I hope you all had a safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving on Thursday...Holidays are tied into so many files
in your memory, sometimes good, sometimes bad....and at each Turkey Day table, new ones are created.  I am
not alone when I close my eyes, thinking of Thanksgiving, and the first thoughts are the dishes which have
graced our families' tables.  It wouldn't be Thanksgiving if certain foods were not at the table.  Even the most
"I eat to live, not live to eat" person out there didn't have something on that table that connected them too their
past Thanksgiving experience.  My brother-in-law Andy is my case study du jour here.  Rarely does he comment
on food, or its' preparation, its' history, etc. But at dinner on Thursday,  his eyes lit up when my sister placed the
canned Cranberry Sauce on the table.  Mind you, she cooked up a storm, enough for another 20 people, and he
was appreciative and proud of the dinner he was hosting.  But....his particular memory of Thanksgiving must be
that of the canned sauce.  There was a homemade cranberry orange sauce as well, but that wasn't his point of
reference for this day.  I don't know if he knows it, but his eyes lit up with a sigh of relief that it was there, on the
table, and now, it is Thanksgiving.   So, my case study shows, that foodies and non-foodies alike share the
same feelings when it comes to this holiday.  Warm and fuzzy comes in a can, or not....a sentiment that is some-
where within all of us...
     Having said all of that, my drop-down list of Thanksgiving Table MUST HAVES are:
     Stuffed Mushrooms
     Stuffed Artichokes
     Finocchio(Fennel), raw, crisp, and chilled
     Cranberry Sauce,  ROAST Turkey, stuffing
     Sweet Potatoes, green beans, Mashed Potatoes  
     Manicotti or Lasagne
     Dried Figs and Dates, Assorted nuts for cracking
     Torrone Ferrara, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Cherry Pie
     Antipasto
     now just add another 15 items or more and you can invite me over and I will be very happy.  

     As you can see from the lead picture on this post, great detail was placed in the tablescaping by my sister.
The entire family is like this, inherited from my mom.  Presentation, never more important than taste,
visual appeal enhances the overall experience.  The mushrooms on Thursday were stuffed as usual and were
more than delicious...( I might have had more than was alloted per person, i don't care, I'd do it again ).



How good does that look?   There are lots of variations on stuffed mushrooms, so be creative here.  I will
now post my Thankgiving stuffed mushroom recipe:
30 medium sized mushroom caps
handful of fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley.
1/2 cup pecorino romano, Locatelli preferably
1 minced clove of garlic
3 strips of bacon, diced
1 tsp. oregano
olive oil
2 Italian sausage links with fennel, removed from their casings
1/3 cup diced mozzarella
Italian bread crumbs, about 1 1/2 cups

Pre heat the oven to 375F.  Saute' the sausage meat in a little olive oil.   In another pan, saute' the bacon till
done.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Then add that to the sausage.  Add the garlic
and the oregano. Saute' for another few minutes, blend it well.  In a large bowl, add the cheese, parsley, bread
crumbs, mozzarella.  Blend.  add a little olive oil then the sauteed meat  mixture.  Mix well, but don't pack it down.
Taste for seasoning.  You may want to add pepper and salt, but some of the ingredients are well salted al-
ready...remember you can always add salt, you can never take it away.  Stuff each mushroom with the stuffing
and line them up in a baking dish.  When completed, drizzle some olive oil over them, and a sprinkle of any
wine you have..the wine flavor bakes in with the mushrooms and their juices and makes for a great item to
dip some good rolls or italian bread in...Bake for 20 minutes and serve...lots of porky and cheesy, smoky
flavors....Mom's recipe calls for pouring  some San Marzanos over them...I do this at Christmas time...

     I guess it's time to cease the Turkey Day talk until next year....The sound of Irish Celtic Christmas and
Jamaican Reggae Carols is permeating the house right now....over the river and through the woods....here
comes the onslaught of the Christmas preparations...