An Italian Thanksgiving Celebration

Crabmeat Crostini w/Chives and Crème Fraiche
Makes appx 30

Ingredients
 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat
1/4 cup minced celery heart (including leaves)
2 green onions -- minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons créme fraîche or sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
8 drops hot pepper sauce
1   2 1/2 inch baguette cut into scant 1/2-inch slices
Olive oil
1 cup shredded dry Jack cheese or Cheshire cheese (about 4 ounces)

Directions
Shred crabmeat. Add celery, green onions, chives, and lemon peel; toss. Add next 5 ingredients. Season with salt. Cover; chill at least 2 hours.

Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange baguette slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides of bread with oil. Bake until lightly browned, turning once, about 16 minutes.

Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool. Store crostini in resealable plastic bags at room temperature.

Preheat broiler. Arrange toasts on baking sheet. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon crabmeat mixture onto each; sprinkle with cheese. Broil until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Serve warm.

Sweet Potato White Bean Soup
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta -- finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
3 carrots -- finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 onion -- finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 small bulb fennel -- trimmed and finely diced (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 pound dried navy beans -- rinsed and picked over
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon kosher salt -- plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 quarts Chicken Stock
3 sweet potatoes -- peeled and cut into /-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and cook, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the fat is rendered.

Add the carrots, onion, fennel, garlic, beans, rosemary, salt, red pepper flakes, stock, and 4 to 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 1 hour, uncovered, or until the beans are cooked al dente.

Add the sweet potatoes and Parmesan cheese and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the beans are soft.

Ladle 3 cups of the soup, both solids and broth, into a food processor fitted with the metal blade and puree. Return to the pot and heat through.

Season with additional salt if necessary, and serve.

Braised Radicchio with Bacon
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
4 oz or about 8 very thin slices of bacon
1 2/3 lb. Radicchio
4 small onions
2 cloves garlic minced
5 tbs. Olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions
Clean the radicchio by removing outer leaves Quarter and core each head. Rinse and allow water to drain Cut slices of bacon an cut onions, in eighths. In a large frying pan, cook bacon and onions. Add minced garlic. Add the drained radicchio to the pan and braise for 5 minutes while turning the quartered pieces twice. Season with salt and pepper add 2 tbs olive oil. Serve hot with meat.

Italian String Beans
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
 1 lb fresh string beans
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic -- minced
1/3 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions
Wash and trim fresh string beans.

Add string beans to a pot of boiling water.

Cook until soft and drain water.

In large frying pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat and add minced garlic.

Let garlic sauté in butter and oil until a light golden brown and add string beans.

Stir, coating all the string beans with butter and oil.

Sprinkle string beans with bread crumbs and stir, coating all of the string beans.

(If it's a little dry add some more oil) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper.

Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage & Mozzarella Stuffing
Makes enough stuffing for a 20-24 pound turkey

Ingredients
10 cups 1/2 inch cubes day-old French or Italian bread
1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (remove from the casings)
2 minced large onions
3 cloves minced garlic
5 stalks celery
1/2 pound mushrooms
1/3 cup cream sherry
3 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth or your own prepared stock defatted
1 1/2 tbsp. dried Italian seasoning blend
1 1/2 cups minced fresh parsley
salt & pepper freshly ground to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the bread cubes in a roasting pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle them with the 1/3 cup olive oil, tossing to coat the bread evenly. Toast the cubes in the oven, stirring occasionally until lightly browned all over, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, crumbling into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon until it is lightly browned all over. Transfer the sausage to a large mixing bowl and combine it with the toasted bread cubes.

3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the sausage drippings in the skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic and celery and sauté until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and sherry and continue to sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes more. Add the vegetables to the bread and sausage mixture, stirring thoroughly to combine.

4. Add the salami and mozzarella to the stuffing. Pour in enough chicken stock to make the stuffing begin to bind together. Season the mixture with the Italian seasoning, parsley and salt and pepper.

5. Stuff the turkey cavities immediately before roasting. Place any remaining stuffing in a buttered casserole and bake at 325 degrees until browned and crispy, about 45 minutes. Makes enough stuffing for a 20 to 24 pound turkey.
 

Turkey with Pomagranites - - Tacchinella alla Melagrana
Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients
1 small turkey -- weighing about 3 1/2 pounds (1.5 k), with giblets
4 pomegranates
1/3 cup unsalted butter -- (70 g)
A sprig of sage
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Needle and thread

Directions
Squeeze the juice of three of the pomegranates, and break up the fourth, setting the seeds aside.

Clean and flame the turkey to remove pinfeathers. Place half the butter, salt and pepper to taste, and a few leaves of sage in the cavity and sew it shut.

Set the bird in a pan with the remaining butter and 2 tablespoons of oil, and roast it in a 320 F (160 C) oven for an hour, basting it occasionally. Pour the juice of two of the pomegranates over the bird and roast it for an hour longer, basting it more often.

In the meantime, finely mince the giblets and sauté them gently in two tablespoons of oil. After about 10 minutes stir in the remaining pomegranate juice. Cook, stirring for 5 more minutes; the sauce should be creamy.

As soon as the turkey is done (the juices should run clear if you insert a skewer into a joint) remove it from the oven, untie it, and cut it into pieces. Turn the oven up to 500 F (250 C) and as it's heating return the turkey pieces to the pan. Sprinkle the sauce over them, salt and pepper lightly, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds, and roast the bird for 5 minutes at high heat. Serve.

Chestnut Cheese Cake with Carmel Sauce
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
7 ounces graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup cake flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 ounces unsalted butter (melted)
CHESTNUT FILLING
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chestnut puree
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 pounds whole milk ricotta
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Combine all ingredients. Press onto the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan which has been covered with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 12 min. and set aside.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth and pour into prepared spring form pan. Place pan inside a larger pan in the oven. Fill larger pan with hot water. Bake at 300 for 1 1/2 hours, then turn off the oven and allow cheesecake to cool for 1 hour. When completely cooked, wrap well and refrigerate.


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