I grew up on boxed stuffing, which certainly isn’t bad but think about what it is – over-seasoned bread cubes in a cardboard container.
Boring.
For the longest time I’ve been loyal to a cornbread stuffing with dried cranberries from Cooking Light that I’ve adapted so much that the original recipe developer probably wouldn’t recognize it.
This year I realized that there is a world beyond cornbread stuffing, however delicious it might be, and opted to experiment with a whole wheat baguette and the various ingredients I had in my fridge: apples, chestnuts and sour cherries.
Homemade stuffing is a little bit time-consuming, but if you’re making it on Thanksgiving day, this recipe’s saving grace is that you can cook it on the stovetop, leaving your oven free for more important things, like a big fat turkey.
- 1 day-old loaf whole wheat baguette, cubed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4¼ cups homemade vegetable stock
- 1 cup celery, medium dice
- 1 cup white onion, medium dice
- 1 clove garlic, mince
- 2 small Granny Smith apples, medium dice
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 healthy pinch of ground cinnamon Salt and pepper, to taste
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and leeks. Stir occasionally. Season with salt.
- When onions are translucent and celery is tender, add the apples, chestnuts, thyme, sage and cinnamon and check the seasoning. Sauté for 5 more minutes; stir to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Add the toasted bread to the skillet and add vegetable stock, until bread is completely moistened. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir to combine so that flavors are evenly distributed.
- Let cook about 20 minutes more, stirring and adding stock as needed every 5 minutes. Put stuffing inside of the turkey or serve in a large bowl.
- NOTE: If you can't purchase your bread in advance you can cut it into cubes and toast them on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes. They should be crunchy, like croutons, but not browned.
“I would love to learn how to cook, well bake Lemon Meringue Pie.. I’ve always heard horror stories so I’m nervous to even attempt.”
5 Comments
Shells & Cheese with Browned Butter and Swiss Chard
November 16, 2011 at 2:26 am[…] should be saved for other days, like non-holidays. Another part of me realizes that we can have stuffing, mashed potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce on any day of the year, so why bother saving it for […]
Courtney
November 22, 2010 at 9:47 pmI never thought of using whole wheat, may have to try! I never liked stuffing growing up (stovetop) I thought it was the worst part of Thanksgiving until I made it homemade. So much better than the boxed.. Sorry mom!!
BTW, Can’t believe I won!! I can’t wait to use them! I should definitely attempt lemon meringue pie now 🙂 Thanks so much 🙂
Sues
November 22, 2010 at 6:56 pmThere is quite possibly nothing better than homemade stuffing 🙂 And with apples, chestnuts, and sour cherries?? This looks absolutely amazing!
NJS
November 22, 2010 at 2:22 pmSounds great, though I still have a soft spot for cornbread stuffing.
Daryl
November 22, 2010 at 1:45 pmThat stuffing looks soooo good. Stove-Top-shame on your mother!