Stuffing Recipe 445

WHOLE-GRAIN STUFFING WITH KALE AND DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put bread on a baking sheet and toast, turning once or twice, until golden and dry, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool a bit.
• While bread toasts, put a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Fill a large bowl with ice water. When pot comes to a boil, add kale; let it wilt for about a minute, then drain and plunge it into ice water. When cool, squeeze kale dry and roughly chop. Put kale, oil, vinegar, figs, dates, shallot, sage and nuts in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper and toss to coat.
• Fill a bowl with tap water and soak bread for about 3 minutes. Gently squeeze a slice dry and crumble it into salad bowl. Repeat with remaining slices. Toss well to combine stuffing and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Before finishing, taste and adjust seasoning.
• Place stuffing in bird and bake. Or to bake it outside of bird, grease a 2-quart or 9-by-13-inch baking dish and fill it with stuffing. Dot top with bits of butter if you like. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes; then uncover and finish baking until crisp, another 10 to 15 minutes more.

STUFFING RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, boil water and stir in wild rice. Reduce heat. Cover, and simmer 45 minutes, until water has been absorbed and rice is tender.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in sausage, onions, and celery. Cook until sausage is evenly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, and stir in mushrooms, thyme, and rosemary. Continue cooking about 2 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly browned. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.
• In a large bowl, mix the sausage mixture with the cooked rice, whole wheat bread, apples, and raisins. Gradually blend in chicken broth until mixture is moistened.
• Transfer mixture to a large baking dish. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

BASIC STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups each diced onions and celery, 2 chopped apples and 1 tablespoon each minced sage and thyme; season with salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add 3 cups chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Whisk 2 eggs with 1/4 cup chopped parsley in a large bowl; add 16 cups cubed stale country white bread, then pour in the vegetable-broth mixture and toss. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish and dot with more butter. Cover and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until golden, 20 more minutes.

YUMMY SWEET STUFFING

Steps:

• Prepare stuffing mix according to package directions.
• Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat; drain. Add the cranberry sauce and syrup; cook and stir until the cranberry sauce has melted. Stir in the prepared stuffing. Serve hot.