On my Thanksgiving Table
Chef Joe Massaglia
Growing up in Italy, I never really knew about American Thanksgiving. My first “taste” of it happened when I started working on cruise ships. Our chefs would serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to our guests, and the dining rooms and cocktail lounges would be decorated with a Thanksgiving theme. I know our guests enjoyed having a turkey dinner without having to do the dishes.
When I married my wife, Christine, and moved to Philadelphia we celebrated Thanksgiving using her family’s traditional recipes, and we continue to do so to this day. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, not just because my birthday occasionally falls on turkey day, but because it’s the day when our family comes home to relax, cook together and enjoy each other! It’s even more special now that our children are living in different cities. I also close my restaurants so that my employees can celebrate the day with their families and friends.
Christine is in charge of the kitchen on Thanksgiving. She roasts the turkey and makes the most amazing sausage stuffing. We also have sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, creamed onions, puréed chestnuts (which represent my Italian side and her love of France), cranberry sauce, and pumpkin and apple pies.
My non-traditional addition to the day is a seafood brunch buffet. We tend eat our dinner later in the evening, so when our children and grandchildren arrive we enjoy a mix of steamed seasoned shrimp, oysters Rockefeller, herring in sour cream, smoked trout, and smoked salmon with bagels and all the toppings – red onion, capers, tomatoes, cream cheese, chopped hard cooked eggs. And occasionally we have caviar served with vodka shots! We gather in the family room and enjoy the seafood with a glass of champagne while watching the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV and seeing our grandchildren’s delight when Santa arrives on his sleigh.
Here are Christine’s stuffing and sweet potato recipes. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Mangia!
James Beard’s Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves 6 to 8
- 6 medium-size sweet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup Cognac
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Finely chopped pecans, optional
Wash potatoes, cut off tips but do not peel. Put water in a saucepan to cover the potatoes; add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, add potatoes, cover and cook until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes, peel and put through a food mill or ricer. You should have about 4 cups purée.
Heat oven to 375°F. To the purée blend in 4 tablespoons butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and heavy cream. Whip all together, add Cognac to taste; season with salt and pepper. Spoon into a greased 2-quart casserole dish, dot with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Bake about 30 to 40 minutes or until hot and delicately brown.
Recipe adapted from James Beard’s American Cookery, ©1972 by James Beard, Little, Brown and Company.
Christine Massaglia’s Thanksgiving Stuffing
Serves 8-10
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 12 ounce roll Plain Natural Sausage
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 4 to 5 stalks celery, finely diced
- 8 to 10 ounce package white mushrooms, chopped
- 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced into small pieces
- 3/4 cup whole pecans, finely chopped
- 1 cup Craisins
- Small bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Bell’s Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 to 2 bags (12 ounces each) cubed potato bread
- 1 bag (12 ounces) cubed white bread
- 32 ounce container unsalted chicken broth or stock
Wring out thawed spinach with paper towels or a clean tea towel until very dry; set aside. In a large skillet sauté the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces until thoroughly cooked. Remove from skillet; spoon into a large pot or bowl. In the same skillet, melt butter. Add onion and celery; sauté slowly on medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir onion mixture into sausage; mix in apples, pecans, Craisins, parsley, Bell’s Seasoning, salt and pepper. Add 1/3 of bread cubes and 1/3 of chicken stock; gently combine. Continue to add bread cubes and stock until mixture is moist. (Not all the chicken stock may be required.) Taste for seasoning; add accordingly.
Spoon mixture into a greased 15x10x2-inch casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375°F. about 45 minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 165°F. when inserted in the center.
Joe’s Table for Two radio show airs Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WOND 1400 AM. Website: joestablefortwo.com. Facebook: Joe’s Table for 2 and Eat at Joe’s EHT. Contact me: JoeTableforTwo@gmail.com
Joe’s Discount Club:
* 10% off your wine purchase at Joe Canal’s Discount Liquor – Egg Harbor Township when you mention Joe’s Table for Two.
* Complimentary wine tasting at Bellview Winery when you mention Joe’s Table for Two.
