My Twenty-fourth - Turkey and Stuffing -100 Meals You Never Thought You Would Eat Pureed - Recipes for Head and Neck Cancer patients

My Twenty-fourth  recipe for the new cookbook - Turkey and Stuffing

1 unit dark meat turkey.  Darth Vader says join the darkside 
1 unit stuffing
1/2 unit cranberry sauce

or

1/4 Turkey thigh - because most people don't eat turkey thighs but me
1 cup stuffing
1 scoop cranberry sauce
enough broth to make liquid

OPTIONS
Gravy
Roasted Chestnuts
Cooked Mushrooms
Pea Powder
Apple Cider
Clementine


AFTER HALLOWEEN
I'm a big fan of taking each Holiday in order, so I couldn't work on a Traditional Thanksgiving meal until after Halloween.  In December, we celebrate Hanukkah, Yule and Christmas - Usually in that order.  But I remember the year that Thanksgiving and Hanukkah were at the same time so it can be quite festive at our house.  Just to be honest, not everyone in out house celebrate Festivus, so I left it off the list.

STUFFING
Ok, lets just get this off my chest, white meat turkey is really bland - like pancakes.  It is really designed to hold gravy- which is why I recommend dark meat for the puree meal.    Most important, the stuffing is going to overwhelm the rest of the favors in the meal.  A good stuffing should have a lot of veggies in it.  If it doesn't - ADD THEM.  Carrots, celery, onions, are my trio.

When you add the liquid, be prepared to add more.  Bread stuffing is semi-dry to start with, and I found myself making my first batch with the consultancy of thick pea soup.

CRANBERRY SAUCE
The meal is a little too earthy if you don't add a "pop" of something zesty.  Cranberry sauce adds that nice pop to the puree, plus it is good for the Southeastern Massachusetts economy.  This meal is a lot about aftertaste.  It's hard to find a bread stuffing that has a lousy aftertaste.  I find cranberry sauce a great aftertaste.  Remember this might be the only thing you eat until you puree Pumpkin or apple pie.

OPTIONS:

GRAVY
Gravy is great to add, especially if you are in the middle of treatment and need to add weight.  Don't let my wife know but drinking gravy from a coffee cup is not that bad.  No need to judge me,  I know you just thought it was a good idea.

ROASTED CHESTNUTS Roasted Chestnuts add fat and protein.  Many markets now stock roasted chestnuts this time of year. You can purchase precooked one too, that you can add to your own puree.

MUSHROOMS Cooked Mushrooms are great cancer fighters,  give a new mushroom a try.

Although you have turkey protein, if you are going through treatment, you can never have enough protein.  It was always the first question from my nutritionist.

CIDER I like a little apple cider in my New England style stuffing, You can also have hot mulled cider on the side.

CITRUS Clementine?  Actually a clementine works well with stuffing.  I've even add a little citrus zest.

UPDATE:
It's been a year since I posted this and stuffing is just great all the time.  There is such a wonderful mix of flavors in stuffing, and the smell is always heavenly.  I find myself adding stuffing to my pureed soups.  Naughty Jeff! THERE YOU GO JUDGE ME AGAIN.  JOIN STUFFING ON THE DARKSIDE.


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