Disappearance of the Universe

If you haven’t read Gary Renard’s book, The Disappearance of the Universe, yet, I highly recommend it. I read it in 2006 and it led me to other books and information over the last couple of years that have changed my perception of life in general. Regardless of your religion or your belief in channeled information, this book will change the way you see the world in a positive yet inquisitive way. I won’t tell you any more about it…it’ll spoil all the secrets! And, even if you don’t believe a single word of it is true, just consider it a delightfully entertaining story!

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Thanksgiving, Italian Style

If you grew up in an Italian family as I did, you would’ve learned early on that the main attraction for any holiday or special event was the FOOD! The food served was ultimately more important than Santa at Christmas, the bride at her wedding, or even the deceased at his funeral. These celebratory and solemn gatherings provided the perfect venue for the real reason everyone got together—to eat lots of Italian food!

Our Thanksgiving meal started out with some sort of pasta. Perhaps lasagna followed by a variety of meats and meatballs that were cooked in the pasta sauce. This to most would have constituted an entire meal sans dessert, but not for us. In an effort to celebrate this American holiday, turkey was served…after the pasta and meatballs. My mother often threw a pork roast in the oven as well…just for variety. Needless to say, we had a lot of turkey left over for sandwiches. There were side dishes as well, however not the traditional kind. Potatoes were not mashed, but roasted with onions, olive oil and grated Romano cheese. We never had turnips or creamed corn. Stuffed mushrooms and fried zucchini were more likely to accompany the turkey.

We did make something we called “stuffing” that could’ve been a meal all by itself. I loved it so much that I continue to make it for my guests every year. If you want to add an Italian flavor to your Thanksgiving meal this year, here’s the recipe for my Italian Style Stuffing.


Italian Style Stuffing

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 lb bulk turkey sausage meat
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup diced celery (2-3 stalks)
1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms – stems removed (1 - 6 oz package) (may sub white mushrooms)
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 cup chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (½bunch)
1 ¼ cup grated Romano cheese
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup canned chicken broth

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook rice as directed and put aside to cool.

Spread bulk sausage meat into a large frying pan. Cook on medium heat, stirring and turning the meat for about 10 minutes until fully cooked. Drain fat and put aside to cool.

Slightly heat the oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add the celery, onions and mushrooms. Cook about 5 minutes until veggies are soft. Add the rosemary and parsley. Cook one more minute and put aside to cool.

Place cooled and cooked sausage meat in a food processor until texture is fine and smooth (no lumps). Combine sausage meat with cooled rice and cooled vegetable mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add pine nuts, raisins, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken stock.

Transfer mixture to 13X9 inch oven pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until fully warmed and slightly browned around edges.

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