Small Thanksgiving: Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash with Walnuts & Wild Rice

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Walnut & Spiced Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash

Flavor profile inspired by Sunny Anderson.

Makes 4 servings as a side dish or 2 servings as a main dish.

• 1 acorn squash

• 3/4 cups cooked wild rice

• 1/4 cup small mozzarella cheese balls (Bocconcini), cut in half

• 2 tbs golden raisins, chopped (or currants, dried cherries, whatever dried fruit you have)

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 tbs chopped onion

• 1 tsp curry powder

• 1 tsp fresh thyme

• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika

• pinch red pepper flakes

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 cup raw walnuts, soaked in water for 20 minutes

• 1/2 tbs soy sauce

• 1/8 tsp celery salt

• 2 tsp olive oil

• cilantro or parsley, for garnish

1. Prick the squash all over and microwave for 10 minutes, then let cool. You can do this part up to a couple days ahead and store the squash, wrapped in plastic, in the fridge until ready to proceed.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half, and remove the seeds. Scoop the flesh into a large bowl, leaving a thin edge in the skins so they can keep their shape. Level off the bottoms of each half so they sit flat on a baking sheet.

3. Add the rice, mozzarella pieces, and raisins to the squash in the bowl and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. In the bowl of a food processor, combine onion, curry powder, thyme, paprika, pepper flakes, garlic powder, walnuts, soy sauce and celery salt, and pulse until finely crumbled. Heat a skillet over medium high heat with the olive oil and add the walnut mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Add to the bowl with the squash mixture and mix well.

5. Divide the squash and rice mixture between the two squash cups and bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm, and garnish with cilantro or parsley as desired.

Notes:

• At first glance, this recipe looks like it has annoyingly small recipe amounts (2 tbs onion??? 1/4 cup walnuts???), but I think that makes it perfect for Thanksgiving, when I know I always have odds and ends of different ingredients laying around. If you have half an onion left from something else, perfect! Do you have walnuts in a dessert? Take a handful. Or, you have some leftover rice, add it! It doesn’t have to be wild rice. Though rice, once cooked, freezes really well, so having some on hand at all times is a great idea, and much cheaper than buying that pre-cooked rice in the freezer aisle at the grocery store.

• I envisioned this for a small gathering, but the great thing about this recipe is that it scales really, well, so double or even triple it for a larger crowd.

Small Thanksgiving: Stuffing with Spicy Italian Sausage, Broccoli Rabe, Parmesan & Tomato

You cannot have Thanksgiving without stuffing! I firmly believe this. Even this year, when I’m willing to forego traditional Thanksgiving expectations, I still want stuffing. There’s something about a casserole of bread that just means Fall to me. I rarely eat any kind of stuffing any other time of year, so I must have it on Thanksgiving!

But this year is the perfect time for a small departure from tradition, though I’ve definitely experimented with stuffing variations in the past. But I thought about comforting flavors, and what I might want to try to make into stuffing form. I settled on a quick pasta dish I love that marries salty parmesan, bitter broccoli rabe, and spicy, fatty sausage. Italian bread would stand in for the pasta, and I decided to try swapping some crushed tomatoes in for some of the broth usually used for moistening stuffing. I thought the acidity of the tomatoes would pair well with everything else and add a great color too, as a further departure from the traditional beige Thanksgiving table. The tomato + bread takes this into almost a ribollita flavor profile. If you want to go even closer to the Tuscan bread soup, you could swap cannellini beans for the sausage, which would also make this a vegetarian side if you need it to be.

This was wonderful, actually. Stuffing can sometimes be a little one-note to me, with its traditional onion and herb flavors, and often relies on butter to make it sing (this is fine! I do love it!). This version had flavor coming from all directions, and I especially liked the bitter edge from the broccoli rabe keeping things from being too rich. That balance is important when you are feasting. The top was crispy, the middle was silky and almost custardy, and I had a very hard time stopping myself from eating half the pan in one go.

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Stuffing with Spicy Italian Sausage, Broccoli Rabe, Parmesan & Tomato

• 1/2 Italian bread loaf (or 1 small loaf), torn or cut into large pieces

• 1 cup broccoli rabe, chopped

• kosher salt

• 1 link spicy Italian sausage, casing removed

• 1 tsp fresh thyme

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes

• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, plus more for serving

• butter, for the pan

1. Set bread chunks out on a baking sheet overnight to stale, or before cooking, leave in a low oven until dried out a bit (about 225 degrees for 30 min should work).

2. Heat oven to 375. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil, then add the broccoli rabe and cook for 1-2 minutes, then transfer immediately to a bowl filled with ice water to stop cooking. Drain and set aside.

3. In a pan over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, crumbling into small pieces. Add the garlic and herbs and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. In a large bowl, combine the bread, broccoli rabe, and sausage mixture and stir to combine. Add the parmesan and stir to combine. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the crushed tomatoes, broth, and egg and season with 1/2 tsp salt. Add to the stuffing a bit at a time, mixing as you go, until you have your desired moistness level. I used the full cup of liquid, but if you like a drier stuffing you may prefer to use less.

5. Spread mixture in a buttered 8x8 baking dish (or equivalent volume dish) and cover tightly with foil, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it at this point in case any pieces start to look burnt (see my photos for how that looks!). Serve warm with extra parmesan, if you like.

Small Thanksgiving: Mashed Cauliflower & Potatoes with Roasted Garlic & Crispy Shallots

Ok, last time I gave you gravy so you knew there were going to be potatoes! But, I did promise some concessions to Small Thanksgiving, and some riffing on the classics for fun. So here, instead of just standard mashed potatoes, I’ve combined cauliflower with the potatoes.

I know, I know, Thanksgiving is not the time to look out for our health! I agree, and don’t worry, I kept the cream and the butter! But for a smaller crowd, this cauli/potato hybrid is a great call, and here’s why.

1. Subbing half the potatoes for cauliflower is going to lighten things up, so you can still eat the bird and the stuffing and the desserts and the other sides and the potatoes, plus maybe some rolls! You aren’t going to have 20 other people around to pick up the slack.

2. Because of that, you still might have a lot of leftovers! Everyone knows that Thanksgiving leftovers are one of life’s great joys, but I will admit that I get sick of the richness after a few meals. When you have fewer people eating those leftovers, you will be glad after a few days that you’ve fed yourself some cauliflower by default.

3. I just like it! The cauliflower adds a little bit of depth to the potato flavor, and since it is other wise a blank canvas for flavor, the roasted garlic really shines. With potato, cauliflower, garlic, herbs, and the crispy shallot topping, you’ve got a symphony of flavor coming from what otherwise looks like a boring white bowl of meh (it’s true, I’ll own it).

Make sure you pair this with some gravy, and if you still have leftovers, it freezes super well!

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Mashed Cauliflower & Potatoes with Roasted Garlic

Adapted from Alexa Weibel.

• 2 heads of garlic

• 2 tsp olive oil, plus more for frying

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced into rings

• 1/2 bunch chives, minced, for garnish

• 1 1/2 lbs red or gold potatoes

• 1 head cauliflower (about 1 - 1 1/2 lbs)

• 2 dried bay leaves

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 sprig rosemary

• a few sprigs of thyme

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 6 tbs unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1. Roast the garlic. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pointy (top) ends off each head of garlic, then place each, cut side up, in a piece of foil and drizzle with 1 tsp of olive oil. Close the foil tightly, then roast the garlic at least 40 minutes, or until softened and smelling glorious. Set aside.

2. While garlic is roasting, fry the shallots. In a saute pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom and up the sides slightly. Heat over medium heat until shimmering, then add the shallots in an even layer. Fry until crispy and golden, at least 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and cool, then toss with the minced chives and set aside.

3. Fill a large pot with well-salted (like the sea) water and bring to a boil. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and keep in a bowl of water until ready to add to the pot. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Add the drained potatoes to the boiling water, and boil for 15 minutes, until easily pierced by a fork. Add the cauliflower after the first 5 minutes.

4. While potatoes and cauliflower are boiling, prepare the cream mixture. Add the cream to a small pot with the bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme and bring to a boil (watch to make sure it doesn’t boil over!) for about 5 minutes. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and set aside.

5. Once the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through, remove from heat, drain, then add back to the pot. Add the cream and the butter, then squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves into the pot and mash everything together until well-combined. Taste and adjust for salt as needed. Keep warm on low heat, covered, until ready to serve. Top with shallots and chives mixture and enjoy!

Notes:

• These work really well as a dish to make ahead of everything else and then keep warm on the stove until you are ready to eat, or you can even make them a day or two ahead and reheat when you want to eat them. I would make the shallot topping the day you plan to eat.