Recipe: Stuffing Recipes (4)

Savory Sage Stuffing
This recipe, which turns ordinary stuffing into a designer dish.

1 lb. sage pork sausage, browned and crumbled
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 to 2 1/2 cups onions, chopped
2 to 2 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh garlic, minced
1/4 stick butter
4 to 5 cups chicken stock or broth
4 cups cornbread, prebaked and crumbled
4 cups seasoned bread cubes (or packaged stuffing
mix)
3 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup black olives, pitted (halved or quartered)
2 to 3 Tbsp. fresh squeeze lemon juice
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Gather and measure all ingredients. Prepare pans.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Over medium heat, saute onions and celery in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and remove from heat. Allow vegetables to rest in pan for 3 to 5 minutes.

Bring chicken stock to a boil and skim if necessary. Add butter and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Combine the crumbled cornbread with the seasoned bread cubes. Add sausage, sage, oregano, parsley and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle in the lemon juice. Gently stir in the olives. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to thoroughly moisten the mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings by adding more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice.

Lightly stuff into the cavity of a turkey. Stuffing also can be spread into Pam-prepared baking pans, covered with Pam-sprayed foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread:

1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup corn oil
1 cup or more of buttermilk

Mix well until all dry ingredients are blended. Pour into a greased pan (an iron skillet is best) and bake at 400 degrees F. until brown, about 20 minutes. Can be made the day before.

Stuffing:

6 cups crumbled cornbread crumbs
1 8-oz. pkg. herb-seasoned bread crumbs
2 cups chopped celery
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups broth, either turkey giblet broth or canned chicken broth, enough to slightly
moisten
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter or margarine

Saute onion and celery in butter over medium heat until onion is translucent. Place all crumbs in large bowl, add onion and celery, salt and pepper, parsley, beaten eggs and broth. Stir and mix well. Makes enough to stuff a 20-lb. turkey "fore and aft" and enough for a small pan to bake separately.

Chestnut Stuffing
Warning: This recipe makes enough to stuff two 20-lb. birds, although the recipe can be halved. Even if you halve the recipe, use 1 stick butter and lots of parsley.

Take 6 pounds of chestnuts and peel the outer shells (you'll get blisters). Boil gently for awhile, take out a few at a time and take off the fuzzy coating. Keeping the rest of them warm will make them easier to do (or if you have a better way of deshelling or defuzzing, do your own thing).

Put one stick of butter in a big pan and melt. Put in peeled chestnuts, add 1 Tbsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper and 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika, 4 tsp. sugar, a good grating of fresh nutmeg, and a big bunch of fresh parsley, chopped.

While shelling nuts, cook turkey neck and giblets in water and add extra chicken giblets if you have them.

Boil these and use that broth to moisten the nuts that are cooking and bring to a boil. As you cook them, mash with a potato masher (don't overdo it, leave chunks and pieces). Add more broth if needed. Cool stuffing overnight before stuffing the bird.

Flo's Favorite Stuffing
Williams' recipe is for a 12-lb. turkey, although the recipe can be adapted for a larger bird.

6 qts. bread, cubed (several-days-old bread best)
1/2 cup dried minced onion
4 cups diced celery, including tops
1 1/2 tsp. sage
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs
2 4-oz. cans mushroom pieces
1/4 lb. melted butter (or margarine)
1/2 cup dry milk
Water to moisten, or giblet juice from pre-cooking giblets

Cook onions and celery until tender, (about 15 minutes) in water to cover. Cool. Mix rest of ingredients. Add onions and celery mixture and enough water from cooking to moisten. Try not to add too much water or stuffing will be mushy. Best to add a little at a time. (I use juice celery and onions cooked in.) Stuff bird just before baking. This will generously stuff a 12-pound turkey (both cavities) and fill a 9 x 9 casserole for the side. For a bigger turkey, multiply accordingly.