Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 12-14 C. of finely cubed, day-old bread
- butter
- milk
- chicken broth
- herbs, such as sage and thyme or basil and parsley
Optional ingredients
- browned sausage meat
- sautéed mushrooms
- nuts, pine nuts, cooked chestnuts, walnuts, pecans
Instructions
- Sauté 1 medium onion, chopped and 2 large stalks of celery, chopped in a couple of tablespoons of melted butter.
- Pour the above mixture over about 12-14 C. of finely cubed, day-old bread. For this recipe I buy the pre-sliced loaves of American-style bread and remove the crusts before cubing. If the bread is quite soft and fresh, spread it out on a towel overnight to dry out—or toast slightly—before cutting into cubes.
- Sprinkle with herbs of your choice such as thyme and sage, or parsley and basil. Stir in some melted butter, chicken broth (bouillon) or milk, 1 cup at a time until the mixture is moist but not soggy. Taste the mixture to make sure you have enough seasonings. Remember that the amount of salt you add will depend on whether your broth is already salted.
- Add whatever optional ingredients you would like such as browned sausage meat, sautéed mushrooms or nuts.
- Put mixture into a greased casserole dish.
- If fresh sage is readily available, lay fresh sage leaves on top of the stuffing to keep it from drying out and give more depth of flavor. (If I’m using only turkey breasts—not the whole turkey—I put the brined turkey breast on top of the sage leaves; it gives a great flavor throughout. ) When you serve it, discard the layer of sage.
- Bake it for about 30 minutes or until browned. (If you put turkey breasts on top, you’ll need to bake it as long as is necessary for the turkey to be done. Also, the stuffing will remain moist, similar to when the stuffing is baked inside of a turkey.
- Generally stuffing the cavity of a turkey is not recommended because the stuffing can become contaminated by the juices of an underdone turkey and the risk of salmonella.
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