ISO Thanksgiving Stuffing Ideas

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Yakuta

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I may be hosting Thanksgiving again this year at my house. It will be for about 25 to 30 guests and I like to keep it informal/buffet style.

I will either make the turkey or cater it. I normally make it but this time around things are busy and I have my kids and some other kids to take care of.

I normally make a standard cornbread stuffing with the ususal celery, onions, carrots etc and parsley. I normally add some dried fruits (cranberries and walnuts) to make it interesting but it's still pretty blah.

I am looking to see if anyone has a knockout recipe for me to try. The only thing it cannot have is pork (so no sausage type recipes please). Anything else I am willing to give it a try. The more unsual the better.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Oh one more thing I like to bake my stuffing in a pan seperate from the turkey. This is how I always do it. Just makes things easier when you have a buffet style of party.
 
I may be hosting Thanksgiving again this year at my house. It will be for about 25 to 30 guests and I like to keep it informal/buffet style.

I will either make the turkey or cater it. I normally make it but this time around things are busy and I have my kids and some other kids to take care of.

I normally make a standard cornbread stuffing with the ususal celery, onions, carrots etc and parsley. I normally add some dried fruits (cranberries and walnuts) to make it interesting but it's still pretty blah.

I am looking to see if anyone has a knockout recipe for me to try. The only thing it cannot have is pork (so no sausage type recipes please). Anything else I am willing to give it a try. The more unsual the better.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Oh one more thing I like to bake my stuffing in a pan seperate from the turkey. This is how I always do it. Just makes things easier when you have a buffet style of party.

Hi, Yakuta. We did a thread on this just last month: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f104/what-your-favorite-stuffing-dressing-16732.html

HTH.
 
Yakuta,
I love bread stuffing so I either make or buy from a bakery at least four loaves of whole bread..Two white and Two multi grain or wheat..I then just cut it into bite sized pieces, let it dry a little and make my stuffing from there..I add at the very least 2 cubes of butter, chicken broth, sauteed in extra butter , celery, lots of onion, parsley,fresh sliced muchrooms and chopped water, and Bell's poultry seasonings, chestnuts..This is how I like it, my dad use to love added apple and raisins but I have left it out the last several years..I enjoy pies and such but like my stuffing more on the savory side..I never cook it in the turkey, I'm not comfortable with it like that and prefer it to be not so moist..so it's done in a large pan and baked in the oven..Nothing unusual about my stuffing, but I've found my family who use to turn their noses up at stuffing froma bag or box, now makes sure to get in the kitchen at bag up some goodies to take home time and the first thing they go for i stuffing:)

kadesma
 
Gotgarlic thanks for the link. I must have missed the thread. I will check it out.

Caine - I am familiar with turkey sausage but it's a bit more complicated then that because there are some members of our family that eat halal meat (similar to kosher). It's not easy to find susage in halal form everywhere. I am also thinking about catering my turkey due to this exact same issue so everyone can enjoy even some of the elder folks who are the more traditional of the lot. I personally don't observe these rules except for pork but I like to be respectful of the folks that are joining especially when they are my inlaws side.

Kadesma - I like the water chestnut addition. I also make my bread cubes at home on my own from loaves so I am right with you. I have never made it with packaged stuff. I think your butter amounts sound about right :chef:. It makes everything ultra delicious. I will try that trick. What the heck we only splurge a few times a year.
 
I drooling with the stuffing recipes on here. We might end up spending Thanksgiving with in-laws and they don't believe in stuffing.
 
I drooling with the stuffing recipes on here. We might end up spending Thanksgiving with in-laws and they don't believe in stuffing.

Ya know, I spent Thanksgiving with an aunt once, who had cooked the turkey on Tuesday (???) and served it cold "because it was easier to cut with the electric knife"; served Stove-Top Stuffing with McCormick gravy mix; and had no pumpkin pie - my cousin brought little individual pecan pies from a bakery. I was so disappointed, I went home and made an entire Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.
 
I drooling with the stuffing recipes on here. We might end up spending Thanksgiving with in-laws and they don't believe in stuffing.
Dina,
Many moons ago we had a thanksgiving with my mother in law, of course she sent DH home with some ravioli and pieces of chicken she had fixed, no turkey, no stuffing, no gravy...Needless to say, I've cooked thanksgiving or my oldest daughter has helped me at her house ever since..In all this time we've been away from home twice, and before we left a turkey was roasted for the next day, a pan of stuffing readied and in the refrigerator just waiting..So we had a double dose of thanksgiving and all was well with the world:)

Hint, make a pan of stuffing a little gravy and a turkey breast, come home and have a sammie that night and next day enjoy it all over again.
kadesma:LOL:
 
Thanksgiving is a North American and Canadian celebration. If other countries want to incorporated it would be nice if they continue with the tradition of serving harvested foods (root veggies), stuffing and turkey. I will have to make my very own stuffing and cranberries at my in-laws' then. Enough said.
 
Turkey sausage and chestnuts with celery onion and bread stuffing, thyme and sage.
add wild rice too if you like
Make an oyster stuffing...a basic bread and aromatic stuffign with oysters and their liquid, thyme.
a wonderful multi mushroom stuffing: saute them in a hot pan with butter or garlic and olive oil
very scandinavian is apple and prune stuffing
 
We always go to a friend's home for Thanksgiving. She does the roast turkey and stuffing and we all bring the rest of the meal. Usually about 15-20 couples. My DH and I miss the leftovers, though, so I usually cook a turkey a few days after the holiday including all the trimmings.
 
My sister in law makes a killer stuffing. Basically replace your cornmeal with pieces different flavor bagels. She picks up all the different non-fruit flavors and uses them. Great flavor and wonderful texture..
 
I can't think of a stuffing recipe I wouldn't eat/like -- oyster, fruit (apples, celery - and I like chopped walnuts for a little crunch), mushrooms & onions or raisins and apples. (I even like the stuff in a box - gasp.) I make mine outside the bird. Adding some poultry seasoning imo, sometimes gives the dressing/stuffing some added flavor. You could add a few herb/garlic croutons to the mix. I just cant stay away from salt. :LOL:

For a different twist/take on the same old, same old, here's a Stuffin' Muffins recipe from RR.

Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins

P.S. Like the idea of adding dried cranberries.
 
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:)Go hereEpicurious.com: Recipes, Menus, Cooking Articles & Food Guides and look up the Mid Atlantic chestnut dressing I have made it every year since 1994 if you read the reviews so have alot of other people it also has mushrooms in it moist and delicious.There is also the brown sugar glazed sweet potatoes with almonds and marshmellows from the same issue its also has great reviews and the same thing people keep making it for years.Its true what some reviews say that people that hate sp love this I also have had people love those when they did not like them in the first place.
 
as I've gotten older, my tastebuds or likes and dislikes have changed a bit.
the idea of really small tiny pieces of chicken livers in a standard stuffing [just wake up the flavor or add another dimension] makes sense to me as does a tiny bit of lemon to boost the layering too.

Footnote, I watched this this morning. Don't like the show necessarily, but did this morning. I think it's their last years Thanksgiving show.Sausage Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing Recipe: Recipes: Food Network

it looked good, typical, not overly odd to me and something I might give a try to myself. Good lukc with your meal, you'll have a great time, I am sure of that;)
 
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Caine - I am familiar with turkey sausage but it's a bit more complicated then that because there are some members of our family that eat halal meat (similar to kosher). It's not easy to find susage in halal form everywhere.

Well, if you want to try a stuffing with sausage, and you can find a halal butcher who will grind up some lawful turkey breast for you, you can make your own Italian sausage, without stuffing into the customary casing, which you have to remove anyway:

lb. ground turkey
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
tsp. ground paprika
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
½ tsp. fennel seed
tsp. crushed red pepper

Here it a recipe I modified from one I saw in Cooking Light magazine and I enjoy so much, I have made it several times since, including for Christmas with prime rib.


Corn Bread Stuffing with Sausage, Apple, & Fennel


2 tsp olive oil
½ pound Italian sausage (you could leave this out entirely, and it would still be great)
1 large onion, diced
1 bay leaf
2 Granny Smith apples, diced
4 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped
½ cup fennel bulb, diced (a.k.a sweet anise)
1 tsp garlic, minced
½ tsp poultry seasoning
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups turkey or chicken broth
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add onion and bay leaf and cook until onion softens, stirring occasionally. Add apple, celery and fennel, and cook until onion becomes translucent. Add garlic, sage, poultry seasoning, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Crumble cornbread into a large bowl, add the sausage mixture, and toss to combine. Add the broth and eggs and stir to blend thoroughly.

From here, you can either stuff the turkey, spoon the stuffing in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray and put it, uncovered, in the oven with the turkey, or both (my personal favorite!).
 
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Thanksgiving is a North American and Canadian celebration. If other countries want to incorporated it would be nice if they continue with the tradition of serving harvested foods (root veggies), stuffing and turkey. I will have to make my very own stuffing and cranberries at my in-laws' then. Enough said.

Well, no, most cultures and countries have some sort of harvest festival expressing thanks to the god(s) for the bounty, going back thousands of years. They might have a different name for it, but it's the same concept.
 
My sister in law makes a killer stuffing. Basically replace your cornmeal with pieces different flavor bagels. She picks up all the different non-fruit flavors and uses them. Great flavor and wonderful texture..


I've never heard of using bagels for stuffing, but it sounds like it would be yummy.

Any chance that you could get a complete recipe from your SIL?
 
I've never heard of using bagels for stuffing, but it sounds like it would be yummy.

Any chance that you could get a complete recipe from your SIL?

She is like me--generally we just cook. No real recipe to follow.

It would be something like this--
cut up the bagels and toast them slightly in the oven.
Place them in a big bowl. Add onion, celery, almond slivers, oranges, cranberries(or any other fruits you would like), sage, salt, pepper, maybe some garlic and chicken broth. Mix it up--and either stuff the turkey or place in a pan and bake it. You are going to get a lot of flavor from the bagels so you won't need a lot of seasoning.
 

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