Thanksgiving Staples
Every year, several weeks before Thanksgiving, I send a Google form to whoever is going to be at our feast, asking for input about the menu. However, turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry are de rigueur.
For the gravy: This week I wrote a longer column with three recipes using hard cider. Of these three, the one I’ve made the most is the family’s favorite Thanksgiving gravy. That recipe can be found online here.
For the stuffing: I know it’s technically stuffing inside the bird and dressing baked in a pan. We usually have both because what fits in the turkey is not nearly enough for our group! For this recipe, there are the basics, and the embellishments. My grandmother always used chestnuts so that’s what I do, but dried fruit, nuts, or other vegetables are also good options.
I like to use the unseasoned stuffing, but that can be difficult to find from the big-name brands. At least one of our local supermarkets has plain dried bread for stuffing in the bakery section during the holidays
BAER FAMILY STUFFING / DRESSING
Serves 4, can be doubled or tripled
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil
½ medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, trimmed and diced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces loose sausage (about 1 standard sausage, removed from the casing); vegan sausage also an option
8 ounces plain stuffing cubes
1½ teaspoons dried sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
8-10 ready-to-eat chestnuts, chopped (raw chestnuts are not safe to eat)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup stock, store-bought or homemade (I use chicken stock, but for a vegetarian stuffing, vegetable broth works), plus more as needed
DIRECTIONS:
Heat canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, celery, and salt, and sauté until softened and the onion is translucent. Add the sausage and continue to sauté until cooked through. If using vegan sausage, check the package instruction.
Place sausage mixture in a large bowl with the stuffing cubes, sage, thyme, and chestnuts and mix to combine. Pour the butter and stock over and stir again. If desired, place some stuffing loosely in the bird, as much as fits. Place remaining stuffing or all the stuffing into a baking dish. Stuffing can be made to this point, covered tightly and kept refrigerated, or can even be frozen until ready to cook.
Before baking, if the stuffing is especially dry, add some additional stock or even water. (This can depend on how dry the bread cubes are.) Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Optionally, if you like some moist bits and some crunchy bits, you can remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time.
For the cranberry: A long, long time ago I spent the winter out on Nantucket Island. Back then – and perhaps still now, though I have no idea – there were wild cranberry bogs where you could go and pick. My then-boyfriend’s mother gave me this recipe for cranberry chutney which I’ve been making ever since. I sometimes can a double or triple batch using the water-bath method, and, if so, I call it “Crantucket Chutney” on the label. But even if canning is not your thing, due to the sugar and vinegar it keeps for months in the fridge (due to the sugar and vinegar in the recipe) and is delicious with any poultry.
CRANTUCKET CHUTNEY
INGREDIENTS:
One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
1 apple, cored and chopped
⅓ cup golden raisins
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon any or all of the following ground spices (I use all!): ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, dry mustard, allspice
DIRECTIONS:
Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue to simmer, adjusting the heat as needed until most of the cranberries have “popped.” It will seem like a lot of liquid when warm, but the natural pectin in the cranberries with cause it to gel nicely as it cools.