After Christmas, Thanksgiving is my favorite
holiday and was always one of the highlights of the year when I was still
living in the United States. It is a holiday focused on giving thanks, cooking
up a storm, and spending time gorging yourself on delicious food with your
closest friends and family. What is not to love?
Since moving to Palawan in 2009, around
Thanksgiving is the time that I always miss New York City the most. I just
loved the Thanksgiving days we spent there. I would spend weeks beforehand
scouring different recipes for stuffing and gravy and cranberry sauce and
potato dishes, and would spent the days in the lead up to Thanksgiving fighting
crowds at Fairway and waiting for deliveries from Fresh Direct. Our fridge was
always packed and I’d start prepping some of the dishes on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thanksgiving morning Marcus and I would
have a light breakfast and get started on the turkey and all the dishes that
still had to be cooked. We’d also have the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on
TV, and every hour or so, we’d walk to the end of our street to 74th
and Central Park West and watch some of the floats come down the street. Then
we’d go back to our cozy little apartment to the awesome smells of turkey slow
roasting and other dishes at their varying stages of completion. By late
afternoon friends would start coming over and since I am not a great baker, I
always asked that they bring dessert, and more wine. They never disappointed
and our Thanksgiving meals were always so much fun, and so yummy! We’d eat for
a few hours, take a brisk walk around the block and relish the chilly air, then
go back into our apartment and eat and drink some more.
Sadly, I can’t recreate our Thanksgiving
feasts here in Palawan. You can actually get frozen turkeys here now but I
don’t think any would fit in our tiny oven, and the idea of having the oven on
for 5 or 6 hours is not an option. It is already way too hot without
introducing that kind of heat into the house. I would love to make some of the
other side dishes I always liked making, but unfortunately you can’t get
cranberries or cornmeal or chestnuts or chocolate pecan pie on the island.
Our very first Thanksgiving day in Puerto
Princesa, Marcus and I sort of forgot it was Thanksgiving and realized it as we
were sitting down to dinner, which that night was a simple pizza we got for
take out. The following year I resolved to do more for Thanksgiving and we
actually had a lovely meal with friends at our house, with 4 local litson
manoks instead of turkey, and a variety of Filipinized side dishes, like
kalabasa with ginger and brown sugar instead of squash or sweet potato. My mom
made a great pumpkin pie mousse sort of dessert but unfortunately it didn’t get
put in the fridge when they came over and because of the heat here, it melted
before we got to dessert. It was still delish as a soupy dessert though ;-)
Last year our friend Tim hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at his restaurant, Blue
Ginger. It was a great meal and we enjoyed it a lot. This year I was too
pregnant and hot and tired to plan a feast, and Tim has unfortunately moved
away so his restaurant is not an option. We’ll have dinner with my parents and
then next week go to a belated Thanksgiving celebration that our friends at
Aloha House are throwing. (They’re out of town this week so we’ll do
Thanksgiving a week late).
Anyway, it isn’t the feast that really
matters of course, but the sentiment of taking the time to gather your loved
ones and give thanks for the many blessings in all of our lives. But as I think
back on past Thanksgivings, I can’t help but miss NYC and think about my
absolute favorite stuffing dish in the world. Highly recommend this to all of
you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Two shortcuts — prepared chestnuts and a
purchased corn bread stuffing base — add to the appeal of this recipe from chef
and Aidells Sausage Company founder Bruce Aidells.
Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon slices, cut
crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
4 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped dried apples
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
2 7.4-ounce jars roasted whole chestnuts,
coarsely broken
8 cups dried corn bread stuffing mix (from
two 16-ounce packages)
1 3/4 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over
medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to
large bowl. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add onions
and celery to drippings in skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat until
vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Add vegetables to
bacon; mix in apples, thyme, and sage, then chestnuts. (Can be made 1 day
ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat to lukewarm before continuing.)
Add corn bread stuffing mix to chestnut
mixture. Mix in 1 3/4 cups broth. Drizzle with butter.
To bake stuffing in turkey:
Loosely fill main cavity and neck cavity of
turkey with stuffing. Add enough broth to remaining stuffing to moisten
slightly (1/4 cup to 3/4 cup, depending on amount of remaining stuffing).
Generously butter baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish.
Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish —
alongside turkey or while turkey is resting — until heated through, about 25
minutes. Uncover stuffing in dish. Bake until top of stuffing is slightly crisp
and golden, about 15 minutes longer.
To bake stuffing in dish:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter
13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add enough extra broth to stuffing to moisten
(3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups). Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with
buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake until heated through, about 40 minutes.
Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 20 minutes
longer.
Read More
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Chestnut-Bacon-Dried-Apple-and-Corn-Bread-Stuffing-107290#ixzz2Cq7dtAbK
