Last Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving. I couldn’t put up with the torturous IM’s from up north about turkey dinner and stuffing, so I had a mini-thanksgiving dinner. No one had thawed turkeys in store, so I bought some legs and drum sticks and cooked them up with some yams in the oven. I also cooked up a batch of oven pan stuffing. Since most people either suffer through the boxed kind, or risk food poisoning and overcooked turkey with the stuffing in the bird method, I figured I should share my rough recipe for stuffing.
Oven Pan Stuffing
2 good quality baguettes (rustic french is best, no sourdough), chop into 1″ cubes
1 stick butter for the heart attack version, I like to substitute half with olive oil
1 celery stalk, diced
3 small/medium onions, diced
3 teaspoons dried sage
3 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 carton of chicken stock (4 cups)
3 eggs
Rough instructions:
1) If the bread is not stale, put the bread cubes on cookie sheets and cook in the oven at 400F for about 20 minutes until crunchy, stir every few minutes.
2) In a pot, saute the celery and onions in half a stick of butter and a few table spoons of olive oil – for the heart attack version, add only the stick of butter. Cook until the onions start to turn clear. Add in all the spices and cook for another minute, then turn off the heat.
3) Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a large baking tray(s), and have a lid or tin foil hat ready for it.
5) Add the carton of chicken stock to the pot. When that cools it down, beat the eggs, then mix them into the liquid.
6) Put the bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl and gradually pour the pot of liquid over them, mixing it all evenly.
7) Put mix in the baking tray(s), cover with lid or tinfoil, and bake for 30 mins.
8) Take the cover off the dish and bake for another 25 mins or so. Pull it out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before dishing up.
Serves 6 that really like stuffing. This mix can be a bit on the ‘spiced’ side. For those sensitive super tasters out there, just half the spice measurements.