I’m very much a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving. By that I mean, I’d prefer to have the classic sides I grew up with and/or adopted years ago rather than getting overly experimental the one time of year I make most of these dishes.
The one year I tried alternative takes, I was disappointed for an entire year that I didn’t just make my favorites and enjoy them. I’m sure cornbread stuffing is fine, and in fact, when I made it at not-Thanksgiving, it was quite good. But when I made it in place of my usual bread and sausage stuffing, it was just wrong.
Since declaring myself a traditionalist, I have been in control in the kitchen and gotten accustomed to my meals and have everything timed just right.
That is, until this year. We have for the first time in years planned to spend time with my family out of state, and I won’t be making my full array. I may still try to sneak in one side or dessert.
But because of that, it’s giving me a chance to experiment with things that I most definitely would not be making at Thanksgiving. So, digging into Food & Wine’s Thanksgiving edition, I was excited to find things that I could now try without ruining my own traditional dishes.
Of course, what stuck out most was the thing that looked like it was basically my sausage stuffing stuffed into artichokes.
It was not a meal to make mid-week and not one to make on the night of the most recent Democratic debate but between volunteering for my preferred caucus candidate, taking care of aging cats, and work and life in general, it was the only time I had.
The stuffing, however, was much more like a meatball, even with my addition of way more bread material than called for. But if you’re like me and can eat an entire artichoke on your own, it at least had artichoke-sized servings.
The additions of potatoes, while tasty, are not necessary considering the amount the artichokes make but if you are an experimenter at Thanksgiving, it’s a great way to make two sides at once.
For me, it won’t replace my usual stuffing recipe any time soon, but it was quite delightful and I’m glad I made it.
If you’re more experimental or just want to save it for later, here’s what I did, making some slight alterations to the original:
Ingredients
- 4 large fresh artichokes
- 1 lb. fresh pork sausage (recipe recommends bratwurst with casings removed, but as I’ve mentioned, I love Beeler’s breakfast sausage for any sausage needs; it’s perfect)
- 1 c. ¼ in.-cubed baguette
- 1 c. panko, or other dried bread crumbs
- 1 c. Chardonnay, divided
- ¼ c. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 T. garlic paste
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 T. Dijon mustard, plus more for serving, if desired
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ lb. small gold potatoes (optional)
- Melted butter, for serving (optional)
Directions
Bring a large pot (or pots, in my case, and definitely not my too-short-for-stemmed-artichokes Dutch oven) of water to a boil over high heat on the stove top. Add salt, if desired, and add the artichokes. Place a heatproof dish on top of the artichokes to keep them submerged, and boil on high for about 15 minutes until a paring knife can easily be inserted halfway through the stems. Remove the artichokes from the water and let drain in a strainer, stem sides up, until they’re cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the sausage, bread cubes, panko, ¼ c. of wine, parsley, garlic, egg yolks, Dijon mustard, and pepper. Use your hands to combine until roughly meatball texture.
When artichokes are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and loosen the leaves at the center of the artichokes. (While it’s good to be careful, I found the artichokes to be fairly pliable so it was easiest to push out the tougher pieces to be sure to remove the prickly center chokes. A spoon helped but fingers still worked best, even if it was painful.) Stuff the sausage mixture evenly into each cleaned artichoke center.
Place the artichokes, stem sides down, in a large Dutch oven. Arrange the potatoes, if using, around the artichokes. Add water to a depth of about 1 inch (I didn’t measure, just guessed, and reused the water from the initial boiling.), and then add the remaining ¾ c. of wine to the Dutch oven. Over medium-high heat, bring the liquid to a simmer. Once boiling, cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven.
Bake for about 55 minutes, or until the artichokes and potatoes are tender and the sausage cooked through. Remove from heat and let stand about 10 minutes, and then enjoy with additional mustard and butter, as desired.
Programming note: I’ll post my next pseudo-Thanksgiving dish on Wednesday, ahead of the holiday, and it’ll be a dessert that can be made any time over the holiday, or likewise saved for later.