Thanksgiving favorites part 2 ciabatta stuffing

stuffing is one of the stars of the thanksgiving meal....i make my own ..... i don't put it in the bird and i don't grind up any of the giblets and sneak them in either......for many years i bought the bag of pepperidge farm seasoned stuffing and added all of my own veggies...then i  saw enough chefs on tv put so many different things in stuffing that i decided why not branch out...i love really good bread...so why not start out with great bread?   Giada De Laurentis made a stuffing with ciabatta bread that sounded really good to me...but I don't like chestnuts and parmesan cheese just doesn't say thanksgiving to me.  so i started with some of the basics in Giada's recipe and made some changes, ...replacing the chestnuts with apples. losing the parm and adding bacon..

kelsey made this beautiful pumpkin for the table decoration
 (hand carved and lit with battery operated lights. 

 recipe after the jump

Thanksgiving favorites: Parker House Rolls

thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays for as far back as i can remember and that is pretty far.   tilly always cooked for thanksgiving...she had a big ritual...(thinking back i don't know how she was able to afford all of the fruits and nuts and the turkey, pies and trimmings)...i remember how she worked in the kitchen for the whole week... i thought it was amazing......it was the highlight of the year for me to sleep over at gramma's the night before thanksgiving and participate in the process.  there was the grinding of all the disgusting turkey parts with the metal meat grinder bolted to the counter...the peeling of the mini onions....fascinating.   tilly's kitchen was tiny, so we always had thanksgiving on a big folding table in the living room...i  helped set the table and carried out the appetizers and all of the dishes as tilly got them ready to go.  she used cut glass bowls for the cranberry sauce, gherkin pickles and olives....   i cook at home every thanksgiving that i possibly can.  karen makes a few dishes and brit and kelsey also participate ...finding new recipes...making new traditions and keeping some of tilly's.....  those cut glass dishes are on the table every year.. 

tilly in the kitchen on thanksgiving

Parker house rolls recipe after the jump