Stuffing

By mhyde

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage without casing
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground veal
• 2 pounds uncooked rice
• 1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, diced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash turkey and dry with paper towel. Rub turkey with olive oil and then sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper all over turkey and inside cavity.

In a small bowl, mix soft butter with chopped herbs and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Separate skin of turkey from the breast and using your hand, place the herb butter mixture between the skin and the breast, and place pats of butter on the outside of the turkey.

In a large roasting pan, place rough chopped vegetable on base of pan, place turkey on top, add chicken broth and place in oven at 350 degrees. Baste turkey every half hour.

Turkey should take 3 1/2 hours to cook or reach internal temperature of 155 degrees.

Remove turkey from the pan when cooked. Strain all the drippings with a fine strainer. Remove fat from surface with a spoon. Place natural drippings in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Take all-purpose flour and mix to a thick consistency with water, making sure there are no lumps. With a whisk blend in slowly flour mixture into the drippings until gravy has thickened. Hold until ready to serve.

For the stuffing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, brown the sausage in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Move it to a large bowl. Sauté the onion, beef and veal in the remaining olive oil until brown and add it to the bowl.

Cook the rice according to the package directions until al dente. In a large bowl, stir together the meat, rice, chicken broth, mozzarella and Parmesan.

Place the mixture in a casserole dish, and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.