Food For Thought

On this the day of Turkey and Thanksgiving, I'd just like to take a blogging moment to express my gratitude for food. I love food. I look cooking food. I love eating food. I love sharing food. Food is full of memories. I love my mom's apple cider. . .it reminds me of Halloween nights. Goulash reminds me of my grandma's kitchen on Saturday mornings when we'd all gather around for haircuts. Chocolate covered cinnamon bears are representative of busy days at the flower shop. On the flip-side, I haven't eaten a Frito since Thanksgiving of 2003. We had a run-in with a bout of the stomach flu & I've never been the same.

So, my friend, Heidi has called for some leftover turkey recipes. In the spirit of the holiday, I'd like to share one I spotted on the Rachel Ray Show yesterday while Kimmy & I were waiting for Studio 5 taping. It's called Thanksgiving Stromboli & it looks quite tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough, recommended brand Pillsbury
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornmeal
• 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
• 3 cups leftover turkey, shredded
• 2 cups leftover stuffing
• 2 cups aged white cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO. . .one of the things I dislike about R.R.)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 cups leftover gravy

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Yields: 4 servings

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Preparation

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Break open the tube of dough and remove it from container. Dust your hands and lightly cover your work surface with flour or cornmeal. Roll or stretch the dough out slightly then cut it lengthwise and across to make four sections.

Spread a spoonful of cranberry sauce across one section on a diagonal.

Layer the turkey and stuffing down the middle of the dough going from one corner to the opposite corner in a diagonal line. Cover the turkey and stuffing with the cheddar. (Be careful not to overstuff the stromboli or they won't wrap up!)

Tuck the two corner edges over the filling -- you should have turkey mixture running down the middle with some filling exposed at each end.

Brush with EVOO then sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and pat them into the dough. Place onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until evenly golden. Serve with leftover hot gravy alongside.