your thanksgiving menu pt. 2

herby pull apart bread, endive bites + mushroom sausage stuffing

Alright people, about a week to go! Let’s make haste and move on to part two of our menu shall we! But first, a recap of everything we got down with in Part 1, all of which can be found under the Thanksgiving Bible aka recipe index of all the recipes you’re looking for. I’ve already seen so many recreations, I’m so happy everyone’s fed and loving them!!! Send me anything you make, or drop a pic in the group chat so the whole class can see and applaud you.

P.S. the chat is also the easiest way to get a reply from me (or dozens of others) if you need help with a recipe or any other questions. everyone’s over there giving each other inspo, ideas etc leading up to the big day so come on over!

Recipes So Far:

• french onion brie puffs

• boursin & brown butter mashed potatoes

• green beans au poivre

• pumpkin chai tiramisu pie

• spiced pear spritzer (you guys have been loving)

• + more from last year

Today’s Recipes:

• roasted garlic mushroom + sausage stuffing

• goat cheese & date endives

• herby gruyere pull apart bread

I would say we got the hard hitters out of the way already, but that would be untrue without stuffing and buns on your menu!!! So here we go.

herby gruyere pull apart bread

I make this milk bread recipe from Kirbie’s Cravings every year. It’s a tried and trusted recipe for me and they came out perfect the first time I made them with no bread experience.

One thing I will say is a stand mixer is definitely recommended!!!! However I have gotten away making them by hand - it just took like 30 min of my boyfriend and I alternating kneading. I’ve previously made them with sage and honey butter which are also a great option if you want more of a traditional roll.

However, I would be lying if I didn’t say the extra steps to make this pull apart loaf weren’t so worth it. I made mine in this pullman loaf pan.

Ingredients:

• 1 batch of Kirbie’s milk bread dough

• 1 egg for the egg wash

• 1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

  • plus 1/4 cup for topping (optional, but is it really…)

herby butter:

• 6 tbsp salted butter, room temp (you can also use unsalted if you want to control the salt added and adjust the the butter to taste but I love salt)

• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated

• 2 tsp chives thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

• 2 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp roughly chopped fresh rosemary

• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

• big pinch of salt (if not using salted butter)

1. follow the recipe as is, making the tangzhong, and dough until you get to step 5. From there, cut the dough ball into 4 portions instead of 9. Knead them into balls, and place them back into the greased bowl, covered with plastic wrap, for about 15 minutes. FYI, as it gets colder outside, I always proof my dough in the oven or microwave with the light on.

2. in the meantime, make the butter mixture: mix all the ingredients together into a smooth paste. Set aside along with your shredded cheese. Reserve about 1-2 tbsp of the butter mix to finish off the loaf for later. This doesn’t need to be exact, just visually keep note.

3. once the loaf has sat for 15 minutes, use a rolling pin or whatever cylindrical thing you have, to roll each portion into a 4 x 9” rectangle. Again, doesn’t need to be a perfect rectangle, it will continue to expand in the pan - mine were half ovals lol.

4. spread 1/4 of the butter across the entire surface, and sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese (keeping in mind the reserved butter for topping)

5. cut the rectangle width wise in half and stack the halves. Repeat this with the remaining 3 dough portions, stacking the pieces on top of each other. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, cutting it so that it just fits the long sides with overhang. This makes it easier to pull out of the pan when done.

6. fit the dough pieces in their stacked formation, cut seam side facing up, into the pan. It’s okay to curve them slightly to make them fit to your pan. It may also be easier to place them in one by one. If you have additional pieces left,

7. cover with plastic wrap again and leave it for the second round of proofing, about 45 to 60 minutes, until double in size. The sections will get thicker, and slightly taller.

   brush a beaten egg across the top of the loaf and place the loaf pan on a baking sheet to avoid any cheese spillage making your oven smoke up (from experience <3)

8. bake at 325°F for about 30-35 minutes. 10 minutes before it’s done, while it’s beginning to look golden, sprinkle on the remaining cheese (optional, but like I have questions if you don’t)

9. bake until the cheese is all melted and the top is nice and golden brown. Let it cool slightly before brushing on the remaining butter mixture and some flaky salt + chives!

10. pass it around the table and make everyone say their favorite thing about you (I mean you did bring the homemade bread after all dafuq)

notes:

• to make ahead: make the dough the day before, up until Step 3 in Kirbie’s recipe and let is bulk proof in the fridge overnight, covered with plastic wrap. Remove from the fridge the next day, and move on with portioning, assembling and letting it rise again.

• to reheat: the great thing about milk bread is it stays soft much longer than usual bread. I baked my entire loaf the day before, let is sit overnight at room temp, covered tightly with plastic wrap, and then reheated it. Good as new!

  • if you are planning to fully bake and prep it the day before, do not top the loaf with the remaining cheese and butter after the initial bake. Save it for the day of!

  • bake the loaf until nicely golden brown (no need to go too deep as it will continue to golden the next day, closer to the 30 minute mark should be good!)

  • when ready to bake the next day, sprinkle the top with the cheese, cover the loaf with foil (still in the loaf pan) and bake at 300 F for about 10 minutes. The cheese should be melty and the loaf will feel warm to the touch. Remove the foil, and turn the oven up to 425 F. Bake for an additional few minutes until the cheese is bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with the butter and chives!

goat cheese + date endives:

makes about 25 endives, highly variable based on endive size

• about 3 endive heads, depending on leaf size

• 4 oz goat cheese, room temperature

• 4 tbsp greek yogurt

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp olive oil 

• 1 tsp honey, divided 

• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped

• 2 slices of prosciutto

• 2 tbsp walnuts, coarsely chopped

• 4-6 medjool dates, depending on size.

• dash of cinnamon

• 1 tbsp butter

• 1 honeycrisp apple, cut into thin slices.

• hot honey or regular honey to drizzle

1. for the dates, tear them in half, removing the pit if needed. cut each half into thirds. I found this to be the perfect bite sized piece for an endive leaf.

2. heat up a small pan with a touch of oil and sautee them 1-2 minutes. add 1/2 tsp of honey and juuuuust a hint of cinnamon. mix until the honey is melted and the dates are nice and warm, about 5 minutes. remove from heat and set aside

3. for the crispy prosciutto/walnut topping: add prosciutto slices to a parchment lined baking sheet in an even layer. preheat oven to 425F and bake 5-8 min until fragrant and golden brown. flip them if needed. bake until very deeply golden, another few minutes, and set aside to cool. once fully cool it should crumble easily. if it doesn’t, continue baking a bit more.

4. in the meantime, add 1 tbsp butter to the same pan you cooked the dates in. melt until just golden and add the chopped walnuts, stirring until they take on a hint of color. add the rosemary and remove from heat. once cooled, combine with the prosciutto and set aside.

5. for the goat cheese mix: add greek yogurt, goat cheese, 1/2 tsp honey, salt, thyme and 1 tsp olive oil to to a small bowl and mix mix mix until creamy. really go at it to give it more fluff (instead of dirtying a food processor and whipping it)

6. to assemble: cut 1/2” off the stem of the endive, and peel off each individual layer. Try to go for similar size leaves, although it’s totally find if they vary. Line them on whatever dish you are serving on.

7. take a small spoon, and smear about 1 tsp of the goat cheese filling into the bottom half of the endive. nestle in a slice of apple, top with a date and place on your serving dish. Repeat until they’re all done. Sprinkle with the prosciutto walnut mix, making sure each endive has some. Drizzle with honey and a sprinkle of flaky salt.

notes:

• to make ahead: endives brown around the edges when left out too long, so I wouldn’t recommend making these too far ahead of time. you can prep the goat cheese mix and prosciutto crumble though!

roasted garlic mushroom + sausage stuffing:

• 8 cups of stale or oven dried sourdough, torn into roughly 1.5” pieces or whatever size you resonate with

• 2 small leeks, pale green and white parts only, thinly sliced 

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped  

• 16 oz mushrooms, sliced, could be a combination - crimini, baby bella, oyster 

• 1 lb maple breakfast sausages, casing removed

• 1 head of garlic 

• 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

• 1/2 head of fennel, thinly sliced

• 3 eggs 

• 2 tbsp parm 

• 3-4 cups of chicken, turkey or veggie broth 

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 1.5 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, removed from stems

• 1/2 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 tsp fennel seed

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped 

• 2 tsp worcestershire

• squeeze of lemon  

to make:

1. for the bread: if you are not leaving your bread out to stale overnight, you can also do so in the oven. experts say this is the way to go, who knows.

   1. I killed two birds with one stone and roasted my garlic along with the bread.

   2. add bread cubes to a large baking sheet. cut the top off a head of garlic to expose all the cloves, drizzle with some olive oil and wrap in a sheet of tin toil. place the garlic in the middle of the sheet pan. bake at 300 F for about 45 min or so, giving it a shake every now and then. this time highly depends on the moisture level of your bread to begin with so test it as you go. when ready, the bread should feel very dry, and no longer bouncy and soft. it does not need to be golden brown like le crouton.

   3. the garlic will likely need to continue roasting once the bread is done, so bring the oven heat up to 400 F and continue roasting it in its foil packet. I just place it directly on the oven rack. this should take another 30 min or so, again depending on how long your bread baked. you’ll be able to smell it, and if you carefully open, check to see if it’s golden brown and softened. once ready, remove from the oven, and let cool until easily handleable. this definitely takes a little bit and you will burn your fingers trying to rush it!!!!!! from experience!!!!!!

2. in the meantime: to a large dutch oven or pot over medium high heat, add the uncased sausage. cook, breaking up into pieces until golden brown, about 10 minutes. remove with a slotted spoon and add mushrooms to the pot. cook until the moisture has evaporated and they begin to caramelize and brown, about 10-12 minutes. add the butter, spices, herbs (except parsley) and cook for 1-2 minutes until melted and fragrant. add leek, fennel, onion and celery. season with freshly cracked black pepper and salt.

3. once the onions are fully softened, add the sausage back to the pot along with the fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon. add bread cubes to the pot and mix everything until evenly spread. you can also do this in a seperate bowl if your pot isn’t large enough, but I’m not washing your extra dish for you.

4. pour the broth over the bread in increments, and stop when everything is evenly moist. depending on your preference for a softer or drier stuffing, use any additional broth.

5. mix the eggs with the parm and squeeze in your head of garlic until fully incorporated. pour into the bread, and give it a mix. transfer the stuffing to an oven safe casserole dish. cover and let sit for 30 minutes at room temp to allow everything to absorb.

6. bake at 375 F for about 45 min - 1 hour, turning the heat up to 450 F for a few minutes to get a golden crispy top if it’s not already there.

7. garnish with chives, parsley or absolutely nothing at all because it’s all getting smothered in gravy anyway <3333

ANDDD SCENE! talk soon tag me if you try anything!!!!!!

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xoxo katie