Happy Thanksgiving from the Southern Hemisphere!

Happy Thanksgiving!

     I love experiencing Thanksgiving overseas. It's a gorgeously sunny, warm day here, and  I am proud to share this American tradition.  It's a nice way to bond (with gringos and others, alike) over this universally known meal of comfort food!  I've made green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry- orange-cinnamon relish, and stocked up on good Chilean rosé wine.  Last night Luke and I brined the turkey in a giant ziploc bag from Williams Sonoma  and luckily, we have a huge transformer for the roaster!  Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving to friends and family all over the world, I am thankful for you!

     My dad adapted this from a Bon Appétit recipe years ago, and he makes it most years.  It's the only stuffing I make.  It's so delicious, I can't imagine trying anything else, nor would I want to!

Caramelized Onion and Chestnut Stuffing (with rosemary, sage and dried apricots)

Yields: Serves 8 to 10  

Ingredients:

1 pound country-style French bread or regular French bread, crust trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 stick of butter

2 large onions, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
3 celery stalks, chopped

1 7- to 8-ounce jar vacuum-packed steamed chestnuts, quartered (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth

2 eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; cool.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 10 minutes. Add rosemary and sage; sauté until onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Add celery and sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chestnuts and stir to blend. Transfer onion mixture to medium bowl. Mix in parsley. Add broth to skillet and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add to onion mixture. (Bread and onion mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature; refrigerate onion mixture.) Stir onion mixture and apricots into bread. Season with salt and pepper. Mix eggs into stuffing.

To bake all of stuffing in baking dish: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.