LET'S TALK TURKEY- THE RECIPES

Sausage meat and fresh purple sage add a gourmet taste to this stuffing. It's perfect for large family gatherings, but you can also save some for later.

Ingredients
12 ounces lean pork minced four times,or sausage meat
6 celery ribs plus the leaves chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
4 tablespoons fresh purple sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 loaves (16 ounces each)day-old white bread, cubed
1 loaf (16 ounces) day-old whole wheat bread, cubed
3 large organic eggs, lightly beaten
2 pints of fresh turkey stock

Method
In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the sausage, celery and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat; stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, sage and poultry seasoning.
Place bread cubes in a large bowl; add sausage mixture. Combine eggs and broth; pour over bread cubes and stir gently to combine. Transfer to two 3-qt. baking dishes coated with cooking spray.
Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 12-18 minutes longer or until lightly browned and a thermometer reads 160°.

Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon thyme
Large handful of chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup fresh chicken stock
1lb of fresh spinach
1 cup wholemeal bread crumbs
3 large organic eggs, beaten
3 pounds minced turkey breast
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
6 very thin slices Serrano ham
1/2 cup ketchup

Method
Sauté the onions in the olive oil, with the garlic salt and pepper, until the onions are translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste and thyme and mix well. Blend in the Worcestershire sauce and chicken stock. Remove from the heat and cool.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch the spinach in the boiling water and then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain the spinach and squeeze all excess water out of it.

Combine the bread crumbs and eggs in a large bowl. Then mix in the ground turkey, onion mixture, oregano, marjoram and basil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10 1/2-by-5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. Put one-third of the turkey mixture in the bottom of the loaf pan. Next, put three slices of the Serrano ham on top of the turkey and half of the blanched spinach on top of the ham. Repeat the layers until the mixture is finished and press down fairly hard and turn over the pan over onto a baking tray, and remove the pan and the plastic wrap. Spread the ketchup evenly on top.

Bake the meatloaf until a thermometer registers 160 degrees, at least an hour. Allow it to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

2 cups water
7 to 8 cups turkey stock
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Make gravy while turkey stands:
Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into measuring cup (do not clean roasting pan), then skim off and discard fat. (If using a fat separator, pour pan juices through sieve into separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into measure, discarding fat.)

Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add remaining cup water and deglaze roasting pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to bring total to 8 cups (if stock is congealed, heat to liquefy).

Melt butter in a 4-quart heavy pot and stir in flour. Cook roux over moderate heat, whisking, 5 minutes. Add stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper, then stir in cider vinegar (to taste).

A beautiful and safe way to present turkey stuffing, the organic ingredients for this thanksgiving stuffing are not technically necessary but they make a huge difference to the taste. The quality of dried organic fruit cannot be beaten.
Ingredients
1 cup dried organic apricots
1 cup dried organic pitted prunes
1 cup apple juice
1 loaf good-quality whole wheat bread with seed
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks leafy celery, diced (leaves included)
1 handful of fr sage
1/4 cup butter, melted
Vegetable stock
Tamari soy sauce to taste
A small amount of fresh basil and fresh oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1large pumpkin,

TO PREPARE THE PUMPKIN
Cut off and reserve a lid, as you would preparatory to carving a jack-o'-lantern. Scoop out all of the seeds and fibers. Put an inch or two of water in a large pot. Place the pumpkin, cut side down, in the water, cap wedged in near it. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly and steam for 10 to 15 minutes to precook slightly. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool. When cool, remove from the pot. Since the pumpkin will be eaten with the stuffing, I like to season the inside with salt, pepper, a little tamari, Pickapeppa, and brown sugar, rubbing this into the exposed interior flesh after steaming.

TO MAKE THE STUFFING
Place the apricots and prunes in a small, heatproof bowl. Place the apple juice in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately pour the juice over the dried fruit. Let stand for at least 2 hours, but overnight or a day or two in advance is fine. Drain the dried fruit, reserving both the fruit and the soaking liquid. Coarsely chop the fruit and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375°F, then turn down to 200°F.
Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and place a single layer of bread slices on the rack. Place in the preheated oven and bake, slowly, turning once, until the bread is hard, crunchy, and dry all the way through, but not browned. This is a fairly slow process - it might take 45 to 60 minutes, but set the timer at 20-minute intervals to remind you to check. You with either need to do 2 sheets' worth of bread (in which case, reverse their positions in the oven halfway through), or repeat the toasting process again until all bread is prepared. Remove the dry bread from the oven and let cool.

Coarsely crumble the bread into a large bowl. Add the onion and leafy celery and toss to combine. Measure the sage (starting with the smaller amount) into your hands and rub the leaves back and forth in your palms until they crumble (this releases the volatile essential oils). Add the sage to the bread mixture. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and toss well to combine. Add the soaked dried fruit and toss again. The dressing should still be dry. Begin adding the liquid, a combination of vegetable stock and the reserved fruit soaking liquid. Use more stock than juice, and use just enough to moisten the dressing without making it soggy. Keep tossing, adding stock as needed. Add tamari, starting with about 1 tablespoon. Taste for salt and add it and plenty of pepper to taste. More sage, maybe? This is also the point at which you can add a little dried basil and oregano, too, if you like. The stuffing can be prepared up to this point and stored, covered and refrigerated, overnight.

On the day you plan to stuff the pumpkin, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Stuff the dressing into the cavity of the prepared pumpkin, topping with the pumpkin's cap. Place the stuffed pumpkin in a greased baking dish. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the pumpkin is slightly brown about 40 minutes.

The day before dinner prepare the following: Preferably in a large
flat pan so that the bread pieces will dry better.
Ingredients for classic vegetarian stuffing
1 loaf of day old bread broken into bite size pieces
1 small onion chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
Handful of fresh purple sage
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Toss so that all the ingredients are mixed, and keep stirring every few hours or so.
Let stand over night.

The following day before baking add enough heated fresh vegetable broth mixed with two tablespoons butter to the bread pieces so that the bread is damp but not soggy.

Bake in an uncovered baking dish at 350 degrees for about thirty minutes until the top is lightly brown.

Alternate recipe: chopped sauteed mushrooms and almond slices added
right before baking.Decorate with handfuls of fresh herbiage at the table.