Thanksgiving Stuffing

cc, I make this every Christmas and when we stay at home for Thanksgiving. It's very rich because of the bacon and drippings.

The first time, I made it as is. The second time, I cut the bacon in half and used a teaspoon of the drippings.

The recipe is on the Epicurious website.

Thanks HonnyBrown for your post! That is something really different that I have never tried before!

I don't have a real cast iron skillet. Any suggestions on what other type of pan I could cook the cornbread in? I do have one of those 'light weight' cast iron skillets...but I am not sure if it can take that hot of an oven at 450?

Any thoughts would be appreciated! TIA

I get requested to make this stuffing from everyone. It is also different and very flavorful. It is great as a side dish or stuffed in the bird.

WILD RICE CHERRY STUFFING

¾ c wild rice (The long black rice, that doesn’t look like rice! I use Haddad House found in the rice section)

1 T olive oil

1 lb pork sausage (I use Bob Evans Regular, you can use Sage if desired. Tried it once, but too strong for me)

2 c chopped onions (*or less according to tastes)

Choppend celery

½ c Fennel seeds (in the spice bottle, not the onion thing!)

½ lb Shiitake, white, baby bella, or cremini mushrooms quartered (or a combo of mushrooms

1 bay leaf

¾ t salt

½ t freshly ground pepper

½ c fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped

½ c dried cherries or dried cranberries (I use more, sometimes a combo but mostly dried cherries. I have also used Craisins, dried oranges and dried blueberries!)

½ c brown or wild long-grain rice, cooked according to directions (I use easy Unc Ben in the pouch)

½ c slivered almonds

Handful of stuffing mix (crushed, not croutons) to bind

May add some chix. broth if needed

1. Cook black wild rice according to instructions on pkg. just until tender but still has a slight crunch, approx. 40-50 mins. Remove from heat and cool to room temp. Can do this the night b4 since it takes so long.

2. Heat oil in large skillet. Add sausage and cook, breaking up w/ a spoon, 5 – 8 mins. till no longer pink. Add onions, celery, fennel, mushrooms, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cook till vegs soften approx. 5 mins. Add parsley and cherries, cook 2 mins. Remove from heat.

3. Add brown/long-grain rice and almonds. I then add just a small handful of crushed stuffing mix and some chix broth if needed. This is not a traditional bread/crouton stuffing so just add enuf stuffing mix and broth to make it ‘stuffable’ OR serve as a side dish.

Easy way for me (this makes a couple of 9 x 13 pans).

2 bags Sage Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix

1 bag Cornbread Pepperidge Farm Stuffing mix

For the liquid, I use canned/boxed chicken stock.

This is good as is, but I add:

Cut up giblets and meat from turkey neck.

1 medium onion chopped

To one pan, I also add 1 lb. well-browned sausage.

I like the Pepperidge Farm mix, because all the seasoning is already there!

Salt & pepper to taste--really doesn't need much of either one.

Cook according to directions on bag.

There's another very recent thread about this exact same thing where you can find lots of great responses.

I like to "doctor up" Stove Top. I dry a bunch of bread, or rolls, after tearing them into chunks. They have to be all the way dry prior to using. I sauté diced onion and celery in some butter until tender. If I have home made stock I use it for flavor otherwise I like the unsalted stock (Kitchen Basics brand)

I add the dried bread/rolls with the Stove Top. The best part about using Stove Top is that it is already seasoned. If you want more spice you can add it but it really isn't necessary. I put the veggies in along with stock. You'll want it pretty wet if you're making a pan dressing vs stuffing the bird.

Of course you can add chopped up giblets, chicken or turkey or even oysters.

But using the Stove Top makes it so much easier if you don't want to purchase all of the spices. But adding a bunch of dried bread makes it better than just using plain Stove Top. It makes it more "home made" and not so much "boxed".

Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing

Box of cornbread mix, baked in an 8 inch pan. I use Jiffy Mix.

5 biscuits, baked and crumbled up

1 onion cut up

1 stalk of celery hearts, cut up

1 stick of margarine or butter

1 can of chicken broth, Swanson, 14.5 oz can, don’t dilute.

1 beaten egg

sprinkle of poultry seasoning or sage

Crumble up the cornbread to crumbs, put into a bowl large enough to mix the ingredients. Crumble the biscuits and add to the cornbread.

Then cut the onion and celery very fine. Cook in margarine or butter for a few minutes.

Put this into the bowl with the crumbs. Add ground sage, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the can of chicken broth and 1 beaten egg. Stir until all is mixed.

Put into a greased 9 by 13 in pan.

Bake at 350 until brown, about 45 minutes.