Apple Sausage Stuffing

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's my stuffing recipe -- it takes the best parts of various recipes I have tasted over the years.

Apple Sausage Stuffing

8 T butter
2 C chopped yellow onions
1 C chopped celery
4 C peeled cubed green apples
1 lb breakfast sausage, browned
1 lb toasted white bread cubes
½ C minced fresh flat parsley
1½ T chopped fresh sage
1 T minced fresh thyme
¾ t salt
¾ t freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1½ C chicken stock

Saute onions, celery and apples in butter until tender. Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients and stir together. Spoon into deep buttered dish and dot top with butter. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes until walnut brown crust forms.

Orange Scallion Pan Sauce

I threw together this pan sauce last night to serve over sauteed tilapia filets. Its simple citrus flavor complemented the fish nicely. I made the sauce in the same pan as the fish.

Orange Scallion Pan Sauce

2 T olive oil
2 shallots, sliced
1/2 t white sugar
Juice of three oranges
1 T salted butter

Heat oil to shimmering in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add scallions and sugar. Saute until scallions are tender and caramelized, about 5 minutes.
Add juice and butter. Reduce over medium heat until sauce thickens and turns an amber color, about 5-10 minutes. Serves two.

Jalapeno Mushroom Sauce

This simple sauce is a spicy, southwestern version of a sauce chausseur.

Jalapeno Mushroom Sauce

1 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 t white sugar
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, stemmed and sliced
1 pt sliced button mushrooms
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C white wine
4 T unsalted butter butter
3 T flour
1/2 C heavy cream
1/2 C milk


Saute onions with sugar in olive oil over medium heat until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and jalapenos and saute about two minutes. Add mushrooms and saute until any released juice cooks off and they are browned, about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and wine and cook until wine is mostly absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove mixture to bowl. Make a roux with the butter and flour over medium heat and cook until walnut brown. Whisk in milk and cream until well combined and heated through. Add onion mixture to pan and stir to combine.

Rejiggered Recipes

My enthusaism for food eventually betrayed itself in my cocktail blog, Rejiggered. I posted two of my favorite snack recipes there.

One was a bright grilled pineapple salsa I served it to some good friends who came over for drinks and dinner. I am intrigued by the deep, smoky flavors grilled fruits bring to salsa. This recipe is just the first of many variations, I am sure.

Another was a simple pesto recipe. I tend to prefer assertive flavors, in pesto and in general, so this version is heavy on garlic and pepper. I brought it to a cocktail party this summer, along with crostini -- and brought back an empty bowl.

French Onion Sandwich

This recipe is original, like all you will see on this blog, and absolutely one of my favorites. Imagine French onion soup, with an exaggerated crouton and an ultimately minimalist stock.

French Onion Sandwich

3 lb yellow onion
4 T unsalted butter
2 pinches sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 sprig fresh thyme (leaves only)
1/4 C white wine
Unsalted butter
3/4 C shredded gruyere cheese (Swiss is a good substitute)
1 ciabatta loaf or baguette

Slice onions crosswise (not pole to pole) into 1/8" strips. Melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, salt and sugar. Cover and cook for 10 min. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook onions until deeply caramelized--60 to 90 minutes. (Admittedly, this is a long time. It's definitely "slow food.") Add thyme and wine. Stirl until absorbed. Remove from heat.

Slice bread into 3 sandwich size pieces splitting each into a top and bottom. Butter each slice liberally and place open faced on baking sheet. Divide onions evenly between the three bottom pieces. Divide cheese evenly among three tops. Bake at 425 until cheese is melted and lightly browned in spots.

Assemble tops and bottoms and serve.

Makes 3 sandwiches. My apologies for the unusual serving size -- increase or decrease proportions as needed for your table, without adjustments.