Cranberry Pecan Stuffing
I know, I know, Alton Brown says you should always make your stuffing separately, not actually stuff your bird with it. But we made this stuffing when friends from out of town were visiting, and it was splendid stuffed right into the duck we roasted for dinner one night.
I’ve had a cold for the past few weeks, and Dave is just starting to come down with the same thing now. We spent part of the holidays visiting his family down in Philly, and head home tomorrow. I’m ready for some easy comfort food like this, to help us limp through New Year’s and towards better health together. Have to build up my strength – I have at least one trial on in January, and more to come. Life, it is still not boring.
While I’m on a total tangent, let me ramble a bit about the latest turn my practice has taken. I feel like an old country doctor lately. I’ve been doing house calls and hospital visits to execute powers of attorney and wills and such for elderly patients who simply can’t make it out to my office on their own. It’s very satisfying – I like to pretend that I’m traveling old country roads instead of the NYC subway system, that I’m visiting in the dead of night in the middle of a storm instead of in early afternoon during a light flurry of snow and sleet and rain. It’s a small part of what I do lately, but it has a sort of fun that I just don’t find anywhere else.
As soon as I turned 18, my Dad started taking me to visit his elderly clients at home and in hospitals to witness will signings. It’s weirdly one of the real cozy pleasures of the business, being able to do that.
It’s on my mind this month, since I did a few earlier in the month, and over the holidays and bouts of sneezing, coziness and home are very much on my mind. I always have to resist the urge to bring along gifts of homemade cookies when I head out for these signings. Probably inappropriate, under the circumstances. But it’s all tied together in my head.
It’s like feeding people. A way of reaching out to take care of each other.
It’s a grand life.
Happy new year, in case I don’t have a chance to post again this week! May your 2009 contain joy, health, and interesting times in only the very best of ways.
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Cranberry Pecan Stuffing
1/2 C wild rice
1/2 C dried cranberries
1 shallot, finely chopped
leaves from 3 sprigs rosemary, chopped
leaves from 1 sprig thyme
1/4 C pecans, coarsely chopped
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cook the wild rice in salted water and some duck stock, if you have it. This should take 20 minutes in a pressure cooker at a high pressure, or you can cook it on the stove for longer. When the rice is done, set it aside to finish up the rest.
Gently saute the shallot, rosemary, thyme, and pecans in olive oil for about ten minutes. Towards the end, stir in the dried cranberries, and finally, stir in the rice.
You can use this stuffing to actually stuff a duck or other fowl before roasting, or serve it separately as a side dish on its own.
Happy 2009 Danielle and Dave! Sorry you are sniffling through into the new year. I wish much coziness this winter.
I love duck and the stuffing sounds delightful.
xo