Are any of my readers allergic to turkey? Just curious. Here's the first in a series of Thanksgiving-y recipes to help you through the holiday. Not hosting? Volunteer to bring an allergy-friendly recipe of whatever is worst for your diet in its natural state.
One of the biggies, of course, is stuffing, what with its eggs and bread and everything. And it's such an essential part of the holiday meal. The sneaky thing about Thanksgiving food is that what makes it Thanksgiving-y isn't the main ingredients, but the spices. Think sage, nutmeg, cinnamon. Mmm... Are you getting that warm feeling in your tummy without even eating anything? If not, go take a whiff of the sage, nutmeg, and cinnamon from your spice rack. Then come back when you're *really* in the mood. Those are the essential ingredients for making something taste like down-home Thanksgiving. Bacon or sausage always helps, too, of course, but that's more of a general, year-round principle and not exclusive to Thanksgiving.
Here's my rice stuffing exploding from a chicken, since I didn't want to make a whole turkey quite this early. I have roasted game hens (tiny chickens) with rice stuffing in them, but I suspect it's too heavy to try cooking in the bird when you're using a turkey. You really don't need to put this in the oven at all, unless you want to heat it up right before eating. If you really want the look of it in the turkey, put it in afterward.
Cranberry Rice Stuffing
3 tablespoons oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups rice (I used brown rice)
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 cup wine
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup cranberries
Heat the oil in a large pot. Brown the onion pieces in the oil. Add the rice and stir until it has soaked up the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice has soaked up the wine. Throw in the cinnamon stick. Add the chicken broth, 1/2 cup at a time, waiting to add more until the rice has soaked up the last 1/2 cup. When you add the last 1/2 cup of broth, also add the sage, salt, walnuts, and cranberries. Serve hot, of course.
