Cranberry, Stuffing and Brussel Sprout Recipes for Thanksgiving

I’ve got a couple of recipes up my sleeve that I like to make for Thanksgiving. These are unique enough to impress your foodie friends, but downhome enough to get your stubborn relative to try it too.

So, a couple years ago when I put on my first Thanksgiving at our new house, I decided to start weening my family off the canned cranberry jelly to real homemade cranberry relish. That first year, I gave the option of both cranberry-styles, requiring a taste of the my homemade cranberry compote to accompany the jelly. This year, since the cranberry-orange relish went over pretty well, I am not even going to have the canned, (okay, maybe Ill have some in the fridge for an emergency) but I’m not going to like opening it. This recipe might take a little more time than opening a can, but not much…

ORANGE-CRANBERRY COMPOTE
Serves 8
2 (8 ounce) packages cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 orange zested
1/2 c sugar
1 cinnamon stick

Add all of the ingredients to a medium-sized saucepan and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce is thickened.

(Apparently it smells pretty good in here)

Next is my favorite stuffing recipe, it has SAUSAGE! Since I didn’t want to risk poisoning anyone on my first hosted Thanksgiving, I decided to not stuff the turkey, rather make the stuffing separate and add some spicy sausage, who can say no to that?

SAUSAGE STUFFING
8 Servings
1 lb Breakfast Sausage
4 tbsp of butter
3 cups yellow onion
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
1 c chopped celery
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 c dried cranberries, rehydrated
1 tbsp chopped sage leaves
2 tsp chopped rosemary
6 cups croutons
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Saute sausage in large skillet on medium-high until cooked, about 10 minutes. When done cooking use a large spoon move the sausage to a large bowl. In the skillet where the sausage was cooked, melt the butter over med-high, add onion, apples, celery and poultry seasoning, saute until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Next add the cranberries, sage and rosemary cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove this mixture and add the the sausage, mix in the croutons. After mixed, add chicken stock until the mixture is moist, but not mushy. Season with the salt and pepper and move to a 9×13 rectangular or 14 in oval casserole dish. Cook in 375 degree oven, uncovered 25 to 30 minutes until the top is crispy and the center is hot. Serve immediately!

Now, don’t forget your veggies. It’s not wrong to say my family is a meat and potatoes kinda family, weary of Brussels sprouts, but fry em up with some chorizo and they might think twice.

CHORIZO BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Serves 4
1 lb Brussels Sprouts
1 tbsp EVOO
2 links Chorizo cut into 1/4 inch peices
1 white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp butter

In a large pot, boil Brussels sprouts for 10 minutes, remove and add to a bowl filled with cold ice water. Let sit for 5 minutes, strain and set aside. I like to cut them in half at this point, but it’s personal preference.

Next, in a large saute pan over medium cook the onion and garlic until translucent (3-4 minutes). Next add the chorizo and cook thoroughly on medium heat, when cooked through, turn the heat to high, add Brussels sprouts and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and cook until liquid has reduced (about 5 minutes), add butter, cook 3 more minutes, season with salt and pepper. SERVE.

So what’s the lesson here? Sausage and chorizo (and bacon) will get people to eat things they normally might not.

By the way, the leftovers are actually my favorite part of Thanksgiving cooking, come back in a few days and I’ll post some of my favorite leftover recipes, mmm mmm.