With so many last minute things to do for Thanksgiving dinner, people are always searching for make ahead Thanksgiving recipes.  Many of the luxury foods we prepare are best cooked very close to serving time.  There are two vegetable side dishes which can be prepared ahead of time, Harticots Verts and Brussels Sprouts.  Personally, I think both of these vegetables are better when they are cooked a bit longer; therefore, the dish can be prepared the day before, refrigerated, and reheated in the oven or a skillet.

For the Brussels Sprouts, I always cook them in water before cooking them in a skillet.  The blanching process takes some of the bitter flavor which some Brussels sprouts have.  Cut the Brussels sprouts in half if desired and cook for about 5 minutes or longer (until slightly tender) in boiling, salted water.  Meanwhile, cook chopped pork or duck bacon in the skillet until crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving most of the bacon fat in the skillet.  Then saute an onion or 2 shallots in the bacon fat until golden brown and very soft.  Add the Brussels sprouts to the onions or shallots.  Cook until the sprouts are fully cooked.  If the pan gets too dry, add chicken stock once or twice to keep the vegetables moist.  Season with salt, pepper, and cumin if desired.  Return the cooked duck bacon to the pan.  Serve or let cook and refrigerate until ready to use.

I use the same recipe for the Harticots Verts, except I do not cook the beans in water first.  One the bacon is browned, and the onions are browned, I add the Harticots Verts to the skillet, add some chicken stock as needed to keep the Haricots Verts moist, and cook until the beans are tender and slightly browned.  Harticots Verts are much more tender than most larger sized green beans; but Blue Lake, or other green beans can also be used for this recipe.

This foie gras stuffing is not cooked in the bird and has an untraditional combination of ingredients.  It’s really pretty easy to prepare, but it is probably best prepared shortly before serving.  We’ve still included this recipe in our “make ahead Thanksgiving recipes” category, because it can be fully prepared ahead of time and reheated before serving.  If you plan to prepare the foie gras stuffing before serving, be sure not to cook the foie gras too much.  Otherwise, when it is reheated, the foie gras may get overcooked.  When prepared just before serving, the bread cubes (more like croutons) have a lovely crunch, which pairs well with the soft almost caramelized apples, rich foie gras, cranberries and wilted arugula.  For a more traditional, moister stuffing, simply add more jus.  When this foie gras stuffing is refrigerated and reheated, it will be much moister, and the bread cubes will be soft.  Reheating in a saute pan seemed to work just fine…

While a whole lobe of foie gras can be cut into 1 inch cubes, pieces of foie gras cut into small, but irregular pieces works fine too.  Hudson Valley’s Foie Gras Cubes are really perfect for this recipe and at $50 per pound, it’s a more economical product.

We prepared this foie gras stuffing with fresh duck breasts and used the juices from the duck breast along with some chicken stock.  This stuffing would also go well with turkey, chicken, quail, or squab.

2 pounds fresh foie gras, cut into 1-inch cubes (foie gras cubes work great)
6 medium-sized Honey Crisp or Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups chestnuts, roasted and peeled, cut in half or quartered
5 cups arugula, stems removed
1½ cups cippolini onions, peeled and cut into 1 inch wedges
6 ½ cups foccacia bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 – 1 cup roasted duck, turkey, or chicken drippings/jus
4 Tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons sage, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Once all the ingredients above have been prepared, put the cubed bread in a bowl and toss with the minced garlic and olive oil. Toast the bread cubes in a 450 degree oven until golden brown, 5 – 10 minutes.

Heat a very large heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. Season the chunks of foie gras with salt and pepper and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes. (If the heat is too high, the fat will turn brown, which is not optimal.) Remove the foie gras from the pan, leaving about ¾ cup of the foie gras fat in the pan. Set aside any extra foie gras fat for another use. Add the onions and apples and cook until golden brown. Towards the end of the cooking time, add the chestnuts. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl. Wilt the arugula in the warm pan with some of the remaining fat, then add to apples, onions and chestnut mixture. Add the dried cranberries, the chunks of foie gras and the toasted bread cubes and mix well. Season with salt and pepper if needed and add the chopped herbs and duck, turkey, or chicken jus. The bread cubes will still be crisp. If a more moist stuffing is preferred, add more jus or use a high quality stock.

Serves 10 – 12.