Thanksgiving Recipes

These recipes are part of a series of occasional recipes from Medford’s Frankie Imbergamo, a cookbook author whose “gravy and meatballs” recipe won a national contest and was featured on chef Emeril Lagasse’s TV show.

Wondering what to stuff that turkey with? The following stuffing is an Italian twist on the classic Thanksgiving side dish, a delicious recipe Imbergamo learned from his mother and grandmother. Don’t want to stuff the bird? Just throw all of the ingredients in a casserole dish, cover it with foil, and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Frankie’s Italian Stuffing

1/1/2 Cups of cooked white rice
1 stick of butter
1/2 lb. Muenster cheese
1/2 lb. Ham
1 Cup grated Romano cheese
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
6 eggs
Mix all ingredients. Let cool and then stuff turkey. Enjoy!

Looking for another side dish? How about some stuffed peppers?

Frankie’s Stuffed Peppers

10 bell peppers
1+1/2 cups of plain bread crumbs
1 cup of grated Romano cheese
1 and half tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Half cup of olive oil
Half teaspoon black pepper and salt.

Mix all ingredients together. Cut peppers about quarter of inch on the tops. Rinse out peppers and remove the seeds.

Stuff peppers with mixture and place in a greased lasagna pan with olive oil. Sprinkle peppers with Romano cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and then remove foil and bake for 15 minutes more.

Frankie recommends a nice glass of Merlot to complement the peppers. Buon appetito!

Craving something more Italian on Thanksgiving? Try some of Frankie’s eggplant parmigiana.

Frankie’s Eggplant Parmigiana

2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
Half cup olive oil

Egg mixture:
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder

Bread crumb mixture:
3 cups plain bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup Romano cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder

In a bowl, mix all ingredients for egg mixture. In a separate bowl, mix all ingredients for bread crumb mixture. Peel eggplant and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. Dip each slice of eggplant into egg mixture and then into bread crumb mixture to coat. Place coated slices on large dish. In a fry pan, add 1/2 cup olive oil. When oil is hot, fry coated eggplant slices over medium heat until golden brown, turning them once. Set by layers on a large platter with a layer of paper towel between eggplant layers to drain excess oil. Let cool for 1/2 hour.

Sauce:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 (28 oz.) Pasten Kitchen Ready tomatoes
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Eggplant layers and topping
1 1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
Sprinkle of salt
Sprinkle of ground black pepper

To make the sauce, chop onion and garlic. In a medium saucepan, saute chopped onion and garlic in olive oil for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, water, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a lasagna pan, place some sauce on the bottom of pan to cover. Place a layer of fried eggplant slices. Cover with some sauce and sprinkle with grated Romano cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 layers, winding up with sauce, Romano cheese, and mozzarella cheese on top. Sprinkle with some salt and ground black pepper. There will be about 1 1/2 cups of sauce left over. Cover with aluminum foil and place into a preheated 350 degree oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for about 10 minutes. In a dish, serve as is or add some of the extra sauce and sprinkle with grated Romano cheese.