Dining In: Gather together

Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, and instead of agonizing over how to prepare your holiday bird, we have a fun alternative for you this month.

It’s a homemade turducken, which, as its name suggests, is a whole, de-boned turkey stuffed with a whole duck stuffed with a whole chicken. Between each layer of meat is a layer of dressing or stuffing, and the entire thing is roasted for several hours.

It is a true labor of love to put this together, which is why most people opt to just order one. There are many butcher shops and meat markets in south Louisiana that sell and ship these creations all over the country.

Tracey decided this month to try her hand at a homemade Easy Turducken, adjusting the recipe to make it user-friendly. There are several simple shortcuts that make putting together this poultry-heavy dish a lot easier than you might suspect.

In place of de-boning a whole turkey, duck and chicken, Tracey used boneless turkey breast tenderloins and boneless duck and chicken breasts. All of these may be found at stores like Whole Foods or Fresh Market and are more readily available this time of year.

We have included a delicious Cornbread and Sausage Dressing recipe, but this turducken works with any type of dressing or stuffing, whether bread-based or rice-based.

To accompany the turducken, we have two easy and delicious sides just right for a holiday get-together. First is a Twice-baked Sweet Potato topped with crumbled sweet and spicy bacon, along with Brussels Sprouts in Brown Butter, Garlic and Lemon. Both dishes are easy to make and complement the turducken perfectly.

To finish off this fall feast, Tracey has made a Rustic Pear Tart that is finished with a crunchy butter-oatmeal topping. It is an easy dessert to put together because it uses puff pastry out of the freezer, and it is absolutely decadent. It makes the perfect ending to your holiday gathering.

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 THE MENU:

• Easy Turducken
• Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes
• Brussels Sprouts in Brown Butter, Garlic and Lemon
• Rustic Pear Tart

Recipes by Tracey Koch
Photos by Amy Shutt

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Click on the photos below for recipes!