Common Cuisine |

Actually, my Nana and my mom have both confessed to me they don’t really have a recipe for stuffing. They just put in a little of this and a little of that. It’s comforting to know I come by it honestly.

Anyway, this is Nana’s best estimate for how she would have made the walnut stuffing I remember from childhood, loosely based on the favorite cookbook she has referred to for 62 years, the Woman’s Home Companion Cook Book.

Submitted by Dorothy Goodnough

• 1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped celery (optional)
• 1 lg loaf 2-day old bread, cut into ½” cubes
• 1 Tbsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 ½ tsp poultry seasoning (or about ½ tsp each thyme, marjoram, sage, and savory)
• 1 to 2 cups walnut pieces (or almonds, brazil nuts, chestnuts, pecans, or pine nuts)
• 1 to 2 cups water, milk, cream, or chicken broth (optional)

Melt butter in skillet or pot large enough to hold all the bread. Add onions and celery, if using, and saute until tender. Stir in walnuts and toast for a few minutes.

Add bread cubes and seasoning. Heat until butter is completely absorbed and cubes are toasted, stirring constantly. If stuffing is more dry and crumbly than you like, add a little liquid at a time until it is the way you like it.

Note: When I make this recipe for Thanksgiving, I will use hearty whole grain bread plus a couple tablespoons of wheat germ, probably substitute extra light olive oil for at least a third of the butter, and use chicken broth for the liquid (I love moist stuffing).

Okay, here is the recipe as it was given to me. If you decide to play with it, let me know what proportions you come up with, and I will do the same.

Submitted by Candice Kugler

• Fresh cranberries
• Frozen lemonade
• Sugar

Cook, mash and strain the cranberries. Add lemonade and sugar and stir, then freeze all. After it has frozen take it back out and use a mixer to chip and whip it up. Dish it up in dessert cups. It is a great blend of sweet and tart.

This is another family dish that brings back fond memories of large holiday gatherings when I was a child.

• 1-2 eggs
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken or onion, or cheddar cheese)
• ½ cup milk
• Large bag frozen chopped broccoli
• 2-4 cups bread cubes (or garlic croutons)
• 1-2 cups shredded cheese (any kind you like)
• ½ small onion, diced

In small bowl, mix egg, soup, and enough milk to make the soup mixture thin enough to pour.

Gently fold together broccoli, bread, cheese, and onion, and place in large baking dish. Pour soup mixture over top. Bake 40 minutes until the top is browned.

Serves 6-8.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 3 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• 1 (32 oz) can pumpkin
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
• 1 (14½ oz) can ready cut tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup cream
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

In soup pot, saute onions in oil 5 minutes. Add broth, pumpkin, black beans and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes; adjust seasonings and serve.

Serves 4 to 6.

This recipe would double well, and could also be made ahead of time and frozen. Just put the topping mixture in a plastic bag and store it with the baking dish. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and mashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup milk
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, stir together potatoes, 1/3 cup melted butter, sugar, and 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Beat in orange juice, beaten eggs, and milk.

Place potato mixture in greased 2 quart baking dish. In small bowl, combine pecans, remaining brown sugar, flour, and remaining butter. Sprinkle over potato mixture.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly around edges.

Serves 4-6.

I recently discovered that the new world record holding pumpkin of 2005 weighed 1,469 pounds. If I had a baby that big, I think I would feel obligated to give it a name. Personally, I like Barry Gourdy. Or The Pump-King. Imagine all the pumpkin pie.

And speaking of pumpkin pie, here is my twist on an old favorite holiday food.

Ah, I can’t even follow my own directions! This is not actually a recipe at all, just a way to modify your pie to be special.

For special pumpkin pie, use whatever recipe you wish. I use the recipe on the package of pumpkin puree. Add 2 Tablespoons of dark molasses to the filling per pie. Before pouring pie filling into crust, sprinkle about 2 Tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or pecans on pie crust. Then fill and bake according to directions.