Herby Sausage & Apple Stuffing! Thanksgiving and book review

Since we were able to have family over for Thanksgiving this year, because we had it on Saturday, I went all out!!

The menu:

Creamy Onion & Garlic Soup (New Covent Garden: All Seasons cookbook)

Roast Turkey with Scarborough Fair Butter

Herby Sausage & Apple Stuffing

Perfect Roast Potatoes

Sautéd Brussels Sprouts
Green Bean Casserole
Gravy and cranberry sauce

Super-Pumpkiny Pumpkin Pie (Flour by Joanne Chang)

Packed up Thanksgiving Dinner for my father-in-law.

4 out 8 of the recipes I used above I took from Leon book 4: Family & Friends! I've never been to a Leon restaurant, but I have book 2 and loved it so when I had this one land on my doorstep last week I couldn't wait to tuck in! Leon is all about food that tastes good and does you good. 

The book is divided into 3 sections: Today: what you make today; Tomorrow: what you’re planning on having tomorrow; Yesterday: food/meals of memory and events. In “Tomorrow” there is a whole section dedicated to Christmas & Boxing Day. Which is about the same stuff I eat for Thanksgiving! It was perfect! The book offers so much more, it is full of classic and adventurous recipes for all levels of cooks! Everything recipe I tried this weekend was exceptional and yummy!!  

I will say up front that I didn't take a lot of pictures. It was a busy day and I was living in the moment. Something Leon is all about. Enjoying food with Friends & Family!! It was a great dinner shared with my little family and my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. She loved the Herby Sausage & Apple Stuffing so much I thought I would share it with you and her as she asked for the recipe! I added a few notes on what I changed or did slightly different!

all that was left!

Herby Sausage & Apple Stuffing:

1 tbsp olive oil

400g gluten-free sausage meat (I used Bramley Apple and Pork Sausages)

the turkey liver, chopped (optional)

1 onion, chopped

2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

125g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped (I didn't use them because I don’t like chestnuts) 

125g gluten-free breadcrumbs (I used a bit more breadcrumbs as I left out the chestnuts)

8 small fresh sage leaves, chopped

8 sprigs of fresh thyme, leave picked

a pinch of ground allspice

125ml good cider

50ml water

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the sausage meat until cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. If there is a lot of fat left in the pan, drain some off.
2. If using, add the turkey liver to the pan and fry until cooked. (I soaked mine in milk while I was prepping other things) Remove and set aside. Add the onions and apple to the pan and fry until slightly soft.
3. Put everything into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly, adding the cider and water. Drink the rest of the cider while greasing an ovenproof dish. Spoon the stuffing into the dish and pop into a preheated oven at 190C/375F/gas5 for 30-35 minutes, or until crispy on top.

The whole meal was a big hit and I can’t wait to make some of these recipes a part of my Thanksgiving in the UK tradition!

Leon: Family & Friends by Kay Plunkett-Hogge & John Vincent: Amazon UK, The Book People, Octopus Publishing