The holidays are upon us!

It can be a hectic time of year, and I want to help with the chaos by sharing with you a couple of recipes that can instantly elevate some of your favorite holiday dishes this year. In this blog, I will share my go-to recipes for stuffing and cranberry sauce!

First off, a Turkey dinner isn’t complete without amazing stuffing to go with it, and I am a firm believer that we do not put the stuffing inside the bird.  

This recipe can feed 8-10 people, so be sure to remember that there are going to be loads of different dishes and people will be trying a little bit of everything. (And if by chance your stuffing runs out, you should feel amazing cause it means it was so good the tray was emptied fast!)

What you will need to do is place 3 loaves of your bread of choice out in the open air overnight to become slightly dry and stale. I use plain white bread or a mixture of white and multi grain – there is no right or wrong bread type, it’s a personal preference!

Ingredients

• 3 loaves of bread left out overnight (lay them out on pans or in bowls, and be sure to flip them at least once)
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 6-7 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 
• 3 whole carrots, grated
• 2-3 pieces of celery, roughly chopped in small pieces 
• 3-5 stems of rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 stems of oregano, finely chopped
• 2-3 stems thyme, finely chopped 
• EVOO for sautéing 
• 48-64 ounces of vegetable stock

Steps

• Rip stale bread into small pieces and put in a large bowl to the side
• In a medium sized pot, place your vegetable stock on a medium heat to warm it up.
• In a large stock pot, pour enough EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) to cover the bottom of the pot. Then, turn it on to a medium heat
• Check if the oil is hot enough by placing a piece of onion in it when you think it is ready. If it starts to sizzle, you are good to go.
• Add in the onion and begin to sweat them for a couple of minutes until they begin to become translucent. 
• Add in the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes (if necessary turn down the heat only if the garlic starts to brown too much). 
• Add in the grated carrots and celery and continue to cook until they become tender.  

You are almost there!

• Now, it’s time to add the herbs and stir around everything so the flavors get mixed together. 
• Next, add about half the vegetable stock.
• Immediately after, start to incorporate the dried bread.  When you place the bread in it will start to absorb the liquid fast so begin to stir vigorously to really get all the flavors to meld together nicely.  You can take it off the heat at this point so that you don’t burn the bottom of the pot. 

Slowly add liquid, with the goal to get the bread moist yet not too mushy.

Simply place the stuffing into your desired dish and cover.  You are now ready to impress everyone at your party!

For today’s second recipe, I want to share with you my favorite recipe for another must-have Thanksgiving dinner element: Cranberry sauce!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of cranberries
• A quarter of a pineapple, cored and roughly chopped
• Zest of two large oranges
• 2 cups of orange juice
• 1.5  cup of white sugar

Steps

• Place the orange juice and sugar in a pot to dissolve
• Add cranberries in the pot and boil until they start to pop
• After the cranberries start to pop, take them off the heat and place them into your blender/mixer
• Add in your chopped pineapple and your orange zest
• Pulse until the cranberries are nicely chopped up
• Place in your desired dish to put in the fridge to chill
• As the sauce cools, it will thicken – so no need to worry about the loose consistency at first!  

With these two wonderful recipes, you will be sure to impress all those who will be attending this year’s Thanksgiving party.

Much love!!

The holidays are upon us!

It can be a hectic time of year, and I want to help with the chaos by sharing with you a couple of recipes that can instantly elevate some of your favorite holiday dishes this year. In this blog, I will share my go-to recipes for stuffing and cranberry sauce!

First off, a Turkey dinner isn’t complete without amazing stuffing to go with it, and I am a firm believer that we do not put the stuffing inside the bird.  

This recipe can feed 8-10 people, so be sure to remember that there are going to be loads of different dishes and people will be trying a little bit of everything. (And if by chance your stuffing runs out, you should feel amazing cause it means it was so good the tray was emptied fast!)

What you will need to do is place 3 loaves of your bread of choice out in the open air overnight to become slightly dry and stale. I use plain white bread or a mixture of white and multi grain – there is no right or wrong bread type, it’s a personal preference!

Ingredients

• 3 loaves of bread left out overnight (lay them out on pans or in bowls, and be sure to flip them at least once)
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 6-7 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 
• 3 whole carrots, grated
• 2-3 pieces of celery, roughly chopped in small pieces 
• 3-5 stems of rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 stems of oregano, finely chopped
• 2-3 stems thyme, finely chopped 
• EVOO for sautéing 
• 48-64 ounces of vegetable stock

Steps

• Rip stale bread into small pieces and put in a large bowl to the side
• In a medium sized pot, place your vegetable stock on a medium heat to warm it up.
• In a large stock pot, pour enough EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) to cover the bottom of the pot. Then, turn it on to a medium heat
• Check if the oil is hot enough by placing a piece of onion in it when you think it is ready. If it starts to sizzle, you are good to go.
• Add in the onion and begin to sweat them for a couple of minutes until they begin to become translucent. 
• Add in the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes (if necessary turn down the heat only if the garlic starts to brown too much). 
• Add in the grated carrots and celery and continue to cook until they become tender.  

You are almost there!

• Now, it’s time to add the herbs and stir around everything so the flavors get mixed together. 
• Next, add about half the vegetable stock.
• Immediately after, start to incorporate the dried bread.  When you place the bread in it will start to absorb the liquid fast so begin to stir vigorously to really get all the flavors to meld together nicely.  You can take it off the heat at this point so that you don’t burn the bottom of the pot. 

Slowly add liquid, with the goal to get the bread moist yet not too mushy.

Simply place the stuffing into your desired dish and cover.  You are now ready to impress everyone at your party!

For today’s second recipe, I want to share with you my favorite recipe for another must-have Thanksgiving dinner element: Cranberry sauce!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of cranberries
• A quarter of a pineapple, cored and roughly chopped
• Zest of two large oranges
• 2 cups of orange juice
• 1.5  cup of white sugar

Steps

• Place the orange juice and sugar in a pot to dissolve
• Add cranberries in the pot and boil until they start to pop
• After the cranberries start to pop, take them off the heat and place them into your blender/mixer
• Add in your chopped pineapple and your orange zest
• Pulse until the cranberries are nicely chopped up
• Place in your desired dish to put in the fridge to chill
• As the sauce cools, it will thicken – so no need to worry about the loose consistency at first!  

With these two wonderful recipes, you will be sure to impress all those who will be attending this year’s Thanksgiving party.

Much love!!