Stuffing makes the turkey shine

Along with delicious sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be much without turkey and stuffing. Whether it’s cooked inside the turkey or made in a casserole dish, homemade stuffing is a big part of what makes the dinner so successful in our family.

While my brother loves my grandmother’s recipe, my cousin, Jeannie, doesn’t care as long as it tastes great covered in homemade gravy. Every year, I try to accommodate everyone’s stuffing taste, and just making it is a comforting part of my holiday.

It’s not like I can’t find stuffing variations. You can use sausage, add vegetables like shredded carrots or celery, include apples and raisins and toss in walnuts or pecans. Make it with cornbread or use day-old bread. And if you have to, you can buy premade stuffing mixes found in grocery store aisles. Gone are the days when stuffing is a nonchangeable recipe like the standard green bean casserole.

But whatever stuffing recipe I choose, I buy loaves of bread a few days ahead of time so I can make sure they’re stale. However, we all know what it’s like to spend hours creating our Thanksgiving dinner, only to watch it all gobbled up in a half hour. And while I, like many of us, sometimes might wonder why we go through the motions, it’s the tradition’s effect. A disappearing dinner is as much a part of those traditions like saying grace or the football games we watch while eating pumpkin pie.

There’s nothing that says I can’t make a stuffing variation baked in a casserole. I’ve listed a recipe I found that calls for pecans mixed in a cornbread stuffing. It’s a little different, so I’ll make that this year. And if the aromas don’t put my family into a Thanksgiving holiday kind of mood, I know the taste will.

I’ll make my grandmother’s stuffing, too. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without her recipe of celery, bread, butter, onion and special seasonings. My brother and I have great memories of the great smells in Grandma’s kitchen when she started browning the celery and onions. It’s comforting to know we’re carrying on the yearly tradition my grandmother started.

From classic to more modern-day stuffing recipes, there’s one that’s sure to bring family and friends together for a warm and comforting Thanksgiving dinner. There’s not a more comforting way to kick off the holiday season than a traditional turkey and stuffing dinner.

Betty Crocker's classic bread turkey stuffing

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, circa 1950. Makes 3 quarts; Ready in 15 minutes

12 cups bread, cubes

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup minced onion

1 1⁄2 cups chopped celery, stalks and leaves

1 cup chopped mushroom (optional)

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon ground sage

No-salt-added chicken broth (Optional: Add only a little for dry stuffing; mix more in with a fork for moist stuffing)

In large, heavy skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then sauté onion, celery and mushrooms until onion is soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt, pepper and sage. Cook for additional 3 minutes. Place bread cubes into large, deep bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of butter/celery mixture over cubes and toss well. Repeat steps until all of butter mixture is used. Toss cubes thoroughly to coat. Let cool and use as stuffing for turkey.

Source: geniuskitchen.com

Pecan-herb cornbread dressing

Serves 15; Prep time: 40 minutes

Cornbread

2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix

1 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)

2 large eggs

2 cups whole buttermilk

3 tablespoons salted butter

Dressing

1/2 cup salted butter (4 oz.)

3 cups chopped sweet onion

2 cups chopped celery

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

6 large eggs

1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, roughly chopped

1/2 cup chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for topping

1 (14-oz.) package herb-seasoned stuffing mix

10 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Cornbread: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine cornmeal mix and sugar in large bowl. Stir together eggs and buttermilk in medium bowl; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until moistened. Heat butter in 10-inch cast-iron skillet in preheated oven 5 minutes. Stir melted butter into batter. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake in preheated oven until cornbread is golden, about 25 minutes; cool in skillet 20 minutes. Remove from skillet to wire rack, and cool completely, 20 to 30 more minutes. Crumble cornbread. Freeze in large heavy-duty zip-lock plastic bag up to one month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator.

Dressing: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high; add onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add sage, thyme and rosemary. Cook, stirring often, 1 minute. Stir together eggs in very large bowl; stir in crumbled cornbread, onion mixture, pecans, flat-leaf parsley, stuffing mix, chicken broth, black pepper and kosher salt until blended. Spoon mixture into 2 lightly greased 13-by-9-inch (3-quart) baking dishes. Cover and freeze up to three months, if desired; thaw in refrigerator 24 hours. (Uncover and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.) Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven until lightly browned and cooked through, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Garnish with additional chopped fresh parsley.

Source: southernliving.com

Easy sausage and herb stuffing

Serves 8 to 10

8 cups (14 oz.) store-bought unseasoned stuffing cubes

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion

1 cup diced celery

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)

2 3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Place stuffing cubes in large mixing bowl. In large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add onions and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add vegetables to stuffing cubes. (Don't wash the pan but scrape out every last bit of vegetables, otherwise they will burn in the next step.) In same pan, cook sausage over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up sausage with metal spatula while cooking (the largest pieces should be no greater than 1/4-inch). Add browned sausage and fat to bread cubes and vegetables. Add chicken broth, egg, rosemary, sage, parsley, salt and pepper to bread cube mixture and mix until bread is soft and moistened. Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish and bake for 65 to 75 minutes, uncovered, until deeply golden and crisp on top.

Note: If you can't find bulk sausage, buy regular sausage and remove casings.

Source: onceuponachef.com