An Italian Thanksgiving Part Two

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AN ITALIAN THANKSGIVING
PART TWO

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HAPPY TURKEY DAY

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope you enjoy the holiday as much as I do. There is nothing more satisfying or to be grateful for, than family and friends gathering around the dinner table for a delicious feast of food and conversation.

This newsletter will focus on the meats, side dishes and stuffing that I traditionally make every year for the holiday. It’s pretty basic. Nothing fancy just simple home cooking. The main food is of course the turkey and the stuffing. If I experiment at all with new recipes it would be in the pasta, side dishes and desserts category. The turkey and stuffing will always remain the same in my home.

If I’m having dinner for just the immediate family I’ll just make the turkey with all the trimmings, but if other family members and friends are coming over I’ll always prepare more than one meat dish.

Lets begin! Enjoy and have a great holiday!

Meat

Herb Roast Turkey

INGREDIENTS

1 whole turkey 12 to 14 pounds

3 sticks of butter, softened

1/2 cup of fresh sage, chopped

1/2 cup of fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped

1 large onion, cut into quarters

1 stalk of celery, cut in half

2 carrots, cut into pieces

1 apple, quartered

1 15 oz can of chicken broth

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

PREPARATION

Remove the giblets and the neck from the turkey.

Thoroughly rinse the turkey in cold water and pat dry.

Loose the skin from the breast of the turkey.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl cream together the butter, sage and rosemary.

Place the butter mixture under the skin of the turkey breast. You may also loosen the skin on the legs and place some of the mixture inside.

Insert the onions, celery, carrots and apple into the turkey cavity.

Tie back the legs and the wings so the turkey keeps it shape.

Place the turkey breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.

Season the turkey with the salt and pepper.

Melt the remaining butter in the microwave.

Brush the entire turkey with the butter.

Cove the turkey loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.

Bake for 3 to 4 and a half hours until the thickest part of the thigh read 170 degrees on your meat thermometer. Remove the foil during the last 45 minutes to brown the turkey.

Continue basting with any remaining butter during this time.

Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Sicilian Roast Pork Shoulder

INGREDIENTS

2 to 3 pound pork shoulder butt

1 shallot, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

8 to 10 leaves of fresh basil, chopped

3 pieces of hot Italian sausage, casing removed

1 pound of fresh spinach, cooked

1 cup of fontina cheese, shredded

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of fresh ground black pepper

2 Tbls of dried basil

6 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

In a medium size pan sauté the sausage, onions, garlic and fresh basil in 3 tsps of olive oil.

Drain the sausage mixture and set aside.

Butterfly the pork shoulder.

Place the cooked spinach down the center of the pork.

Top the spinach with the sausage stuffing.

Add the fontina cheese.

Roll the pork up and tie it together with sting.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rub the roast with the remaining oil and season with the salt, pepper and basil.

Roast for around 1 and one half hour turning once until meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Pineapple Glazed Ham

INGREDIENTS

12 to 14 pound fully cooked ham shank

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 15 oz can of pineapples, rings

1 small jar of maraschino cherries

2 Tbls of butter

PREPARATION

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Secure the pineapple rings all over the ham with toothpicks placing a cherry inside each of the rings.

Place the ham in a roasting pan with around 1 inch of water in the pan. If the water evaporated during cooking just add more. Don’t let the pan run dry.

Cover with aluminum foil and cook for around 2 hours.

In a medium sized saucepan heat the brown sugar, pineapple juice, cherry juice and butter until the sugar has melted.

Remove the ham from the oven and pour the sugar mixture all over the ham.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes more uncovered basting the ham with the glaze mixture.

An Italian Thanksgiving Part Two Continued

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AN ITALIAN THANKSGIVINGPART TWO

AN ITALIAN THANKSGIVING
PART TWO