A Johnny Meatballs Turkey Day
A Johnny Meatballs Turkey Day
...Is way more than turkey
Most Americans enjoy turkey on Thanksgiving, and of course my family always did too. But for us, there was so much more as well. We always Italian-ized this holiday with an enormous antipast’ platter consisting of salami, provolone, mozzarella, capicola, prosciutto, mortadella, and other assorted meats and cheeses. Besides the mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and the other American staples, ‘scarole and beans would be included, as well as scaccio-frittas (stuffed artichokes) and a macaroni course. Some years that would be a baked manicott’ or lasagna, other years just penne or ziti. Besides the pumpkin pie, there would be Italian pastry like the shfooya-dell (sfogliatelle), cannolis, tiramisu, pizzelles, amaretti and pignolis cookies, and the holiday staples of the Panettone and Baci candies. Roasted chestnuts, crisp finook (fennel) and endless bowls of clementines, figs and grapes all were part of the table. Today I’d like to share my stuffing recipe.
“Johnny Meatballs Stuffing” (actually made with sausage) is pretty easy to make but it does require a few more steps than making Stove Top. Don’t worry, it’s well worth it in the end—and far better.
First, pan-fry six crumbled-up Italian sausages in a skillet with olive oil (casings removed) until slightly browned. In a separate skillet, melt one stick of butter with two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté one large yellow onion until soft (sprinkle in some sugar and salt after about five minutes). Bring a small pot of water mixed with one cup of chicken stock to a boil and add in three diced-up carrots and three diced-up celery stalks, allow them to cook to aldente.
Lightly butter a large roasting pan and add in the sausage, some fresh chopped parsley and oregano, the onion and vegetables, two tablespoons of minced garlic, one jar of mushrooms (Giorgio brand) and about a cup of cubed pieces of crusty Italian bread. Pour one can of condensed cream of chicken soup on top (on this step, fill the soup can with chicken broth in place of water for extra flavor). Sprinkle panko breadcrumbs and pour some melted butter over the crumbs. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for thirty minutes at 350 degrees.
can of condensed cream of chicken soup
Paisan- Are you serious about using "one can of condensed cream of chicken soup" in your stuffing?