Thanksgiving turkey with a special Italian stuffing

If you haven't yet decided how to cook your Thanksgiving turkey try this fabulous Italian stuffing from ex-pat American food and wine writer Brian St Pierre.

"If you want to do Thanksgiving a little differently, why not look to Italy? Italians took to turkey as no other Europeans did, probably because they saw the bird the way that artists see blank spaces, as something to project their imaginations onto. You see it on menus of even the most exalted restaurants, sliced and stuffed with a spicy filling as involtini, or poached lightly in flavored olive oil, or roasted and stuffed with chestnuts in the autumn, or braised in wine to a juicy tenderness year-round.

To Italians, the idea that anyone would eat such a magnificent food only twice a year, and - even worse - to prepare it pretty much the same way each time, with the same side dishes, seems like absurd self-denial."

Roast turkey stuffed with pancetta and herbs
Serves 12

1 turkey, 10 to12 pounds
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground pork
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
2 cups loosely packed cubed sourdough bread without crusts, soaked in 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons medium-sweet Marsala wine
3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
3 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Rinse and dry the turkey, rub the inside with salt.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium large skillet and sauté the onion and half the garlic for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the pork and sausage meat. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring well, until it loses its raw pink color. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, herbs, pine nuts, Parmesan, and Marsala. Add the meat and mix well. Set this stuffing aside. In a small bowl, combine the rosemary, pancetta, and remaining garlic. Mix well. Loosen the skin of the turkey across the breast, beginning at the back of the bird, by inserting a finger under the skin and running it back and forth side to side, then forward. Insert the rosemary-pancetta mixture under the skin and massage it around forward fairly evenly across the breast meat (it will provide an aromatic, delicious self-baste). Stuff the turkey and skewer the cavity closed.

Place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan and brush or rub the skin liberally with olive oil, then rub with salt and pepper. Roast, basting occasionally with more olive oil and pan juices, for about 3 hours (figuring 18 minutes to the pound) until juices run clear when skin is pricked. Remove from the oven, let rest for 20 minutes loosely covered with foil, and carve.Serve with simple veg, such as caramelized mushrooms and a couple of shallots tossed with lightly steamed green beans and parsley

Brian’s wine suggestion: a lightish red such as Valpolicella, Nerello Mascalese (from Mt. Etna), Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Planeta's is nice); outside Italy, very good Beaujolais, New World Pinot Noir under 14% alcohol. (On a festive day, wine's the accompanist, not the star.)

Brian St Pierre is the restaurant critic of Decanter magazine and the author of The Winelover Cooks Italian. You can also read his writing at foodandwineinlondon.com and stpierre on wine

Image © msheldrake - Fotolia.com

Roast supreme of guinea fowl with sherry and grapes

A perfect autumnal dinner party recipe from James Ramsden's lovely book Do Ahead Dinners.

James says: "Guinea fowl remains an inexplicably underused bird – it’s got something of the pheasant about it (but without the propensity to dry out), it’s no more expensive than a decent chicken, and it’s lovely to cook with. So I say we should be cooking with it more.

Supremes are the breasts with the wing still attached. If you can’t find any, then buy two whole guinea fowl and cleave in half down the middle, cooking for 15 minutes longer."

Serves 6

2 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves

1 tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a paste

100g/3½oz/7 tbsp butter, softened

salt and pepper

6 supremes of guinea fowl

olive oil

200ml/7fl oz/generous ¾ cup medium-dry sherry

100ml/3½fl oz/7 tbsp chicken stock

200g/7oz grapes, halved

Up to a day ahead:

Beat the thyme, rosemary and garlic into the butter and season with salt and pepper. Ease the skin of the birds away from the flesh and carefully spread the herb butter underneath the skin. Put in a roasting pan, cover and chill.

2 hours ahead:

Take the guinea fowl out of the fridge.

1 hour ahead:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 6.

Drizzle the guinea fowl with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced with a thin sharp knife. Remove to a warm place to rest. Put the roasting pan over a high heat and add the sherry, scraping up all the sticky bits in the pan. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the stock and the grapes. Simmer for another 5 minutes and taste for seasoning.

Dinnertime:

Serve the guinea fowl with the grapes and a good spoonful of gravy.

And James's tips for varying the recipe and using up leftovers:

Tart: Bit tarty already, this, though if you feel the urge to wrap the guinea fowl in Parma ham then follow that urge.

Tweak: Roast whole grouse for 12 minutes at 220°C/425°F/Gas mark 7 and then follow the same recipe for making the grape gravy.

Tomorrow: Thinly slice leftover guinea fowl and toss through a green salad with a handful of croutons.

What to drink: Although sherry is included in the dish - and would match with it - I don't think most people would expect sherry with their main course. Instead look for a heavyweight white like a grenache gris from the Roussillon or a pinot gris from Alsace. If you want to drink red I'd go for a dark, plummy pinot noir or a medium-bodied modern Spanish red like a young rioja or other tempranillo.

This recipe is from Do-Ahead Dinners by James Ramsden, published by Pavilion. Recipe photography by Yuki Sugiura

Sierra Nevada chicken

A bit of a blast from the past, this. It comes from An Appetite for Ale, the beer and food book I wrote with my son Will at the time he owned a pub, the Marquess Tavern back in 2007.

It's a Belgian-style chicken stew made with a classic American ale. Chicken casserole re-invented.

Sierra Nevada Chicken

Serves 4

3 tbsp sunflower or light olive oil

125g (4 1/2oz) smoked bacon lardons

500g (1lb 2oz) skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into large chunks

1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced

2 sticks of celery, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 level tbsp plain flour

300ml (10 fl oz) fresh chicken stock or stock made from half an organic chicken stock cube

150ml (5 fl oz) Sierra Nevada pale ale + a little extra to finish the dish

300g new potatoes

125g (4 1/2oz chestnut mushrooms, rinsed and sliced

A handful of roughly chopped flatleaf parsley

Salt and pepper

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan and brown the lardons lightly (about 3-4 minutes). Remove to a casserole with a slotted spoon then lightly brown the chicken pieces. Transfer them to the casserole with the bacon, turn down the heat in the frying pan and add the chopped onion.

Cook until starting to soften (about 3-4 minutes) then add the sliced carrot and celery, stir and cook a couple of minutes more. Tip the vegetables into the casserole, stir, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 10 minutes over a very low heat for the flavours to amalgamate.

Remove the lid, add the crushed garlic and thyme, cook for a few seconds then stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Add the chicken stock and Sierra Nevada ale and bring up to boiling point. Turn the heat right down, re-cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.

Cut the new potatoes into even sized chunks, add them to the casserole, stir well and continue to cook until the potatoes are cooked (another 15-20 minutes), adding the sliced mushrooms about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Splash in a little extra Sierra Nevada ale (about 2 tbsp), season with salt and pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve the stew in large shallow soup bowls.

What to drink: Sierra Nevada obviously or a similar pale ale - Kernel's Table Beer would be pretty good or try a full flavoured lager like Schiehallion

Photograph © Vanessa Courtier

Gizzi's Thai Roast Duck & Watermelon Salad

If you want to make just one dish to celebrate the Thai new year try Gizzi Erskine's fabulous Thai-style duck and watermelon salad from her most recent book Gizzi's Healthy Appetite.

Do note though, before you start, that you need a pan large enough to take a whole duck and that you need to make the Thai dressing and the crispy shallots before the duck finishes roasting. Otherwise it's dead easy, as fellow cookery writer Sabrina Ghayour who took the pic below will attest.

Gizzi writes: "One of my most memorable cooking experiences was when I worked at Min Jiang at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, which is famous for its roast duck and dim sum. I spent a day learning all the secrets to the perfect Crispy Peking Duck. It’s no mean feat.

First, air is blown under the duck’s skin to separate the skin from the flesh. The duck is doused in searing hot syrup to constrict and glaze the skin, then it is left to dry overnight. It’s then roasted at a really hot temperature and actually served pink. The skin is carved away and the duck is sliced rather than shredded and served with plum sauce, spring onions, cucumber and pancakes.

I’ve made my recipe a bit more user-friendly. Essentially, you are just giving the duck a hot bath in molten liquor for a few minutes before drying it out in the fridge overnight and then roasting it. It’s no more effort than marinating something the night before, just a little more unusual. I’ve paired the duck with the most deelish Thai watermelon salad, inspired by chef Ian Pengelley, but feel free to serve the duck the classic way with pancakes if you prefer."

SERVES 4

PREPARATION TIME

30 minutes, plus drying overnight

COOKING TIME

1 1/2 hours

2 litres water

1 star anise

1 slice of galangal or ginger, bruised

2 spring onions, split down the middle

5 tablespoons maltose or (if you really can’t find it) honey

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons salt

1 free-range duck, about 1.2–3kg, not too fatty

Thai Salad Dressing (see below)

lime wedges, to serve

For the salad

½ medium watermelon, cut into small cubes

100g cashew nuts or peanuts, roasted

a small handful of Thai basil leaves

a small handful of mint leaves

a small handful of coriander leaves

1 shallot, finely sliced

Crispy Shallots (see below)

You will also need a saucepan large enough to fit the whole duck

Place the water, star anise, galangal or ginger, spring onions, maltose or honey, soy sauce and salt in the saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Bring back to the boil, scoop out the aromatics, and then plunge the duck, skin-side up, into the water and immerse it fully. You may need to keep it pushed down with a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil for 3 minutes, then quickly remove the duck and dry fully on kitchen paper.

Clear a shelf in the fridge, lay a few sheets of cling film on the shelf, and then place some kitchen paper on top. Next, lay a wire rack on top of this. Place the duck on the wire rack and leave to dry in the fridge for 15 hours. The duck skin will feel like wax paper when it’s dry.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Place the duck on a rack in an oven tray and fill the tray with 300ml water. If you want classic roast Chinese duck that’s still pink, roast the duck for 40 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and golden; if you want crispy duck, cook for 60 minutes, turning the oven down to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 after 30 minutes. Leave the duck to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Carve off the legs and use two forks to shred the leg meat, removing the bones as you go.

Next, if you’re serving your duck pink, remove the breasts with the skin intact and cut widthways into slices; or you can shred it like crispy duck. Sprinkle over a tiny bit of salt, then arrange on one side of a large serving platter.

Place the watermelon on the platter and scatter over the nuts, herbs, shallot slices and Crispy Shallots. Serve with the Thai Salad Dressing and lime wedges.

THAI SALAD DRESSING

SERVES 4

150ml water

200g palm sugar

3–4 Thai red chillies, sliced

1 lemon grass stick, bruised

1 small piece of galangal or fresh root ginger, about 5cm x 2.5cm, bruised

5 lime leaves, torn

2 tablespoons tamarind paste

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

Boil all the ingredients together in a saucepan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it has reduced and is like honey. It needs to be thicker and morepotent than your average dressing because it will be diluted with all the juice the watermelon lets out. Leave to cool.

CRISPY SHALLOTS

SERVES 8

4 tablespoons coconut or rapeseed oil

4 banana shallots, thinly sliced into rings

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the shallots for 10–15 minutes, or until they start to crisp up and turn a light golden colour. Scoop out the shallots and drain on some kitchen paper.

What to drink: I'd break my normal rule of pinot noir with duck for this recipe - I think an aromatic white such as pinot gris or gewurztraminer would pair much better with the Thai-style dressing. Or a fruity rosé such as this one which featured in my match of the week slot recently.

Recipe from Gizzi's Healthy Appetite, by Gizzi Erskine is published by Mitchell Beazley, £25

Top pic: The Gaztronome. Middle pic: Sabrina Ghayour

Home Economists Sofia Johansson, Anna Jones, Emily Ezekiel, Kat Mead.