Your best stuffing recipe?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Just logged onto my pc, specifically to start this thread, and I see that we’ve already got some good discussion about desserts and main course. Anyone care to share a stuffing crowd pleaser?</p>

2

<p>We all like my MIL’s stuffing. Equal parts cooked and cubed potatoes and toast, also cubed. Add to that some chopped onions and celery and cut up little smoky links. As much as can fit should be stuffed into the bird and the extra is cooked in a casserole dish with some chicken broth to moisten. </p>

<p>When I was a vegetarian, we did a separate small bowl with the potatoes, toast, onions, celery and added mushrooms and some pats of butter, covered with aluminum foil and baked with whatever else was in the oven.</p>

3

<p>My favorite, I don’t follow an exact recipe though:</p>

<p>-half corn bread, half regular bread (can uses Pep Farm bags)
-lots of sauteed onion and celery
-Italian sausage, half hot, half mild-1/2 lb. per bag of crumbs
-large handful fresh sage plus 2 tablespoons dried sage for every 2 bags of crumbs
-butter, the more the better but fine with a stick if calories matter
-about an ounce dried porcini mushrooms reconstituted and chopped (the secret!)
-salt and pepper
-chicken broth to desired moistness</p>

4

<p>Stuffing: Tear up bread night or day before Thanksgiving into 1-inch pieces; put in paper bags & shake occasionally or spread out in big pan and toss occasionally – this helps dry out bread. “Texas toast” is good to use. I remember one time we gave the job of tearing the bread to the husbands without the 1-inch instruction and they started doing spitball-size pieces…they were trying to get fired from the job; it worked. Kids are much better at this job, esp. if they can do it in front of the TV or video.<br>
Chop celery & onions; saute in butter with sage and if you want, a little thyme, rosemary, pepper, salt. Mix with bread pieces; add chicken broth or butter until you get the wetness you want (will not dry out much in baking except on top crust).<br>
Bake in whatever temp you need for something else until all warm (maybe 30 min.) We don’t put in turkey as that slows the turkey cooking down and everyone wants the turkey-basted stuffing; never enough<br>
Sorry I do not have exact amounts as I just wing it and argue with family members over amounts, especially of sage. I like a bunch, others don’t. Only the kids seem to think it is possible to have too much celery and onion, though. For a 4-6 people, I would say 2 loaves of bread, one bunch of celery, one large onion; one-two tablespoons sage, half can broth.
Yummmmm I can’t wait to eat this…</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your help (and for the quantities MM).</p>

6

<p>No matter the recipe, it must must must have chestnuts in it! It ain’t Thanksgiving without chestnut stuffing!</p>

7

<p>owlice, I love chestnuts too although I detest shelling them. Have you ever tried the jarred chestnuts from William Sonoma?</p>

8

<p>worrywart, I hear you on the shelling! For the shelling part, my cookbook says “about 1.5 hours before…” Yeah, right! Takes WAY more than 1.5 hours to shell chestnuts for stuffing!</p>

<p>I’ve not tried jarred chestnuts; I have used vacuum-packed ones from Trader Joe’s. Not as good as home-shelled, but sooooo much easier!</p>

9

<p>I use the classic cornbread recipe from Betty Crocker.</p>

10

<p>I’ve always made sausage and cornbread stuffing in the past, but this year I’m trying this–
[Country</a> Bread Stuffing with Smoked Ham, Goat Cheese, and Dried Cherries Recipe at Epicurious.com](<a href=“http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Country-Bread-Stuffing-with-Smoked-Ham-Goat-Cheese-and-Dried-Cherries-236495]Country”>http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Country-Bread-Stuffing-with-Smoked-Ham-Goat-Cheese-and-Dried-Cherries-236495)</p>

11

<p>hmom, your recipe sounds a lot like mine, though I don’t really follow any exact recipe. I use Jimmy Dean sausage though , and only the fresh sage…our family likes it on the simple side and not much in the way of chewy or crunchy things in there…no nuts, fruit or celery in there.</p>

12

<p>Thought I’d revive this thread since T-Day is at my house (as always).</p>

13

<p>Mine is the same as hmom5’s but I also throw in a half cup or so of madeira and do not use chicken broth.</p>

14

<p>Oh my the revival ofthis thread is so well timed with the autumn nip in the air ( and I so crave winter food right about now ) ;)</p>

15

<p>I make my similar to midwestmom, and I also use alot of sage. I also brown and crumble sausage and chopped walnuts because chestnuts are a pain in the you know where. I also use a fair amount of melted butter in addition to the chicken broth. I don’t have exact measurements, but similar to midwestmom. A celery bunch chopped, a large onion chopped, a pound of sausage, a couple handfuls of walnuts, at least a tablespoon of sage and some poulty seasoning, a stick of butter and enough chicken stock to wet all the bread down. At times I needed alittle more liquid than I had stock so I’ve grabbed white wine or water or once I grabbed sherry. I pack it firmly into a big caserole and bake along side whatever is in the oven at whatever temperature.</p>

16

<p>I love my mother’s stuffing recipe, but it’s not really exact.</p>

<p>3-4 cups stale or lightly toasted bread. Variety is good. (I like half cornbread, half whole wheat)
1/4 cup hot water or stock
1/2 cup butter
1 small onion (necessary)
1 stick celery (necessary)
fresh parsley (I don’t always have this)
1 egg
tarragon, thyme (plenty), sage (plenty) mint, cumin (a little - I think this is my Mom’s secret ingredient), salt and pepper (plenty of both)</p>

<p>Toss all of above in a blender till just chopped or just mix it in a large bowl.</p>

<p>My mom often adds 1/2 cup sausage meet (not too zing), sometimes she adds oysters (I don’t like this variation), I’ve added chestnuts and I’ve added a chopped apple. (Both good)</p>

<p>This makes enough for a large chicken, double for turkey.</p>

17

<p>A subject near and dear to my heart. Some good “stuff” here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/593954-turkey-stuffing.html?highlight=stuffing[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/593954-turkey-stuffing.html?highlight=stuffing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

18

<p>violadad, do you mean to say there was a simultaneous stuffing thread last fall that I missed altogether? Was there a login password required? Thanks for sharing it. Everyone’s ideas sound good.</p>

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<p>worrywart, it appears your thread of last year followed the one I linked to by a couple of weeks. Alas, there was probably no overlap as one had mostly likely migrated to page 2. We all know no one every reads page 2. That’s old news. And you’re a bit early this year, which is a good thing. Stuffing is a serious business, not to be taken lightly.</p>

<p>Since we’re talkin turkey:</p>

<p>here’s last year’s <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/604194-turkey-gravy.html?highlight=thanksgiving[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/604194-turkey-gravy.html?highlight=thanksgiving&lt;/a&gt; thread.</p>

<p>And this year’s pie thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/787472-fall-its-time-pie.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/787472-fall-its-time-pie.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And a seasonal lament from the infamous meta-thread that began with this post: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061249809-post1257.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061249809-post1257.html&lt;/a&gt;
:D</p>