Marie’s stuffing

Here’s the scoop on how I do the stuffing.

Wednesday night, take turkey out of fridge, unwrap it (save cooking timetable that’s on the wrapper), wash thoroughly inside and out and remove the neck and package of giblets. Open the package and thoroughly wash the giblets as well as the neck. Put the neck and giblets in a bowl and tightly cover. Cover the turkey. Return all to fridge.

Thursday around 6:30AM.  😊

Place the neck and giblets in your biggest saucepan, add 1 or 2 celery stalks with leaves (I coarsely cut the celery into chunks), about 6 peppercorns, 1-2 bay leaves, an onion (quartered). 

Fill the pan with water (you want lots of water to use for stuffing and gravy), bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 hours.  You’re supposed to remove the liver after about 20 minutes but I usually forget to do that. We’re not dead yet, so don’t worry if the liver is in a bit longer.

You’ll know all has cooked long enough when the meat on the neck falls off the bones when you poke it with a fork. 

Remove the neck and giblets from the liquid and let cool enough to handle. 

You probably want to remove and discard all the celery, peppercorns, bay leaf and what’s left of the onion.

Chop up the neck meat (but don’t dice the meat). I don’t use all of the giblets – just enough for the flavor and I finely dice the giblets. I don’t use the heart because I think it’s gross. So throw that away. I use all of the liver.

To make the stuffing: VERY important – use a dutch oven or stock pot for this part so you have enough room to toss the stuffing mix.

I pretty much follow the directions on the Pepperidge Farm CUBED and seasoned stuffing mix except I use a whole stick of butter. I use about half of the butter to saute 2 or 3 stalks of coarsely chopped celery, and 1 coarsely chopped onion. Once the veggies are done, add the amount of water on the package but use the water that the giblets were cooked in. (Make sure you save enough of the giblet broth for gravy). Add the rest of the butter, bring to a boil and follow the directions.

Voila!

Happy Thanksgiving

German Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 small, day-old rolls or 2 slices of bread
• 3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter or margarine, divided into 1 Tbsp
• (15 ml) and 2 Tbsp (30 ml) parts
• 2 small onions, 1 finely chopped, 1 quartered
• 1/2 lb (225 g) ground pork
• 1/2 lb (225 g) ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 egg yolks
• 5 whole peppercorns
• 4 juniper berries (optional)
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• 2 Tbsp (30 g) flour
• 24 capers, drained
• 2–4 oz (60–120 ml) white wine (may substitute more broth)
• 1–2 Tbsp (15–30 ml) lemon juice
• 2–4 Tbsp (30–60 ml) sour cream
• Pinch sugar (optional)
• 4 cups (950 ml) vegetable or beef broth

PREPARATION:

1. Soak the day-old rolls in water and squeeze almost dry. Break rolls into pieces.
2. Melt 1 Tbsp (15 ml) butter in a saucepan and add 1 finely chopped onion, cooking until translucent. Cool slightly.
3. Place the ground meats in a bowl. Add the cooked onion and the rolls along with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp [3 g] salt and 1/4 tsp [1 g] pepper). Add 1 egg yolk. Mix everything well by hand or with a spoon until mixture can be formed into round meatballs (add a few tablespoons of broth if necessary). Form 10–12 meatballs.
4. Add the cracked spices and second (quartered) onion to the broth and bring it to just under a boil. Add the meatballs carefully. Cook until done (about 12 minutes). Remove meatballs and keep warm.
5. Melt 2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter in a pan and add the flour, making a roux. Little by little, stir about 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) of the meatball broth, strained, into the roux, stirring to keep the sauce smooth. Add the capers. Add the white wine and season the sauce to taste with lemon juice, sour cream and pinch of sugar. Add the meatballs to the sauce and serve.
6. If you wish, add the second egg yolk to bind the sauce further. Warm the sauce after adding, but do not boil, or the egg yolk will curdle, making the sauce look less appetizing.

Pesto

Basil Pesto

Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Using a food processor combine the basil and the pine nuts. Then add the garlic and then slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream into the mixture.   After that add the cheese and then the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta.

Makes 1 cup.

Spinach Balls

2 pk chopped spinach – cooked and drained

2 Cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix (NOT cubed)

3 /4 Cup Butter – melted

1 /2 Cup Parmesan Cheese

4 Eggs – Beaten

1 /4 tsp Thyme

1 /4 tsp Garlic Salt

1 medium Onion – finely chopped

 

Mix all ingredients together.

Chill for about an hour (makes mixture easier to work with).

Mold into small bite sized balls.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Pan Fried Pork Cube Steak

• Pan Fried Pork Cube Steak
• 4 pork cube steaks
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teasboon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 
  
• Gravy
• 2 large cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons wondra quick mixing flour
• Salt & pepper to taste

Scalloped potatoe

5 T butter

5 T flour

2 C milk

8 oz shreddded cheddar cheese 

1/2 small onion chopped small

Garlic powder

3 Red Potatoes sliced thin

1/3 to 1/2 ham steak small cubed

Preheat oven to 350. 

Pam an 8X8 baking dish. 

Thin slice potatoes. 

Fine chop onion. 

Use the butter and flour to make a roux. 

Season with a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

Add enough milk and cook to make a thin white sauce. 

Slowly blend in the cheese to make a nice sauce. 

Add potatoes, onions and cheese sauce to bowl and mix to coat potatoes. 

Pour mixture into baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove foil and bake for another 60 minutes. 

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

German Potato Salad

5 lbs red potatoes

2 T sugar

1 T salt

1 Cup vinegar

1 Cup salad oil

1 small Onion finely chopped

1 lb Bacon cut into small pieces

Celery seed

For only 4 potatoes, I used 1/2 of the sugar, salt, vinegar, etc. and ended up using about half of that. 

1. Boil potatoes in skins until tender but not as soft as you would for mashed potatoes (or you will have mashed potatoes)!

2. Peel potatoes and cool thoroughly (in frig). 

3. Put sugar, salt, vinegar in 2 cup measuring cup and whisk til dissolved. 

4. Add salad oil and whisk thoroughly. 

5. Cut and slice potatoes in small, thin slices (don't cube)! I cut the potatoes in half, then in thirds before slicing. 

6. Place sliced potatoes in large bowl and pour oil and vinegar mixture over potatoes. Toss lightly with your hands that you've thoroughly cleaned. :-)

7. Add bacon, onions and celery seeds to taste and use your hands to toss lightly. (You can throw in some of the bacon grease but all of it is probably too much).