1 recipe cornbread, day old and crumbled (recipe follows)
1 1/2 lbs garlic sausage, (you can use any sausage you like)
1 tsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 leek, white part only, washed, trimmed & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (plus more if needed)
3 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tbsp butter, in a small dice

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Preheat a saute pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 1 tsp canola oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot add the sausage, removed from the casings, into the pan. Use a spoon or spatula to break up the sausage. Brown the sausage for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow all areas to brown evenly.

Remove browned sausage from pan using a slotted spoon. Transfer to a paper towel lined dish to drain some of the oil.

Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the rendered fat from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and place the saute pan back on the burner. Add the onion, celery, pepper and leek to the pan. Saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the garlic to the pan and saute for another 1-2 minutes.

While the veggies are sauteing, place the crumbled cornbread and browned sausage into a large mixing bowl.

Once the veggies have finished sauteing, add them to the mixing bowl with the cornbread. Add all remaining ingredients except butter to the bowl. Stir to combine. If the stuffing appears on the dry-side, stir in more chicken broth in 1/4 cup increments.

Place stuffing into a greased 13×9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Sprinkle diced, cold butter over the top of the stuffing.

Place stuffing in preheated 375 degree oven. Bake at 375 for about 40-50 minutes, or until the top is golden and the stuffing is cooked through. Remove from oven and serve hot! Enjoy!

Notes:
*You may vary the temperature at which the stuffing is cooked, as is often necessary with holiday meals. For 350 degrees, cook the stuffing for about 1 hour. For 400 or 425 degrees cook for about 30 minutes.

2 cups yellow corn meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Oil a 3-quart baking dish (glass, enamel-coated, or cast iron will work)with 1 tbsp room-temperature butter and place into preheated oven. Preheat pan for about 7 minutes until pan is hot. Butter may brown.

While the pan is heating, add the first 6 ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine evenly.

In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, whole milk and eggs. Whisk to combine thoroughly.

Add the melted butter and milk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until just mixed through. Do not over stir. (Batter will be very thin.)

Remove hot baking dish from oven. Pour batter directly into hot baking dish. Place into preheated 450 degree oven. Bake at 450 for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. (A few specks of cornbread are alright but no batter!) Allow corn bread to cool for 10 minutes before serving. If saving for use in cornbread stuffing, allow bread to cool completely before covering. Enjoy!

Herb Oil:
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp fresh oregano, minced
3 tbsp olive oil

Rub:
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp red chile flakes

1 bone-in turkey breast

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Add the ingredients for the herb oil into a small bowl. Stir to combine thoroughly.

In a different small bowl, add all of the ingredients for the rub. Stir to combine thoroughly.

Place the turkey breast on sheet or roasting pan. Using your fingers, gently work your way beneath the skin of the turkey to create an air pocket between the meat and the skin. Do not fully remove the skin.

Rub the herb oil into every crevice of the turkey breast, making sure to season liberally beneath the skin. (This is the only way to actually get the seasoning to the meat itself.) Next, use the spice rub to season the every inch of the turkey, again, making sure to get a liberal amount of seasoning beneath the skin.

Make sure the breast is skin-side up on the roasting pan, then place into a preheated 425 degree oven. Roast the turkey breast for 45-55 minutes at 425 until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 170 degrees. Make sure that the thermometer does not touch any bones as this will skew the reading. Remove roasted turkey breast from oven and cover loosely. Allow breast to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

6 small sweet potatoes, peeled (if using larger potatoes you will need more filling and prosciutto)
1/8 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
3 fresh sage leaves, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
3-4 oz very thinly sliced prosciutto
kosher salt
canola oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Peel potatoes then place into a pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Season water liberally with kosher salt. Place pot w/ potatoes over high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, continue to cook the sweet potatoes for another 5 minutes. Potatoes may not be cooked completely but will finish cooking in the oven.

While the potatoes are boiling make the stuffing. Add the crumbled blue cheese, rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic & black pepper to a bowl. Mash ingredients together using a fork or spoon until the herbs have been fully incorporated into the blue cheese. Set aside until potatoes are ready.

Once the potatoes have finished par-boiling remove them from the water. Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes before handling to avoid burning! Once slightly cooled, slice potatoes in halve length-wise. Make sure to remember which two halves go together, as you will be sealing up the filling.

Using a small spoon (I used a 1/4 tsp for this)scrape out a shallow path, length-wise down the middle of each side of the potato. The path should only be a millimeter or two deep.

Fill the bottom half each potato with about 1-2 tsp of the blue cheese herb mixture, spreading it evenly throughout the shallow path. Do not over fill the potatoes. Place the top half of the potato over the bottom to form a whole sweet potato. Try to gently work the halves closed so that the stuffing doesn’t seep out during the cooking process. Repeat this process with all of the potatoes.

Wrap each of the stuffed sweet potatoes with very thinly sliced prosciutto, working carefully so the prosciutto doesn’t rip. Try to wrap the prosciutto as tightly as possible.

Once all the potatoes are wrapped, place them on a sheet pan and drizzle with canola oil. Gently rotate each potato making sure all sides of the prosciutto gets a thin layer of oil.

Place potatoes into a 425 degree oven. Cook potatoes for 10 minutes, then flip the potatoes 1/4 turn. Cook for another 15 minutes, turning the potatoes another 1/4 turn after 5 minutes, and again after 10 minutes. This will insure that all of the prosciutto will have a chance to crisp. Remove from oven and serve hot. Enjoy!

1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig rosemary
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb dried small white beans, rinsed and picked through
1 lb ham steak, fat removed then diced
1 smoked ham hock
10 cups of water, plus extra if needed
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Place a large pot over medium heat. Add oil to pot. Once the oil is hot, add diced onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Stir. Saute over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the carrots are softened.
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Add the dried white beans, garlic, bay leaf, dried oregano & basil to the pot. Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Add the ham hock, diced ham, parsley and rosemary sprig to the pot. Cover the ingredients with about 8 cups of water. Add 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Stir.

Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Once you reach a boil, reduce heat to medium low. Simmer soup over medium low heat for 2 - 2 1/2 hours until the beans are tender. If soup starts to get too thick, add a bit more water.

Once beans are soft, remove the ham hock and rosemary sprig. Taste then season as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Soup can be made a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve hot with hot sauce on the side for those who like it (ME!). Enjoy!