It’s Back – The Stuffing Everyone Loves!

The Stuffing Everyone Loves Recipe

The Stuffing Everyone Loves!

It’s been 5 years since I’ve shared The Stuffing Everyone Loves recipe. So for 2016, it’s back!

What makes this recipe different from the familiar mushroom sage dressing served on dinner tables all over the country at this time of year? Not much, and that is the beauty of it. It’s just like you remember, only better. And everyone loves it.

Rustic ciabatta, with its porous, chewy texture is the perfect bread for this stuffing. A homemade rich-flavored giblet stock, eliminates the need to cook the stuffing inside the turkey, while retaining that classic turkey flavor.

A 50-50 ratio of vegetables (mushroom, celery, onion, and leek) to the volume of ciabatta creates a balanced, not overly bready-y dish. Cooking the stuffing in a shallow baking dish allows for the desirable contrast of buttery toasty bread atop a moist stuffing beneath. Plenty of butter, Italian parsley and butter-fried sage bring the classic flavors of the season.

And with no “surprise” ingredients (oysters, nuts, fruit, chestnuts) it simply appeals to everyone…and exceeds expectations.

The Stuffing Everyone Loves Recipe

Bread

Remove the crust from two large loaves of ciabatta bread. Cut the bread into cubes about 3/4″ to 1″ thick. Place the cubes on a baking sheet and allow to dry out overnight, or place in a 200° oven until dried. Removing the moisture allows the bread to better soak up the flavorful stock.

Vegetables

Sauté onion, celery, leek, and mushroom separately in butter until soft, season with salt and pepper.

2 medium onions, diced
4 large celery ribs, sliced
2 medium leeks (white and pale green part only), sliced
6 c. fresh button mushrooms, sliced

The vegetables are cooked simultaneously on the stovetop in separate sauté pans due to volume. In order to sauté properly, each vegetable is cut to a uniform size and cannot be overcrowded in the pan. Mushrooms are cooked separately to release their water, then to brown in the pan.

There should be as much vegetable mixture as bread. Let vegetables cool, then gently combine. This can be made a day ahead, then refrigerated.

Turkey Giblet Stock

Rinse and dry the turkey neck and giblets. In a small stock pot, brown the giblets and neck in a small amount of olive oil. Add 6 cups of purified water along with a rough chopped onion, celery rib, carrot, a couple bay leaves and a few whole black peppercorns. Simmer for two to three hours. Strain through a sieve and remove the fat.

Composition

turkey giblet stock
unsalted butter
fresh sage
italian parsley
salt and pepper

Fry a bunch of fresh sage leaves in butter until lightly crisp. Remove to a paper towel. When cooled, crumble by hand. Chop a bunch of fresh Italian parsley.

Heat 2 cups of the stock with one stick of unsalted butter to melt the butter. Toss bread cubes with vegetable mixture. Pour stock/butter over the stuffing. Toss to moisten all the bread. Add more stock if necessary.

Add parley, sage, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to the stuffing. Toss again then pack loosely in a buttered baking dish. Dot the top with small cubes of butter.

Although I am tempted to use one of my pretty casserole dishes, this is best baked in a large shallow pyrex dish (for a higher ratio of crispy crust). Bake uncovered 30-45 minutes at 350° until the top is browned and crispy. And keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Food Network featuring Thanksgiving Sides

Food Network Logo

Devour: Thanksgiving Side Dishes That’ll Hold Up to Reheating
The Lemon Bowl: Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Foodtastic Mom: French Style Sweet Potato Soufflé
Feed Me Phoebe: Gluten-Free Stuffing with Vegan “Creamed Spinach” and Leeks
The Hungry Traveler: Loaded Smashed Potatoes
Healthy Eats: 7 Lighter Takes on Essential Thanksgiving Sides
Dishin & Dishes: Bacon Wrapped Butternut Squash Wedges
The Mediterranean Dish: Jeweled Couscous with Pomegranate and Lentils
The Fed Up Foodie: Festive Orange Spinach Salad
A Mind “Full” Mom: Parmesan Garlic Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Creative Culinary: Golden Onion Casserole with Thyme and Toasted Bread Rounds
Swing Eats: Creamed Spinach
In Jennie’s Kitchen: Pan Seared Cauliflower
FN Dish: Stovetop vs. Oven-Baked: Battle of the Thanksgiving Side Dishes

15 thoughts on “It’s Back – The Stuffing Everyone Loves!”

    1. Hi Marie. Not surprised 🙂
      Hey, I’m going to add your Squash Gratin with Crispy Sage to my buffet this year! Love the way it looks, can’t wait to taste it.
      Happy Thanksgiving!
      LL

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