By Kim Bedwell

As I was reading through the various newspaper food pages yesterday, I was bombarded with Thanksgiving recipes. Soups, sides, pies and, of course, turkeys (brined, fried and everything in between) made my mouth water, my tummy rumble and reminded me how much I love a delicious Turkey Day feast. Because I am joining my husband’s family for Thanksgiving this year, it will be the first not spending it with my mom. While I’m excited to share in the traditions of the Bedwells, I will miss some of my mom’s cooking—even the faux potatoes which have graced our table a time or two.

The following recipe comes from my mom and was adapted from a recipe she found in TV Guide more than 25 years ago. While I’ve seen some dishes come and go from our table over the years, the one constant is her stuffing with linguica. My mom is old school and still stuffs the bird with the cooked stuffing, while I prepare it as follows.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Portuguese-Style Thanksgiving Stuffing
3/4 pound bacon, diced
1 pound linguica (traditional Portuguese sausage), casings removed and diced
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 loaf French bread, cubed and left out overnight
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large sauté pan, cook bacon until crisp then add linguica. Remove meat and set aside. Skim off half of the oil. Add onion, celery and herbs and sauté for 5 minutes. Add cooked meat and sauté an additional 5 minutes. Stir in bread cubes and chicken broth. Add additional broth until desired consistency. Cook for additional 5 minutes watching closely to make sure the stuffing doesn’t dry out (if it does, add more broth). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with gravy.

Serves 6