Thanksgiving Stuffing
Is it dressing or stuffing? Growing up in my family we referred to this dish as dressing, we never filled the turkey cavity so in all fairness we just couldn’t call it stuffing.
Growing up after my parents divorced I spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my Dad. We would drive to North Carolina as I can recall on Wednesday to spend the long weekend with my Grandmother. I loved being in her kitchen cooking by her side, making all the sides and getting up at the crack of dawn to put the turkey in the oven.
When I started dating Steve, I began spending the holiday with his family. They served the same dishes year after year. How could that be, didn’t they pour over all the food and shelter magazines like I did in preparation for the holiday season? Nope, they sure didn’t, that was just me. Several years after we were married and a few weeks before that years Thanksgiving I asked Pat, Steve’s Mom if I could make the dressing that year, she quickly said no as her dressing was a standard at the table and did not want to change. I get it, I am not one for change so I went about this idea for change a different way. When asked what I was going to bring to the celebration I confidently said Dressed Up Stuffing and that we will have two varieties this year. Same dish, different name and mine was not stuffed in the turkey’s cavity. It was just a new name. That one year was the beginning of creating a tradition of bringing my version of stuffing.
Although I grew up calling it dressing at some point I switched to calling it stuffing, not sure why and honestly no matter what you call it, to me its an amazing combination of tasty delights combined with toasted bread cubes. You can choose to top it with gravy or enjoy it as it comes out of the baking dish. For the most part my recipe remains consistent, however you may find a chestnut instead pecan or a dried cherry added in place of apples.
INGREDIENTS
2-14.5 ounce Country Sourdough Bread (La Brea if available at most grocery stores)
1/2 cup olive oil
12 tablespoons butter
2 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 honey crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 pound mushrooms, cleaned, stem removed and chopped
2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried crumbled sage
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon marjoram leaves
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon course ground pepper
2-32 ounce container chicken stock
2 cups toasted pecans, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup half and half
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F
Butter the bottom and sides of a 13.7" x 9.6" x 2.5"ceramic baking dish (I use a Emile Henry Rectangle Dish). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cut loaves of bread into cubes, place in a large bowl and toss with 1/2 cup olive oil, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, salt and pepper to taste. Divide the cubes onto cookie sheets, bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cubes are browned and crispy. Set cubes aside.
In a large frying pan, add 3 tablespoons of butter, add in onion, green pepper, celery and apples. Cook over medium heat until all liquid has evaporated, Add in herbs, salt and pepper, stir to combine. Place onion mixture into bowl, in the same frying p frying pan melt 3 tablespoons of butter, add in mushrooms, cook until liquid is cooked off and mushrooms begin to brown, add mushrooms to onion mixture. Taste and add more Kosher salt as needed.
In the same frying pan, add in sweet Italian sausage, as the sausage cooks break up with spoon until crispy. Drain off the fat and add to bowl with onion mixture. Add toasted bread cubes, sausage and toasted pecans to onion mixture. Taste, add in Kosher salt and pepper as needed. Stir to combine, add in beaten eggs and half and half.
Place mixture into prepared baking dish, pour over chicken stock to moisten stuffing. Bake for 30 minutes until heated throughout and crisped on top.
Yields: 20 cups
Serve with gravy made from turkey drippings or just dig your spoon in and grab a big bite.
Looking for a cocktail and snack while you are preparing Thanksgiving dinner? I highly recommend an Old Fashioned and Pecan Cheese Wafers. Cheers!
