Thanksgiving Recipes v4.0 ~ Stuffed!

Turkey Trivia: When Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin sat down to eat their first meal on the moon, their foil food packets contained roasted turkey and all of the trimmings.

Voila three different stuffing recipes: Apple-Cranberry Sage Dressing, Sausage Fennel Stuffing, Apple & Sausage Stuffing... I've never made these and I have no idea where they originated, I just found them in my three-foot high stack of recipes ripped from magazine and newspapers, scribbled on napkins, menus, computer print outs, in-flight magazines, etc... There's a complimentary cocktail in there somewhere, but I digress...  Have at 'em and if you do end up making one of them, please let me know how it turns out! 

Apple-Cranberry Sage Dressing

3 C sour dough bread cubed, fresh or day-old
1/2 C chicken stock
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 C whole milk
2 onions, diced
2 tbsp  butter
3 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 C dried cranberries
3 tbsp chopped fresh sage (1/2 the amount if dried)
sea salt & fresh ground pepper

1. preheat the oven to 375F
2. soak the bread cubes in the chicken stock, egg, and milk until all the liquid is absorbed.
3. sauté the onions in the butter until translucent. add the apples, cook until the apples just start to soften (about 7 to 8 minutes).
4. remove from the heat and cool
5. combine the onion and apples with the bread cubes.
6. Gently combine in the sage, cranberries and s&p.
7. pour the mixture into a 2-quart ovenproof dish.
8. bake for 35 minutes and serve hot in the same baking dish.

Sausage Fennel Stuffing

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casing discarded
1/2 stick (1/4 C) butter
2 onions, small dice
2 medium fennel bulbs, cut in half and finely slice
2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
1/4 C Pernod
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried tarragon
5 C corn bread for stuffing

1. in a large heavy skillet, cook sausage over med-high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink. Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
2. add butter to fat remaining in skillet and cook onions, chopped fennel, fennel seeds over medium heat, stirring, until fennel is softened, about 10 minutes.
3. add Pernod, thyme, and tarragon. cook, stirring, until most liquid is evaporated.
4. add mixture to sausage with corn bread and toss to combine well.
5. add salt and pepper as needed. add to turkey and cook.

note: you can make this stuffing 2 days ahead, just chill and cover

Apple & Sausage Stuffing

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/4 C (1/2 stick) butter
5 C chopped onion, small dice
2 C chopped celery
8 C diced Granny Smith apples
1 tbsp dried sage
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 esp ground allspice
5-1/2 C cubed foccacia

1. preheat oven to 350F
2. sauté sausage in  large pan over med-high heat until cooked through, crumbling sausage with fork. with a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl and set aside.
3. add butter, onions and celery to pan and sauté until onions are tender.
4. add apples and sauté until tender but still hold shape
5. add sage, thyme and allspice, sauté 1 minute.
6. add to sausage. stir in stuffing mix and season with salt and pepper.
7. butter baking dish and add stuffing, cover with foil and bake until heated through, approx 45 minutes.

note: you can make this stuffing 2 days ahead, just chill and cover

bon appetit and happy thanksgiving!

Comments

[paati]

would love to try out the sausage & fennel stuffing!:)
paati

[Lil]

yum yum yum! happy thanksgiving laura!

[alex]

Wow!!!^

[Elizabeth]

Excellent resource you\'ve got here!!! Will definately be back!!!c

[Leslie]

La Festa del Ringraziamento - an American tradition done Italian style. Here in Naples, Italy, fennel is king. I made the Sausage Fennel Stuffing back when this was first posted in 2006. It was a huge hit then and this will be my 3rd year making it. We'll be entertaining some of our Italian friends to celebrate and I'm certain this will be a big pleaser. Grazie molto e buona festa!