For those loyal friends and followers who were around this time last year, you might remember that Thanksgiving- glorious eating day that it is -is not really my favorite meal. I think it’s all that starch. It just freaks me out a bit. And I do love turkey, but I tend to prefer it sliced on bread smothered in butter (yeah, yeah, I know).

But this year I find myself again away from my mother’s table and, somehow, hosting a Thanksgiving dinner party … for ten!  And if you will recall, no- I’ve never done this before. I’ve been freaking out for about the last week, but now I’ve finally settled on the menu and my roommate and I just placed an order for a ten-pound turkey this afternoon. It will be coming in fresh (not frozen) from France on Tuesday morning. But I’m not quite sure how I feel about a French turkey …

At any rate, now it’s about a week and a half ’til T-Day and I should really get rolling. So, for the next two weeks I’m going to take you on this experimental journey with me. I have the added hurdle of not living in America, so most of the Thanksgiving staple ingredients are either difficult to find or impossibly expensive (enter, the French turkey at the fine price of €40). Thus, I’m going to make pretty much everything from scratch. Rachel, I know, you’re incredibly proud. Anyway, I will possibly subject you to this as well, but as always, it will depend on the “ease” of how the recipes turn out.

Which brings me to today’s topic: stuffing. Or in my case, ‘dressing’ since I choose to bake it separately outside the bird. Stove-Top stuffing out of the box is probably how most Americans make their stuffing. Pour it out, boil it & there you go. But somehow I managed to mess that up last year, and more importantly, I just don’t know that I want to part with €5/box for dehydrated bread. I also want to experiment with adding a bit more fun stuff to it so that it’s a bit more ‘healthy’ and a bit less starchy … or something.

Below is a fun little recipe/method for making your own bread stuffing base. The best thing about this recipe is that when I set out to make it this afternoon, I didn’t have to buy a thing!

[Prep: 15min* / Bake: 30min]
*plus bread drying time

– 4 slices of bread
– 1/4 cup butter or olive oil
– 1/2 large onion
– a hefty dash each of basil, thyme, paprika and salt
– about 1/4 cup chicken broth

1. Lay out the bread slices to dry for a couple hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Cut the dried bread into small cubes and chop the onion.
3. In a nice, large pan melt the butter and sauté the onions.
4. Stir in the bread and seasonings. Stir until coated.
5. Add the chicken broth and gently stir as the bread absorbs it.
6. Move the mixture to a casserole dish and bake for 30min or until golden brown.
7. Let cool for a couple minutes and then fluff/break-up with a fork.
8. Ready to eat!

[Serves 2]

Notes

• Pretty much all homemade stuffing recipes call for ‘poultry seasoning’ instead of the seasonings I listed. If you don’t want to buy poultry seasoning, it is most commonly made up of sage, thyme, celery salt and savory. However, I find this a great opportunity to tailor your seasonings to what you have, what you like or what goes best with your meal or add-ins.
• Any type of bread works. I’m particularly looking forward to mixing wheat and white bread for my stuffing next week. It’s also a great opportunity to use the heels of the loaf.

Whether you go with the homemade version or the box, you can have a lot of fun sautéing and adding in other ingredients- either before you bake or after you boil [respectively]. As always, I encourage you to experiment to your heart’s content. Here are some interesting ones I’ve found:

• celery, green apple, dash of cinnamon
• celery, red apple, dried cranberries
• dried cranberries, raisins, brown sugar, dash of cinnamon & nutmeg
• celery, leeks, carrots & cubed potatoes
• pears & walnuts
• cheddar & bacon bits
• ground beef, chicken, pork or turkey for a meaty boost

~Happy Cooking!

photos: kevandy; ginnerobot