 cups turkey broth
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, chopped
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice a small bit off of the bottom of each squash so that it stands upright. Remove about 1/4 of the squash from the stem end and scoop out all the seeds and membrane. Place in 2 baking dishes with 1/4 cup of water in each. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile heat turkey broth to a simmer. In a skillet melt butter and saute onion and celery until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Place remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Add the onion and celery mixture and finally 3 1/2 cups of the turkey broth. Mix until well combined and the bread is moistened. If stuffing is not moist enough add the remaining broth. Stuff the cavity of each squash, mounding it up above the squash. If you have extra stuffing place in a greased pan and bake along side the stuff squash. Recover the squash and bake for 20 minutes longer. Remove foil and continue to bake until squash is tender and stuffing is nicely browned. Serve 1 squash to each person.

It seems to be a universal truth that kids hate brussels sprouts and who can blame them, especially if they were all served like my parents served them; cooked to death then drizzled with vinegar. It’ no wonder that many of us ever outgrow that hatred. That’s too bad because brussels sprouts can be a wonderful vegetable. Sure, overcooked they can be mushy, slimy and sulfurous, but when cooked properly they have a wonderful earthy quality about them and just a hint of a sharp bite that makes them lively.

While many people still prefer to blanch them whole, or cut them in half and blanch them, before giving them a quick saute in butter, I prefer to pull them apart so that each leaf is its own individual. I then saute the raw leaves and finish them by steaming them with a little liquid. Sure it is a little more time consuming this way, but I like the resulting texture and flavor cooking brussel sprouts this way.

Brussels Sprouts with Pecans & Dried Cranberries
1 1/2 pounds Brussels Sprouts
2 slices Bacon, diced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 cup Pecans, toasted
1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
1/3 cup Madeira (Sherry works great also)
Salt
Pepper

Core and peel apart the brussels sprouts. Thinly slice the tight centers of the brussels sprouts. In a large skillet cook the bacon over medium high heat. When brown and crispy remove from pan and pour off all but 1 Tbsp. of bacon fat. Add the butter to the skillet and allow to melt. When the foaming subsides add the the brussels sprouts and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes longer, continuing to stir. Toss in the dried cranberries and the Madeira. Continue to cook until the Madeira as reduced to almost dry and the brussels sprouts are tender. Add the pecans and cooked bacon. Season with salt and pepper and serve. This serves 4 as a side vegetable.