BEND, OR -- Executive Chef Bill Ballard says you don't have to get stuck in a rut, this Thanksgiving.  He spoke with KBND News and provided a few recipe ideas to help dress up your dinner table:

 

Sausage Pear and Cornbread Stuffing

Enough stuffing for a 20-pound turkey:

 

1.5 sticks  Butter, salted                              

2.5 cups   Onions, yellow, chopped             

3 Pears, cored and diced                

1 pound Sage sausage, loose                   

3 cups  Cornbread, crumbled                   

3 cups  Whole wheat bread, crumbled     

3 cups  French bread, crumbled                

2 teaspoons Thyme, dried                                 

2 teaspoons Sage                                              

Salt and pepper to taste

.5 cup Italian parsely, chopped              

1.5 cups  Pecans, shelled                                   

 

Method

1.      Melt half of the butter in a medium skillet, and onions and cook until tender. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

2.      Melt remaining butter in the same skillet. Add pears and cook till lightly colored, but not mushy. Transfer to mixing bowl.

3.      Crumble the sausage in the skillet and cook till light brown.

4.      Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine. Cool completely and stuff the bird.

 

 

Baked Acorn Squash

 

1 acorn squash, cut in 1/2

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons allspice

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

Toasted hazelnuts and dried cranberries, as needed

 

Method

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2.      Scoop the seeds and stringy pulp out of the squash cavities and discard.

3.      In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, allspice, butter,  nutmeg, syrup, salt and pepper, to taste. Rub the squash cavities  with the butter mixture and place cut side down on a baking sheet.

4.      Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.

5.      Top with toasted hazelnuts and dried cranberries.

 

 

Bourbon Pumpkin Raisin Ice Cream

 

4 cups  Half and half                                          

2 cups  Heavy cream                                              

4 Egg yolks                                                  

2 Eggs                                                          

32 ounces Sugar                                                         

.25 ounce Cinnamon                                                

16 ouces Pumpkin puree`                                               

Juice of one Lemon                                   

1 ounce Bourbon                                                    

2 ounces Raisins                                                      

 

Method

1.      Heat half and half and heavy cream together to 150 degrees. Do not scorch.

2.      Whisk together eggs, cinnamon and sugar.

3.      Temper the egg mix with a bit of the cream.

4.      Add eggs mixture to cream mixture, heat to 170 degrees, do not boil.

5.      Add lemon juice to pumpkin.

6.      Add bourbon to the raisins in a medium saucepan over medium heat and ignite, plump the raisins.

7.      Fold raisins into pumpkin and finally into cream mixture.

8.      Coolin a stainless bowl inserted in an ice bath.

9.      Freeze in an ice cream machine.