The Ultimate Italian Thanksgiving

Add an Italian twist to this holiday with Fabio's sausage mushroom stuffing. And Fabio's perfect roasted bird is easier than you think.

Tips:

  • Secret to keep your stuffing from drying out: Cook it separately. If you avoid cooking stuffing in the bird, you help avoid food-borne illness.

  • How to perfectly roast a chicken: You can't add moisture, you can only prevent it from escaping and drying out your bird. Fabio's trick is to rub the skin with oil for maximum crispness. Start the bird with the oven extremely hot (500 degrees) to crisp the skin for 10 minutes, then take the chicken out, flip it over breast-side down (to seal in the juices), and turn the oven down to 350 degrees to finish for another 45 minutes.

  • The same technique can be used for your Thanksgiving turkey!











SAUSAGE, MUSHROOM, AND CHEESE STUFFING

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

8 cups French baguette or Italian pane rustica, cut into 1" cubes

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup diced yellow onion

2 cups chopped mushrooms

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp dried basil, crushed

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup shredded Provolone cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 cup beef broth

3 sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add onions and mushrooms to the skillet, and toss to coat with the melted butter.

Season with salt, pepper and dried basil.

Increase heat to medium-high, and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the moisture is evaporated and the onions and mushrooms are fully cooked.

Meanwhile, place bread cubes into a large mixing bowl.

Add the mushroom and onion mixture to the bread cubes.

Season again with salt and pepper.

Add the Provolone and Parmesan cheeses, sour cream, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and beef broth to the bread mixture. Mix thoroughly.

Meanwhile, in the same skillet used to cook the mushrooms and onions, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.

Add sausage, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon.

Cook sausage completely, about 10 minutes.

Add the sausage to the bread mixture and stir to fully combine.

Pour the stuffing into a 9x13" baking pan and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until brown and crispy.

Serve alongside roasted chicken or turkey.

MANGIA!!

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yield: 2 - 4 Servings

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, fryer 2-4 pounds

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

5-6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lemon, sliced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sprigs fresh sage

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Method :

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Remove the organs, gizzards and neck from chicken.

Rinse chicken inside and out with cold water.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels so that the oil and seasoning will stick.

Rub oil all over chicken and season heavily with salt and pepper.

Stuff the cavity with garlic, lemon and herbs.

Place chicken in a roasting pan with rack, breast side up, and put into the oven.

Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and brown.

Insert a meat thermometer into the breast, and flip the chicken over, breast side down.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Bake the chicken until the meat thermometer reads 150 degrees F.

Remove chicken from the oven, tent with foil, and let rest until the thermometer reads 165 degrees F, about ten minutes.

Carve the chicken and place on a platter.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and garnish with fresh herbs.

MANGIA!