Call for Stuffing Recipes

[neadods]

Having hosed Christmas dinner two years in a row (long story), Mother decided that we were doing chicken instead of turkey and I decided to spend the next 12 months practicing.

I've learned stock and broth making forwards and backwards (I've got quite the library of them now, waiting in the fridge and freezer for instant soup). I've roasted good chickens both upright and spatchcocked (which is, IMO, better and faster).

Now I need to start learning stuffing, aka dressing in certain parts of the States. It's not that I don't know how, it's that with Dad's heart issues, the family standby (which includes sausage) has been ruled out as having too much salt.

So hit me with your stuffing/dressing recipes! Bread-based, cornbread-based, rice or fruit based - hit me with 'em all.

Comments

[nonelvis]

I make this vegetarian cornbread dressing every year, but it's based on a meat version from Cook's Illustrated. To do the meat option -- which it sounds like you won't, but might as well give you the instructions anyway -- buy a chub of breakfast sausage or some other bulk sausage you enjoy, fry it up before you sauté the veggies, and then remove the sausage from the pan and sauté the veggies in the remaining fat. The recipe should make enough to pack a 9x13 pan.

Anyway:

* Make a 9x13 pan of your preferred cornbread recipe. Crumble it and either allow to dry overnight or spread the crumbles on a large baking sheet and dry out in a 250° oven.

* Slice up about 12oz. of mushrooms, a few stalks of celery, a really big onion, and saute in more fat than is strictly necessary. (I use most of a stick of vegan margarine here, but obviously, you could go for butter.) You could also add soaked dried mushrooms if you like. Season with fresh or dried herbs -- I focus mostly on sage and thyme here, as well as a healthy amount of salt and fresh-ground pepper.

* Remove from heat and mix vegetables (and sausage, if using) with cornbread, moistening with vegetable broth and -- this is the key -- half and half. (Vegan option: soy milk.) You can also add an egg or two if you feel like it, but the point here is you want a mixture that's really wet -- not drowning in liquid, but there should be a little bit of it seeping out along the sides of the bowl or dish you have the dressing in.

* Correct seasoning, and now the other important step -- let it sit overnight in your fridge before cooking. This allows the cornbread to start sucking up some of the creamy half-and-half goodness, while still remaining moist enough to cook up well the next day.

* Before cooking, remove dressing from fridge and let it warm up a bit -- about an hour. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 minutes or until done.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Half and half! That's a new one on me! *scribbles notes madly*

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

My family dressing recipe:

1. Bake a pone of cornbread. NOT - this is important - the nasty, soft, sweet northern cornbread, but actual southern cornbread. Allow to age for most of a week.

2. Dice onions and celery. No, finer. No, finer.

3. Crumble the cornbread (along with a couple of stale biscuits, if you like) into a large bowl.

4. Add the diced veggies, salt & pepper, and some dried sage. (How much? Less than you think you'll need. A little goes a long way. If fresh, dice it and use more.)

5. Mix together. If desired, you can add chopped-up hardboiled eggs at this point.

6. Pour enough chicken stock in to allow you to spread it into a lasagna pan. Pour the rest of the chicken stock over it, so it's nice and moist. Cook in a 350 degree oven until browned and bubbly.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

NOT - this is important - the nasty, soft, sweet northern cornbread, but actual southern cornbread

I'll get my father's recipe. He's always been in charge of cornbread making, as he comes from AK.

I've been kicking around the concept of a dried apple and pecan cornbread stuffing...

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

dried apple and pecan cornbread stuffing

Oooh, that sounds yummy. The Laurel Farmers' Market carries apple schnitz (PA Dutch dried apples), FYI. Pecans, however, have been scarce & pricey for most of this decade.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I know about the Laurel market -- it's my go-to place for apfel schnitz. Which are also lovely when studded in a pork roast.

The pecan part is going to be pricey, but necessary, I think. They go so nicely with apples...

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

stuffing, aka dressing in certain parts of the States

Also "filling," at least in PA.

When I think of Thanksgiving, the most vivid sense memory is of waking up to the smell of celery & onions browning for the filling. I don't think my mom actually uses a recipe, but my favorite variation on hers also involves sourdough bread, fresh (not smoked) sausage (might soy work?), & chestnuts. At least 1 egg, parsley, & dill are in there somewhere.

OT, "All Things Considered" on NPR did a feature on the Stratford, ON Shakespeare festival yesterday. The audio and/or transcript should be up on their website by now.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Also "filling," at least in PA

Point. Oddly, although I retain the PA-ism of dropping "to be" and my Mother's a proud native, I never picked that up.

Thanks for letting me know about NPR. I'll check that out.

Chestnut and Parsnip Stuffing

[purplecat]

My family have been making this for years. It's a Jocelyn Dimbleby recipe with a much fruitier flavour than the standard sausagemeat stuffings. It's also vegetarian and I have, on occasion, baked it in pastry with a splash of wine to provide extra moisture and served it as a vegetarian equivalent to turkey.

20g dried mushrooms
4cm ginger, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
50g butter
15ml olive oil
375g parsnips, chopped
50g ready-to-eat apricots, chopped
450g chestnuts, chopped
50g walnuts, chopped
1 egg, beaten (optional)
salt and pepper

1. Soak the mushrooms in 150ml hot water for 2 hours
2. Fry the parsnips in the butter until soft.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and continue frying for 1 minute.
4. Increase the heat and add the apricots, mushrooms and the mushroom soaking liquid. Bubble for 2 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and add the chestnuts and walnuts.
6. Season to taste, stir in the egg if using and allow to cool.

It's now ready for stuffing turkeys or baking separately.

Re: Chestnut and Parsnip Stuffing

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oooooh! A way of sneaking in extra veg with the parsnips, too.

Re: Chestnut and Parsnip Stuffing

[suze2000.livejournal.com]

I'm avidly reading along with all these recipes, and I'd like to know: What's a ready-to-eat apricot? Canned, in juice? Fresh and ripe? Or dried? I'm leaning towards canned?

Re: Chestnut and Parsnip Stuffing

[purplecat]

Hmm... they are a standard supermarket item in the UK and come in packets. They are basically semi-dried - i.e., dried but not so much that you have to soak them before use.

[themis1.livejournal.com]

Sage and onion stuffing is the common one in the UK - this is my tastier varient: breadcrumbs (maybe 2 cups), one large onion chopped, butter/margarine to make a dough, large teaspoon of mixed herbs. Of course, British mixed herbs may not be what you get over there, but ours are largely oregano, so you could try that. I usually bake this in a dish rather than in the bird, since one of the people eating it is vegetarian so I can't cook it in the bird. Note, I don't really use recipes, just kind of make it up as I go along; this is based on a recipe of my mother's.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to tolerate even the smell of oregano since I got a horrible case of food poisoning from spaghetti a few years ago. But I've got tarragon, parsley, and rosemary to hand, and it's hard to go wrong with them.

[shaggydogstail.livejournal.com]

The first stuffing I made from scratch is both easy and delicious: Ciabatta and Rosemary stuffing. It's flexible too, so you could use idifferent bread if you like or sub pancetta for bacon (which I did, because I'm cheap like that). Goes really well with herby, lemony chicken.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oooooo! And I love chicken with lemon. I've poached chicken buried in lemon; I'm going to try roasting it with lemon slices slid under the skin on the breast.

[benbenberi.livejournal.com]

Another good chicken-and-lemon recipe: Coca Cola chicken. Brown a bunch of chicken pieces (thighs are best). Slice a big onion and put it in the pan. with the chicken Slice two big lemons (with the peel still on) and put them in the pan. Add real Coca Cola (NOT diet) to not quite cover. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer till the chicken is falling off the bone and the onion & lemon have nearly melted into the sauce. Optional: garnish with parsley & lemon zest. Serve with lots of bread, rice, or other good sauce-soaking medium.

The magic is in the combination of the lemon and real Coke -- when you cook it long enough in a savory dish, the herbal complexity of the formula really starts to shine. Pepsi is a poor-but-just-about-adequate substitute, other brands don't work well at all. Mexican or Kosher-for-Passover Coke made with real sugar are best.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Oooo! I've had Coke pot roast, but not Coke chicken.

Hmmm... I'll keep an eye out and see if I can get the Passover version with real sugar to try this with. Love the idea, but am trying to avoid HF Corn Syrup.

[queenmaggie.livejournal.com]

Oh, sheesh, I forgot the diced celery in my version, over on your other post! And note, that Bell's seasoning has no salt in it. the original Boston version of Mrs Dash! ;D

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I'm going to try some of these without celery anyway. Frankly, I've never quite seen the point of celery.

[benbenberi.livejournal.com]

The stuffing my mom always made starts with a bag of Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing (I know, it's cheating, you can make your own & dry & cube it if you prefer), then adds:
- chopped onion, cooked till lightly golden
- chopped celery
- chopped apples (pref. peeled first)
- chopped chestnuts
- salt, pepper, sage (not too much)
- broth (pref. made with the turkey neck & giblets - chop & include the giblets if you want)
- optional: sliced or chopped waterchestnuts, chopped pecans/walnuts
- optional: sliced mushrooms OR raisins (never both in the same stuffing)
Bake in a buttered baking dish, covered till nearly done

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Water chestnuts! That'll add a nice crunch.