Pear, Prosciutto and Hazelnut Stuffing

 

We had a lovely Thanksgiving – gratitude, family, food, football, fun – everything that makes the day great. We are so truly blessed.

 

I started cooking the day before and made a couple pounds of unsalted butter, then spent the next twelve hours in the kitchen making appetizers, stuffing, brining the turkey, mashed potatoes and several pies. Most were the traditional recipes I make every year, except one.

 

I put about 2 cups of heavy cream in the food processor, turn it on until it makes butter. Rinse the butter under cold water, then form it into 1/2 cup rolls. After straining the buttermilk, I add some cultured buttermilk and refrigerate the buttermilk for use at a later time.

 

Every year I make a variation on cornbread stuffing. I love it, but it was time for a change. This year I made this stuffing. Most of the comments around the dinner table were, “This is the best stuffing ever!” “I’ve never had stuffing this good!” and “You’ve got to make this again!”

 

So I figured this was a hit. It’s easy – no different than making any other stuffing. The hardest part was finding the prosciutto and a fennel bulb. I finally found the prosciutto, but never did find the fennel –this is Cheyenne, after all.

Every year I make a variation on cornbread stuffing. I love it, but it was time for a change. This year I made this stuffing. Most of the comments around the dinner table were, “This is the best stuffing ever!” “I’ve never had stuffing this good!” and “You’ve got to make this again!”

So I figured this was a hit. It’s easy – no different than making any other stuffing. The hardest part was finding the prosciutto and a fennel bulb. I finally found the prosciutto, but never did find the fennel – this is Cheyenne, after all.  

 

I did not cook the stuffing in the turkey, but cooked it separately in a 9x13” pan.

 

Pear, Prosciutto and Hazelnut Stuffing

12 servings, 2/3 cup each

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 1/4 hours

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced, cut into ribbons

2 cups onion, chopped

2 cups diced fennel bulb (I substituted 1/2 tsp. ground fennel seed)

¼ cup minced shallot

2 teaspoons minced fresh sage

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

 

8 cups stale baguette, preferably multi-grain (not sourdough), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Note: If you don't have stale bread ready to use, spread the baguette cubes on a baking sheet and toast at 250°F until crisped and dry, about 15 minutes.)

 

2 Bosc pears, ripe but firm, chopped

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted (Tip: To toast chopped nuts & seeds: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.)

 

1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth

¼ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

 

Have the bread cubed and ready.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto; cook, stirring, until crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.

Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel and shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add sage, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Transfer everything to a large bowl and gently stir in bread, pears, parsley, hazelnuts and the prosciutto. Add broth; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the stuffing into the prepared baking dish; cover with foil. Make Ahead Tip: You can refrigerate for up to 1 day from this point.

If you refrigerate it the day before, get it out of the refrigerator an hour before baking. Bake for 40 minutes; remove the foil and bake until the top is beginning to crisp, 25 to 30 minutes more.

 

Here’s a bonus. This was one of our appetizers – it was fabulous! Beth found this recipe and made it for a dinner party a few weeks ago, so we thought we’d try it too. I cleaned the pumpkin the day before to save time on Thanksgiving. Just so yummy!

Roasted Sugar Pumpkins with Cheese Fondue

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet magazine.

Serves 6 to 8 

3/4 of a 15-inch baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 (2-pound) sugar pumpkins
Salt and ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 cups each: coarsely grated Grueyere and Emmental cheeses, mixed
1 tablespoon olive oil 

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees F. Arrange baguette slices on large wire rack; bake until golden brown, about 7 minutes; set aside. 

Meanwhile, cut a 3-inch circle around each pumpkin stem; remove tops. Scrape out pumpkin seeds and fibers from interiors and tops; lightly season with salt and pepper. 

Whisk cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. 

Make 3 layers in each pumpkin in the following order: toasted bread, generous 1/3 cup cheese, scant 1/2 cup cream mixture. 

Cap pumpkins and place in a small roasting pan; brush with oil. Bake in the 450 degree F. oven until pumpkins are tender, about 30 minutes.

 

 

To serve, scoop out portions of cheese, bread, and roasted pumpkin. We ate it with more toasted baguette crostini, but that is completely optional.

 

Enjoy!

Ultimate Banana Bread

This is not my grandmother’s banana bread. It’s not even my mother’s or mine. But it’s really, really good. Packed with banana flavor, moist, but not goopy. And it’s beautiful!

I needed to make about 9 loaves of quick bread, so I made zucchini bread and pumpkin bread and wanted to try this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated All Time Best Recipes for banana bread. It uses more bananas than a typical recipe and takes a bit more time, but it’s worth it.

It’s important to use really ripe bananas – not lightly speckled ones. They need to be getting to the brown stage. You can use frozen, thawed bananas and skip the microwave step. For more information, check out the explanations on Cook’s Illustrated website. 

Ultimate Banana Bread

1 ¾ c. all purpose flour (I used half whole wheat and half white)

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

6 large very ripe bananas (2 ¼ pounds), peeled

8 tbs. (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs

¾ c. packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse (optional)

2 tsp. granulated sugar

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 ½ by 4 ½ - inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Dust some flour in the bottom of the pan, but not up the sides. 

Whisk flour, soda and salt together in a large bowl. 

 

Oh, I added some chocolate chips too. Just in case....

Place 5 bananas in a microwave-safe bowl (skip this if you use frozen bananas).

 

The bananas should actually be browner than these.

 

Microwave until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes.

 

 

Transfer bananas to a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid). 

Transfer liquid to a medium saucepan and cook over medium high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes.

 

 

Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with fork till mostly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. 

Pour banana mixture into dry ingredients and stir until just combined, with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining 1 banana diagonally into ¼” thick slices (omit this if you used frozen bananas). Shingle banana slices on top of loaf in 2 rows, leaving a 1 ½” wide space down the middle for an even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over the loaf. 

 

 

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour, 15 minutes (it depends if you used a 8 ½  x 4 ½” pan or a 9x5” pan – the larger pan will cook faster). Let loaf cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool about an hour before serving if you can wait that long.

 

I couldn't - it's just yummy!

 

Isn't this pretty? The sugar adds a nice caramelized crunch on the top.
 

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Just when you think you have a perfect recipe for something, another one comes along that is even better. Good thing! Or this would be a pretty boring world! 

I love my pumpkin pancakes, but I found this recipe for buttermilk pancakes in the Cook’s Illustrated All Time Best Recipes. And they are possibly the best pancakes ever. The magazine has a great explanation about why the baking soda is necessary, and why they have to have buttermilk; but, in the meantime, try these pancakes. With maple syrup. And butter.  

Best Buttermilk Pancakes 

2 c. all purpose flour (next time, I'll use 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour)

2 tbs. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 c. buttermilk (I used homemade from making butter last week)

¼ c. sour cream

2 large eggs

3 tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1-2 tbs. vegetable oil for the griddle 

(You can keep these warm in a 200 degree oven. Put a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet, put it in the oven, and put the pancakes on that) 

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

 

 

In a second medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and melted butter.

 

 

Make a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients; gently stir until just combined (batter should remain lumpy with a few streaks of flour). Do not overmix. Let batter sit for 10 minutes before cooking (this allows the gluten to relax and makes more tender pancakes). 

Heat 1 tsp. oil in a skillet over medium heat. Using paper towels, carefully wipe out oil, leaving thin film of oil on bottom and sides of pan. Using ¼ cup measure, portion batter into pan in 4 places (or whatever your griddle will handle).

 

 

Cook until edges are set, first side is golden brown, and bubbles on surface are just beginning to break, 2-3 minutes. 

Using a thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and continue to cook until second side is golden brown, 1-2 minutes.

 

 

Serve immediately or transfer to rack in oven. Repeat with remaining batter, using oil if needed.  

Now, add some soft butter and warm maple syrup.

 

 

Eat. Keep eating. Aren’t these great?

 

 

Now I just have to figure out how to add some pumpkin. Enjoy!