A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING TRADITION… BAKED RICOTTA STUFFING… THAT I MADE, AND YOU CAN TOO!

 

Thanksgiving is all about family, traditions and… FOOD!

The dinner is usually Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Carrots, Yams, Gravy and for dessert… PIE!  But you cannot not forget… the Stuffing.

There’s all different types of stuffing that use bread, sometimes sausages, sometimes chestnuts.  But in our family, we have a tradition of making a stuffing that’s entirely different.  Today, I’ll tell you about it and even better show you how to make it!

This stuffing has been in my family for more than five generations.  I know that my Great-Great-Grandmother made it, because my Great-Aunt Kitty told us she did (by-the-way, Aunt Kitty doesn’t like stuffing this way, she prefers the bread type stuffing).  My Grandpa, made it with his Mom… my Dad and Uncle Peter made it with my Grandpa… and today, I made it with my Dad! It doesn’t really have a name, other than “Stuffing” so we’ll just call it…

Baked Ricotta Thanksgiving Stuffing

Ingredients

1 Tub of Whole Milk Ricotta (48 Ounce)

6 Eggs

1 Cup and a 1/2 of Chopped Parsley

1 Cup and a 1/4 of Italian Breadcrumbs

1 Cup (maybe a little bit more) of Peccorino Romano Grated Cheese

1 1/4 Cup of Pine (Pignole) Nuts

Black Pepper

Salt

1) Ask an adult to Pre-Heat the oven to 350 degrees

2)  In a large bowl crack six eggs, add a teaspoon of black pepper and a couple of pinches of salt (not too much salt, because the cheese makes it salty enough)

3) Add Ricotta to the Eggs

4) Add Parsley, Bread Crumbs, Pine Nuts and Grated Cheese

And now the fun part… Make sure your hands are really clean!

5) Put your hands in the bowl and start folding it… make sure it’s all mixed well. It’s really fun, because you get your hands all full of the cheese… and it’s really squishy and cold.

6) Grease two regular size loaf pans (8 inch kind) with butter, make sure you spread it really well then…

7) With a wooden spoon gently put the mix into the loaf pans… when you’re done… bang the pan on the counter to get the air out and even it all out 

8) Put it in the oven and let it bake for about an hour… (if it starts to get too brown on top, cover it with tin foil)… 

9) You’ll know when it’s done when you stick a knife in it and it does not come out too wet and it looks like this.

10) Let it set for a while then… dive in!

The Stuffing goes really well with the gravy and the cranberry sauce (if you like one or the other).  The fun part about the recipe, is that you can choose to add a little more of one ingredient like parsley or cheese or the pine nuts so you can be a little creative depending on your taste.

Thanksgiving was my Grandpa’s favorite holiday… and me making the stuffing would have made him really proud of me.  Every family should have at least one tradition on Thanksgiving, whether it’s a family football game or a special dish they can cook together because it’s really a time to be thankful and spend time together.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM SUNDAY DINERS!

The Churros At Stamford’s Lorca Are A Slam Dunk!

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Lorca, 125 Bedford Street, Stamford, CT www.lorcastamford.com

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Lorca is a new spot in Stamford that specializes in Churros.  A Churro is a type of fried dough that is from Spain, it’s like a Spanish dounut, but you get to dip them in delicious sauces.  I never had them before, but my dad did when he would visit Spain, sometimes his grandma made them for him, he also told me that it’s popular in Spain to have Churros as a late-night snack after you go out to nightclubs.

The first thing that I wanted to know was who or what was Lorca?  I found out that Lorca is the name of a very famous Spanish poet, Frederico García Lorca, who the owner loves.  Lorca is owned by Leyla Dam who grew up in Spain and Brooklyn.  She learned how to make Churros in Spain, which is why they are so good.

Outside, Lorca looks like any other coffee shop or restaurant, but when you go inside you see a neon sign that says in big letters “Coffee and Churros”… and a beautiful, colorful mural that reminded my dad and I of the Spanish artist Miro.  There are a few small tables, cool lights and they play great music.  The staff are also very nice.

Now about the food. I started with a Vanilla Steamer, which is steamed milk with Vanilla -it tasted just like melted ice-cream. Dad had a Cortado coffee that they made a design of a heart in the foam.  For breakfast I had Churros!!!  I had them with two of their dipping sauces – Dulce De Leche and Dark Chocolate.  They also have a hazelnut chocolate dipping sauce that I will try next time.  The Churros are crunchy but are soft on the inside and are made fresh for every customer, by Leyla herself – and they were tasty – I had five and could have had twenty more!

I spoke with Leyla Dam, who owns Lorca about Churros and asked, “What’s the difference between an American donut and a Churro other than the shape?”

She told me that, “Even though they are both a type of fried dough, Churros, are not made with yeast, so, you don’t have to wait for it to rise after you make the dough to fry it.”

I also asked Leyla, “What is your favorite dipping sauce?”

She said, “I love the dark chocolate dipping sauce, because that’s the one I grew up with in Spain.”

Lorca is a great place for kids because it’s fun and because kids love to dunk everything!

The Sunday Diner Rating (Out of Cinco) 

FOOD * * * * * (Cinco)

SERVICE  * * * * * (Cinco)

LOOKS * * * * *  (Cinco)

BATHROOM * * * * *  (Cinco) 

Thanks Catherine, Leyla and Dave for the great food and for being so nice!