Tuesday, November 16, 2010

BBT: Stuffing

On to arguably, THE most important part of Thanksgiving: The Stuffing.  The Dressing.  Whatever the eff you call it. It doesn't matter.  (If you wanna get technical in this bitch, if it's in the bird-it's stuffing, if it ain't-it's dressing) The seasoned carb substance.  You and I both know it's your favorite.  Everyone has a family recipe, and obviously, their family recipe is the very best.

But in case you don't have a world class family recipe - In case you're looking to start your own, or in case you think your family recipe sucks (gasp! the horror!)  I have some options for you.  I will have you know that none of these are my family recipe, and yes, I do in fact, CRAVE our family recipe's stuffing every year. (except, my mom, that little hussy, uses bacon.)  But, in general, I am a hussy (like mother, like daughter), and have no loyalties to family recipes.  Except for chili.  I don't mess with that.

Actually,  I was talking with my new friends, Ash and Lew, and they have a family recipe, like you - I am sure, and it is supposedly the BEST. EVER.  It's unique, see, because they mix the turkey and the stuffing all together in a casserole.  Oh, snap, I hear the Leftover Martha's calling!  They are nice enough to share their recipe with us, and we will be posting it in it's very own, super special BBT Guest Post later on!

A few months ago, we made a turducken. Yes, we made a turducken from scratch, and we made 3 different stuffings to go with it. You'll find them all here, in the Turducken post:

Jalapeno Cornbread Stuffing with Turkey Bacon

Turkey Sausage, Apple and Herb Stuffing


Traditional Stuffing



So, I think between these 4 recipes, plus Ash and Lew's recipe, you should be able to make some magic happen in your house on Thanksgiving.  And if you're looking for a show stopper, look no further.

OverSTUFFED Pumpkin, with Turkey Sausage, Sage, and Apple

 

1 pumpkin or squash, whatever ya got on hand
1/4 cup melted butter
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon  celery seed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage, divided
Salt and pepper
2 apples, peeled and cubed
2 pounds ground turkey sausage, (Jenny O Italian is amazing)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
16 ounces of cornbread stuffing, or crumbled cornbread
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups chicken stock


Cut off the lid of the pumpkin and set it aside. Pull out the seeds and strings from inside the pumpkin. Brush the inside flesh with melted butter, season with salt and pepper. Place pumpkin on a roasting pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, celery seed, fennel seed and 2 tablespoons each parsley and sage. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the apples and cook 2 minutes.



Add the ground sausage, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. 

 

Deglaze the pan with wine, cook down 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, check seasoning.

Scrape the sausage mixture into a large bowl and fold in the cornbread. Gradually blend in the eggs and chicken broth, until the stuffing is evenly moistened. Add remaining parsley and sage. Fill the pumpkin with stuffing, return to the oven and bake 20 minutes until the eggs are cooked and the stuffing has a little lift. Serve stuffing in the pumpkin bowl topped with lid. 



Ok Kiddos, keep a look out for Ash and Lew's guest post, and don't you dare tell me we didn't give you enough stuffing options.  You can just go and stuff it!


JK, don't go. This bitch is so thankful for you!


Love,


Whit

5 comments:

  1. Since you're a southern gal, do you do cornbread dressing too? My grandma's was the best, but I can never get hers right since she took the recipe with her when she passed on. I muddle through and change mine up a bit every year...

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  2. YUM!!! I LOVE the idea of cooking the dressing in a pumpkin. I am totally doing this this Thanksgiving. Thanks to both you and Ash and Lew... man I miss hanging out with you guys!

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  3. Love the pumpkin/squash idea, what an awesome presentation. We've had some family flops over the years, I hope we get back to sourdough this year. I'm slowly learning that good bread is key. Thanks for giving me some good ideas!

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  4. Holy Hannah! I love stuffing. It quite possibly is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. The pumpkin idea is awesome. My mom does a squash dish that is full of cream and cheese and bread crumbs. It's right down your alley! I am well impressed you busted out so many! Again, you are, in your words, amazeballs. xoH

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  5. I love stuffing more than the turkey. Seriously. I'm not a turkey person but I LOVE stuffing with mashed potatoes. I love the way my dad made it for nostalgic reasons but I would love to have a recipe so that I can make stuffing or dressing myself. I'm not super picky. Any good stuffing will do.

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