Elegant Turkey Stuffing

I made this for Thanksgiving this year. I used to make stuffing from scratch by chopping sourdough bread for hours. It never came out right. That being said, I did have some day-old slices of sourdough that I chopped and added.

This recipe uses stuffing mix in addition to your own fresh ingredients. It came out great. The extra vegetables and fruit is a nutrition bonus.

Elegant Turkey Stuffing

1/2 cup raisins (I use a combination of golden raisins and craisins)
3/4 cup orange liqueur
1/4 cup butter
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
½ large onion, chopped
½ pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed (I use a big “tube” of Jimmy Dean spicy)
8 ounce package herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
½ cup chopped pecans
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. sage or thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Place the raisins in a small saucepan, and cover with ½ cup of liqueur.
Bring to boil, remove from heat, and set aside.
In a large skillet, sauté the celery and onion in the butter for about 10 minutes; transfer to a large mixing bowl.
In the same skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until crumbled and evenly brown, then drain.
Combine the sausage and stuffing mix with the celery and onion mixture.
Stir in the raisins and liqueur, pecans, and apples.
Mix in melted butter, chicken broth, the rest of the liqueur.
The stuffing should be moistened.
Season with sage, salt, and pepper.

Ham & Cheese Chowder

This one's another one from Diva Karyn. Like me, Karyn would rather cook and chat and flip through magazines criticizing celebrities rather than go to the gym.

Ham & Cheese Chowder

3 cups water

4 potatoes, diced

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 1/4 cups onions, diced

2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 quart milk

4 cups sharp cheddar

2 cups ham, diced

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

Boil the water; add potatoes, celery, carrots, onion, salt, and pepper.
Cover and simmer until everything is tender.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour (a roux).
Stir in milk and cook over medium heat until mixture boils.
Stir, stir, stir.
Add cheese and stir until melted.
Add drained vegetables and ham.
Heat, but don't boil.
Serve with hot sauce.

Make it a meal: Serve with Crab Delights (see recipe)

Wine: Chardonnay or Pinot Noir

Maxine's Thanksgiving

Maxine's at it again. I love this little lady with the big mouth. She has it all over Thanksgiving. This year I'm thankful I'm not eating at her house. Thanks, Diva Mandy.

Cauliflower Puree

This is such a great idea. Apparently Jerry Seinfeld's wife wrote an entire book about pureeing vegetables. I've been doing cauliflower for years. I got the tip from a fellow diva who is also watching her waist.

Pureed cauliflower adds creaminess without the fat and calories. Add it to soups, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. Pull them out of the freezer when needed. They only take 10 -15 minutes to thaw.

Cauliflower Puree

1 head cauliflower

2 cups chicken stock

Steam the cauliflower above a potful of chicken stock until tender.
Put the cauliflower in a blender and add chicken stock as needed.
Blend until smooth.
Put into sandwich baggies and freeze.

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup

This recipe is not quick. It is easy, but it takes some time. I like to make this soup on a cloudy, rainy Saturday, and then eat it for the rest of the week. You can even freeze some. I need to make more of my own soups rather than buy it in cans at the store because of the horrifyingly high sodium content.

This recipe is creamy without cream. One of the things I do is add some cauliflower puree (see recipe) that I have frozen in small bags in the freezer. I pull it out, thaw it (10 minutes) and add it to the blender. This gives extra creaminess and packs the soup with nutrients.

Busy divas need to take care of themselves and extra sodium causes bloating and puffy eyes.

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup

3 yellow peppers, cut in half and seeded

½ onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

olive oil for sautéing

1 potato, mostly peeled and cubed

3 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Roast the peppers by broiling them skin side up for about 4 minutes.
Put them in a covered bowl for about 15 minutes; peel the charred skin off.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion and leeks in olive oil.
Add the potatoes, broth, salt & pepper; bring it all to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Chop the roasted peppers, and add to the potato mixture.
Remove from heat.
Put it all in a blender and puree.
When you are ready to serve, reheat and top with Parmesan cheese.


Make it a meal: Serve with garlic bread.

Wine: Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc

Baked Apples

Play around with the amounts to adjust sweetness. I read one recipe where you prepare the apples and cook them all night in a crock pot. You awake the next morning to the smell of apples and cinnamon and then eat them for breakfast. That diva’s got it all over me!

Baked Apples

4 large apples

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

small handful raisins

a bit of cinnamon

a sprinkle of nutmeg

a squeeze of honey

2 pats of butter

Wash and core apples, then remove a strip of peel around the top of each apple.
Place in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
Combine brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey in a small bowl.
Fill the center of each apple and dot with the butter.
Add just enough water to baking dish to cover the bottom of the dish.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until apples are tender. Serve warm with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.

Options: Substitute honey with maple syrup, add pecans, try craisins

Make it a meal: Serve with granola for breakfast.

Wine: Champagne

Rita Mae's Restaurant Review

Rita Mae's is a great diner on the West Side of Manchester, NH. The menu is extensive and affordable. The atmosphere is funky with yellow walls and pink lights all over them. I love pink lights. The current man in my life recently ordered a corned beef hash omelet for $5.99. It was full of corned beef. He ate every morsel.

I ordered a hash brown special for $4.65. It was fine, but there was too much cheese on it. In addition, my rye toast had way too much butter on it. It was inedible. The coffee is the stuff of diners--no French Roast here.

On Fridays, Rita Mae's serves fresh fish. Their fried clam plate for $16.99 is the best in the city. There was so much, I had to share with my man. Their onion rings are also the best this city offers. They are light and crispy and perfect.