COOKING WITH CLORIS -- MERLOT CARROTS

Today Cloris serves up a side dish that’s the perfect accompaniment for your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey. -- AP

MERLOT CARROTS

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Merlot

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 Tablespoon butter

1-1/2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup cranberry jam

2-1/2 lbs. carrots, sliced

Combine Merlot and cranberries in a small bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.

Drain the cranberries, reserving the Merlot. Melt butter in a Dutch oven.  Sauté carrots in butter for about 5 minutes. Add sugar. Cook over medium heat until sugar melts. Add the Merlot, lemon juice, and jam. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens. Stir in the cranberries. Cook for an additional ten minutes or until carrots are desired tenderness.


What do you always serve on Thanksgiving? Tell us for a chance to win a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

COOKING WITH CLORIS -- CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND SPINACH STUFFING

Last week Cloris featured a slow cooker stuffing. Today she’s got one that goes in the bird. -- AP
CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND SPINACH STUFFING
(for a 12-14 lb. turkey)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. sundried chicken sausage, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 lbs. fresh spinach, washed and torn

1/2 cup butter

2 cups chopped celery

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cups crumbled cornbread

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup cold water

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

In a Dutch oven brown sausage in oil. Place sausage in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter. Add celery and onion. Sauté until tender. Add spinach, continuing to cook until spinach wilts. Add sausage and remaining ingredients. Stir well. Spoon into turkey. Cook turkey as you would any stuffed turkey. Extra stuffing can be cooked in a greased baking dish at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

We’re all heading to Cloris’s house for Thanksgiving. Want to come? -- AP