My part of the feast

This year we are sharing Thanksgiving dinner with at least two others families at our church, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm roasting two donated turkeys and bringing the dressing, four blueberry pies and many gallons of iced tea, plus a special touch I'll dedicate the next post to. Another church member gave me the blueberries that he had picked and frozen this summer. Here are the recipes and photos.


Traditional Bread Stuffing With Herbs (forefront of photo) on last year's Thanksgiving buffet

TRADITIONAL BREAD STUFFING WITH HERBS

1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick)
5 large celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 14 1/2-ounce can chicken broth
2 16-ounce loaves sliced firm white bread, lightly toasted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 325. In 12-inch skillet, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion, and cook 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in thyme, salt, pepper, sage, chicken broth and 1/2 cup water; remove skillet from heat.

Place bread cubes in very large bowl. Add celery mixture and parsley; toss to mix well.

Spoon stuffing into 13-inch-by-9-inch glass baking dish; cover with foil and bake 40 minutes or until heated through. Makes about 12 cups.

Originally published in Good Housekeeping magazine in 1999.




I made many Blueberry Dream Pies this summer. One time I even replaced the sugar with a sweetener to make a version for diabetics and people thought it was just as good. One of my pies won a blue ribbon for best presentation at the school fall festival. I changed the method for the garnish to get it to brown so read the recipe through.

BLUEBERRY DREAM PIE

Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)

CHEESE FILLING:
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg yolk

BLUEBERRY FILLING:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint or 1 teaspoon dried mint
1 egg white, beaten

Line a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate with bottom crust. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 375°.

Cut decorative cutouts in remaining pastry. Place on a cookie sheet, brush with egg white, sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 375° for 9 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk until blended. Spread into crust.

In a large saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and cornstarch; stir in water until smooth. Stir in 2 cups berries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly. Gently stir in the lemon juice, mint and remaining berries. Pour over cheese filling.

Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Place pre-baked leaves on top of pie at this time. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece equals 442 calories, 18 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 46 mg cholesterol, 269 mg sodium, 67 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 5 g protein.

Blueberry Dream Pie published in Taste of Home August/September 2010, p64