the food coma's over

I will now take this opportunity to answer the questions I've been asked about the Farm's ENORMOUS Thanksgiving feast (previously mentioned in this blog.)

1. The final number was somewhere around 160 people. Everyone fit in the Farm's dining room and the room connected to it. We DIDN'T wind up spilling into the living room, which was a damn miracle. :)
2. Yes, we did have leftovers. In the days since Thanksgiving, on the menu: turkey noodle soup, turkey pot pie and turkey chili. I am not a turkey fan, so the days following Thanksgiving are torture.
3. What was the secret to my stuffing?!--I've gotten this question about a dozen times. Answer is BUTTER!! Butter makes everything better. If we slathered butter on the world's problems, then things would just seem so much better! No? The recipe I used is Mark Bittman's How to cook Everything. The recipe is below:
   
   Mark Bittman's Favorite Bread Stuffing:

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
• 6 to 8 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried crumbled tarragon or sage
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves 
  
  Put the butter in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
  
  Add the breadcrumbs and the herb and toss to mix. Turn the heat down to low. Add the salt, pepper, and scallion. Toss again; taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the parsley and stir. Turn off the heat. (At this point, you may refrigerate the stuffing, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)
  
  The changes I make are: 1. I also added thinly sliced celery (threw it in with the onions)  2. I leave the nuts out entirely. 3. I used dried sage (making sure to cut the amount!), since we didn't have any fresh on hand when I started the recipe. 4. I also added a little soy sauce (for flavor) and homemade veggie stock to my batch (the veggie stock kept the stuffing from drying out when it was reheated). 5. I used stale (and some fresh when the stale ran out) Farm bread, cut into cubes...much better than bread crumbs in my humble opinion!

Now we have 10 months before we even have to start thinking about Thanksgiving again! Next big meal: Christmas Eve. Stay tuned!