It’s Time to Give Thanks

Denise Gianatasio is a Northport 
Village resident and freelance writer. 
She is a licensed agent at Signature 
Premier Properties, 172 Main Street, Northport 631-754-3600. Denise 
enjoys cooking and sharing her recipes and family stories, as she wants to
inspire a warm sense of home with 
her readers. Please feel free to contact her for any advice you may need at  
dishinwithdenise@yahoo.com.

The brisk air and changing leaves tells us Fall has arrived. The good news is that the festivities of the season give us much to enjoy.  There’s apple picking, pumpkin picking, Oyster festivals. …and time for warm fall recipes. We start to think of stuffing and turkey and the many cooking choices for those harvest vegetables. Heres a tasty favorite~ Stuffed cabbage. There are many versions of stuffed cabbage recipes, from Polish, German, Jewish and then… my favorite~ Italian style. So perhaps “Tom” will make some room on your Thanksgiving table? In addition to the browned ground beef~ I add a bit of sweet and hot sausage meat for a savory combination of cooked rice, soaking up all the flavors, then rolled up in a cabbage leave… and slowly simmered in a marinara sauce.
 “It’s Time To Give Thanks!”

I large head of cabbage 3-4 lbs (de-core with knife carefully from bottom~ the hard center core, leaving cabbage whole and intact. Place bottom side down into large pot of boiling water until soft and tender when pierced with a fork. (about 25 minutes) Remove from water and let cool in colander until dry. This steaming method helps to make your cabbage leaves soft and pliable to roll.

2 lbs ground beef (I use 1 ½ lbs of beef and ½ lb of sausage meat, out of casing)
1 carrot diced into tiny pieces
1 stalk celery diced into tiny pieces
½ cup olive oil
1 Vidalia onion chopped small
½ cup pignoli nuts
3-4 cups cooked rice
¾ cup grated locatelli cheese
1-2 Bay leaves
¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
¼ cup fresh basil chopped
Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
10 diced cherry tomatoes diced
Handful of raisins (optional)
Fresh marinara sauce

In large frying pan brown meat. Set aside, then sauté onions, pignoli nuts, carrots, chopped cherry tomatoes, herbs and spices and celery in olive oil until soft. Mix together with cooked rice and grated cheese. Gently remove whole leaves and place stuffing in center and roll up from bottom of leave, folding outer in to top. Place in marinara and cook on low for approx 1 hour.