Welcome to Thanksgiving in Michele’s kitchen. On her blog, Frugal Granola, Michele writes about frugality, simplicity, and her dietary adjustments due to celiac. Michele shared her kitchen adventures with all of us during the middle of August. You can read Day 1 of her week here.

Whether or not we are traveling to visit family for Thanksgiving day, I always love to make a Thanksgiving dinner at home. (The leftovers are my favorite part!) Sorry I don’t have any photos to include.  Since we have family birthdays around Thanksgiving, it seems all my photos focus on birthday cakes!  (I guess I know what to focus my camera on this year!)

I typically begin preparing for the dinner throughout the autumn, as I acquire locally-grown produce. Fresh pears, yams, cranberries, and pumpkins are wonderful to have on hand!  I also freeze green beans during the summer, so that I can add those to our Thanksgiving meal.

I usually make a batch of cranberry-orange sauce ahead of time, and can it for our pantry storage. I make sure to have enough on hand for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Our Thanksgiving day breakfast is traditionally Cream-Cheese Pumpkin Muffins and eggs, and then we get started on the dinner preparation.  My menu is pretty much the same each year:

• Roast Turkey
• Herbed Cider Pear Stuffing
• Sweet Potato-Nut Biscuits
• Cranberry-Orange Sauce
• Green Bean Casserole (with homemade sauce; not canned soup)
• Baked Yams with Walnuts & Apples
• Steamed Greens/Salad
• Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
• Creamy Pear Pie
• Pumpkin Pie (both pies are made with nut crusts)
• Sparkling Cider

This year, I plan to prepare a gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner earlier in November, and then take leftovers with me as my dinner while visiting family on Thanksgiving day. That should make it easier on everyone!

The stuffing for the turkey is one of our favorite holiday dishes. I love using an abundance of local ingredients and homegrown herbs in my recipe, and it is one that I have created over the past several years.  (I often take a shortcut with a store-bought French Bread, though.)  This year, I will be substituting with a gluten-free bread option. It goes wonderfully alongside a serving of cranberry sauce!

Here is my Herbed Cider Pear Stuffing recipe.

Herbed Cider Pear Stuffing

Ingredients

• 2 Sourdough French Bread loaves/baguettes
• 1/2 - 3/4 lb. Maple or Applewood Smoked Bacon (nitrite free), diced into 1/2” pieces
• 2 cans (about 15 oz) drained Pearl Onions or about 1/2 lb frozen (thawed & drained)
• 5-6 ripe Bartlett Pears, chopped into 1/2” pieces
• 6 cloves minced Garlic
• 1/2 cup diced, fresh Parsley
• 2 Tbl. dried, powdered Sage
• 2 Tbl dried, powdered Thyme
• 2 Tbl. minced fresh Chives
• Sea Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste
• 2 eggs, beaten
• approximately 1 quart unfiltered apple cider
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, cut into small cubes (about 4 “cubes” per tablespoon)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts (filberts), optional

Directions

1. The day before preparing the stuffing, cut the sourdough bread into 1/2-1” sized cubes, and place in a large bowl (gallon size) overnight or at least 12 hours.  Leave it sitting out, uncovered, to let it get dry and “stale.”
2. The next day, saute the bacon until cooked, but not crispy.
3. Mix in onions, pears, bacon, garlic, and herbs with the bread cubes.  Season with salt and pepper, and adjust seasoning with additional herbs, as desired.
4. Stir in eggs and hazelnuts.
5. Pour apple cider over all, and stir in to moisten the bread.  Add only as much as needed; don’t make it too soggy!
6. Mix in butter cubes throughout the stuffing (it will melt when baked).  This makes a LOT of stuffing!

Variation: Use apples instead of pears, but saute them in some butter or the bacon fat  first, to soften before adding to the stuffing.  Chicken stock may also be substituted for some of the apple cider, if desired.

Thanks for joining me for my Thanksgiving preparations! I pray you have a wonderful day, as we give thanks for our many blessings.

Stop by 5MFM for more Tackle-It Tuesday and Tammy’s Recipes for more Kitchen Tip Tuesday.

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