Hannah and Her Sisters

In an effort to rebuild our archive, here is the entry from March 2, 2011:

Now that the 2011 Academy Awards are over, I thought I would choose an older film this week. A little fact emerged from this years awards; this is the first year since 1987 when the Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor were from the same film. This year it was Melissa Leo and Christian Bale winning the top nod for "The Fighter." In 1987 the awards went to Michael Caine and Dianne West for "Hannah and Her Sisters." This Woody Allen film won Best Original Screenplay and was also nominated for a slew of other awards that year.

The story takes place in NYC where three sister's relationships seem to become intertwined in a love triangle–squared. Hannah (Mia Farrow), Holly (Dianne Wiest), and Lee (Barbara Hershey) can't seem to keep their hands off each other's men. Labeled as a comedy, there were inevitably some dramatic moments. The beginning scene takes place at the family Thanksgiving and ends the following year at Thanksgiving and so we made some turkey for dinner.

Turkey Meatloaf and Wild Rice, Apple, and Dried-Cranberry Stuffing were on the menu for dinner. The meatloaf was tasty and classic, but I really loved this "stuffing," which was mainly a rice dish with all of the smells and taste cues of a traditional stuffing.

Turkey Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)

2 TB olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp finely ground black pepper

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (1/2 tsp dried)

1/3 cup worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 tsp tomato paste

5 lbs ground turkey breast

1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs

3 extra-large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup ketchup

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an un-greased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees and the meatloaf is cooked through. Serve hot, at room temperature or cold in a sandwich.

Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups water

1 cup wild rice

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lb crusty bread, cut into 1/2" cubes (6 cups)

1 stick butter, plus 2 TB melted butter

2 cups diced (1/3") onion

2 cups diced (1/3") celery

2 cups diced (1/3") apple

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 TB finely chopped fresh sage (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)

2 tsp finely chopped marjoram (or 1/2 tsp dried)

1 tsp finely chopped thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup turkey stock or chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Bring the water to a boil in a 2-qt heavy saucepan, then add rice and 1/2 tsp salt. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and most grains are split open, 1 to 1 1/4 hours (not all of the liquid will be absorbed). Drain well in a colander and spread out in a baking pan to cool completely.

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Spread bread cubes in a shallow baking pan and bake in upper third of oven until dry, about 20 minutes – we skipped this and just toasted the bread in a toaster oven.

Melt 1 stick of butter in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, then cook onion and celery, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add apple and cook, stirring until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in herbs, pepper, and remaining teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with rice, bread, and dried cranberries.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees and butter a shallow 3-qt. baking dish (13 x 9).

Spread stuffing evenly in dish and drizzle with melted putter and turkey stock. Bake, covered tightly with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is browned 10–15 minutes more.