Category: Sides – Grains

Servings: 6 to 8
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 min.
Source: New York Times

This deeply savory, buttery sage stuffing builds layers of flavor with each step. First, whole sage leaves fry in melted butter for a pretty garnish that offers pleasurable crispy bits. The butter ends up browned, nutty and infused with the herb’s woodsy aroma, and helps chopped sage, fennel seeds, poultry seasoning and cayenne bloom for a fragrant blend that tastes like sausage. Milk in place of watery boxed stock means there’s a base of richness that only dairy can provide. The combination of white bread and cornbread results in a classic but amped-up Thanksgiving stuffing with textural integrity and a hint of sweetness to boot.

Ingredients: 

8 ounces crusty white bread, such as country loaf or sourdough, cut into ½-inch dice (about 6 cups)
8 ounces store-bought or homemade cornbread, cut into ½-inch dice (about 3 cups)
½ cup unsalted butter
10 fresh sage leaves, plus ⅓ cup coarsely chopped sage (¾ ounce)
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon salt-free poultry seasoning
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
Salt and black pepper
2 celery stalks, finely diced
2 cups whole milk, plus more as needed

Directions: 

Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread all the bread cubes on a large sheet pan and bake until brittle, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on the pan. (The cooled bread can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.) Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Step 2
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip a wadded-up paper towel into the melted butter and grease a 1½- to 2-quart shallow baking dish or pan with it. Unwad the paper towel and line a plate with it. Add the whole sage leaves to the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until the speckled milk solids at the bottom of the pan start to brown and the sage leaves become crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the sage to the paper towel-lined plate.

Step 3
Add the chopped sage, fennel seeds, poultry seasoning and cayenne to the browned butter and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Add the onion and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the celery and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Stir in the milk and heat until steaming. Taste and add salt and pepper; the milk should be assertively seasoned.

Step 4
Transfer the toasted bread cubes to a large bowl. Pour the hot milk mixture over the bread and gently toss with two spoons until the bread is thoroughly soaked; add more milk if needed. Spread the stuffing in the buttered baking dish and cover with foil. Bake until warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is crispy and a little darker in color, about 10 minutes. Scatter with the fried sage leaves and serve.

Servings: 16
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: 2 hours
Source: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/kish-family-two-bread-stuffing

Top Chef winner Kristen Kish’s mom came up with this two-bread stuffing to please both sides of her family: half from Michigan, where white bread stuffing is essential, and half from Texas, where they demand cornbread. A double batch feeds a crowd with plenty of leftovers for the next day.

We modified the recipe to use a 1lb loaf of ciabatta instead of white sandwich bread. The D&E cornbread recipe yields 6 cups. We used 4 C of vegetarian bouillon stock, which makes this a vegetarian side. Very moist. Not sure if 6 C needed

Ingredients: 

Unsalted butter, for greasing
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups finely chopped yellow onions
4 cups finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon grated garlic
12 cups prepared cornbread, torn into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/3 pounds)
2 (1-pound) day-old ciabatta, torn into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6?) cups vegetarian bouillon stock

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 (13- x 9-inch) baking dishes with butter. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onions and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add sage and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Transfer cooked vegetables to a large bowl. Add cornbread, sandwich bread, parsley, salt, and pepper; stir until well combined. Gradually stir in stock until breads are evenly moistened. Scrape mixture into prepared baking dishes. Bake in preheated oven until hot and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Servings: 8-10
Preheat: 375
Prep Time: 1 1/4 hours, plus overnight drying
Source: ALISON ROMAN – New York Times; https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020600-buttered-stuffing-with-celery-and-leeks

Those of you who love stuffing know that it might be the only reason to host Thanksgiving. This version is an updated classic — no dried fruit, no surprise ingredients, no “twists” — just a very buttery, deeply savory stuffing made with garlic, leeks and a lot of celery. The bread is crusty and torn, never cubed (for those crisp, craggy edges), and the whole thing is baked in a baking dish, never inside the turkey (to keep it light and fluffy with a custardy interior and a golden-brown top). All stuffing needs two trips to the oven: once, covered, to cook it through and twice, uncovered, to crisp up the top. You can do the first bake ahead of time if you like, or do one after the other if the timing works out that way.

Ingredients: 

1 large loaf good, crusty bread, preferably sourdough or ciabatta (about 1¼ pounds)
¼ cup olive oil
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 large leeks, white and light green parts, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 celery stalks, thinly sliced, leaves reserved for garnish if available
½ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken, turkey or vegetable broth
3 large eggs
½ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup finely chopped chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped marjoram, oregano or thyme

Directions: 

Using your hands, tear bread, crust and all, into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces. (Alternatively, you can cut the bread with a knife, but I prefer the way the craggy bits toast and soak up the goods.) Place chunks on a rimmed baking sheet, and let sit uncovered at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. If you’re short on time, you can toast the chunks in a 300-degree oven instead, tossing occasionally, until lightly crisped, but not browned, on the outside.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine olive oil and 4 tablespoons butter. Once butter has melted, add the garlic and leeks. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are bright green and totally softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add celery, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until bright green and tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add white wine, and cook until reduced by about three-quarters, 3 to 4 minutes. Add red-pepper flakes, if using, and remove from heat.

Whisk together broth and eggs in a medium bowl. Place bread in a large bowl (you want a lot of room for mixing, so go big), and add the leek and celery mixture, parsley, chives and marjoram. Stir to coat so that everything is evenly distributed, trying not to totally crush the bread. Pour the egg mixture over everything and toss a few times. Let sit a minute or two and give another toss. Repeat twice until all the liquid has absorbed and evenly distributed to each and every piece of bread.

Transfer mixture to a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish (a 9-by-13 pan also works), making sure not to pack it too tightly. (You want to keep the bread in the stuffing as light as possible.) Dot the top with the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, making sure to pay extra attention to the corners, where the stuffing will get the crispiest.

Cover with foil and bake until the stuffing is sizzling at the edges and completely cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. If it’s not yet time to serve, remove stuffing from oven and set aside. (If you are nearly ready to serve, proceed directly to the next step and continue without pausing.)

When ready to serve, remove foil and increase temperature to 425 degrees. Bake stuffing until crispy, crunchy and impossibly golden brown on top, 20 to 25 minutes. Scatter with celery leaves, if using, and serve.

Servings: —

Ingredients
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 carrot, peeled, coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped red onion
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2¼ cup water
2 cup couscous
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill (optional)

Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrot and onion and sauté until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add thyme and remaining garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add 2¼ cups water and remaining ½ teaspoon salt; bring to boil. Immediately add couscous to water in skillet and stir to combine. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. Mix in dill. Season to taste with pepper. (Couscous can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)