24 November 2010 Viaduct

Vy not a chicken? Old vaudeville joke, old laughs, limited audience and dwindling understanding of why it is funny.

Why a duck? Because we like duck and rarely have it. Because the two of us don’t need a turkey. There’s no room in our refrigerator to thaw a turkey. A duck will just fit.

I found a great-sounding recipe this morning for a roast fennel-lemon dressing/stuffing. We had almost everthing needed on the shelf except two bulbs of fennel. I went grocery shopping this morning. We still have no fennel. There’s no good substitute for fennel. Perhaps we’ll have it next year.

For those of you who like pancetta, here’s something that I think will be tasty.



Caramelized Onion with Pancetta & Rosemary Stuffing

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 2 large sweet onions, diced (about

• 3 cups)

• 1 package (4 ounces) cubed pancetta (about 1 cup)

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1 cup)

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

• 3 cups Swanson Chicken broth (Regular, Natural Goodness or Certified Organic)

• 1/4 cup sherry

• 1 package (14 ounces) Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned stuffing

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Heat the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 15 minutes or until well browned, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir the pancetta, garlic, celery and rosemary in the saucepan and cook until the pancetta is well browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in the broth and sherry and heat to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the stuffing and mix lightly. Spoon the stuffing mixture into a greased 3-quart casserole. Cover the casserole.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the stuffing mixture is hot.

Preparation Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Bake Time

30 minutes

Serves

Makes 12 servings (about 3/4 cup each)



And also interesting, if you have some fennel:



Roasted Fennel with Lemon Stuffing



Ingredients

• 2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and diced (about 3 cups)

• 2 medium sweet onions, chopped (about 2 cups)

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 4 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

• 3 cups Swanson Chicken broth (Regular, Natural Goodness or Certified Organic)

• 1 package (14 ounces) Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned stuffing

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Place the fennel, onions and garlic into a large bowl. Add the oil and toss to coat. Spoon the fennel mixture onto 2 rimmed baking sheets.

2. Roast for 30 minutes or until the fennel mixture is lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Stir the fennel mixture, lemon zest, parsley, pine nuts and broth in a large bowl. Add the stuffing and mix lightly. Spoon the stuffing mixture into a greased 3-quart casserole. Cover the casserole.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the stuffing mixture is hot.

Preparation Time

25 minutes

Roast Time

30 minutes

Bake Time

30 minutes

Serves

Makes 12 servings (about 3/4 cup each)



Safe travel and happy thanksgiving!