Pep(per) up the holidays: Stuffed jalapenos sure to be a hit at any gathering

I was in New York for Christmas for the first time in several years. My brother, who has really become the cook of our family, asked me if I wanted to help him host Thanksgiving dinner. I jumped at the opportunity to host a small group, hoping to pick up a few tips from Joe along the way.

Growing up, my enormous family crammed into my grandparents' house for the feast. At its peak, just before my grandmother passed away a few years ago, I think there were about 50 people at dinner. Everyone loved my grandmother's mashed potatoes, stuffing and especially, her giblet gravy. She always did most of the work, and others would bring a few sides.

As popular as her Thanksgiving was among the children and grandchildren, variation to tradition was nonexistent. Walking into grandma's kitchen was great, but there was never anything new on the table.

Since she passed, the family has sort of spread its wings and everyone basically does their own thing on Thanksgiving. Most people go to their in-laws. Joe and I decided to have dinner at the old farmhouse, where my grandmother used to live and my brother now lives. We invited anyone in the family who didn't already have plans with their in-laws, which turned out to be about 10 people.

Joe and I both like to experiment, which is what made this dinner so much fun to prepare. Instead of trying to replicate my grandmother's amazing sausage stuffing, which we would have failed at, we chose to make butternut squash panade, an alternative to stuffing which I wrote about last month.

Since we didn't do the stuffing, we stuffed the turkey chock full of lemons, onions, garlic, and tons of fresh herbs (recommended by local extension agent Whitney Danhof) and seasoned the outside with a dry rub consisting of garlic salt, poultry seasoning, Adobe seasoning and black pepper.

I was a little worried about the turkey, simply because it was my first time ever making one. I have to say, it won't be the last. It was one of the most amazingly moist turkeys I've ever eaten. I have to throw in my brother's tip here. He says that the number one mistake folks make on Thanksgiving is the way they carve their turkey. Most people carve it with the grain, but it's so much more moist if you carve out the breast meat as a whole and then slice it against the grain.

Before we got to the main course, though, Joe and I had fun experimenting with some fun appetizers. Since we were busy with the main course, we kept it simple but everything turned out delicious. My favorite of everything was the stuffed jalapeņo peppers, which my brother zipped up in no time.

To serve a small group, all it takes is about six to 10 jalepeņos, halved, a pound or so of sweet Italian sausage, Mascarpone cheese, and Cheddar cheese. The stuffed peppers were a big hit, and I highly recommend them for the next holiday party you host or attend.

Stuffed jalapeņos

6 large jalapeņo peppers, halved, seeds removed

1 pound sweet Italian ground sausage (I used hot)

1 8 oz. container Mascarpone cheese

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 8 oz. package shredded Cheddar cheese

Cut peppers in half and remove seeds. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. Remove peppers from oven and set aside. In the meantime, cook sausage on stove top until done. Drain. Fold in Mascarpone cheese, sugar, and Cheddar. Stir over low heat until well blended. Scoop sausage mixture into peppers. Return peppers to oven and bake for about 10 minutes.