


I went to the local Williams Sonoma store and took a class on how to make 3 different stuffings. We got to taste test as well. Here are the stuffing recipes, if interested. Bacon-Biscuit was my favorite. And the other thing is... if you decide to do the bread pudding recipe- use 2 pans an only do single layers the bread pieces. If you do multiple layers, the bottom layers will get mushy and not too tasty. You want them to be kind of crispy (caramelized) around the edges of the pan, and soft in the inside.
The main 2 things that I learned in class are: make sure your dressing/stuffing has reached 165 degrees and make sure you stuff your turkey right before cooking it. Don't let the stuffing sit in your turkey for too long before cooking.
Smoky Bacon Buscuit Dressing (in the print baking dish)
In this savory dressing, homemade cream biscuits stand in for the traditional bread, while crispy bacon adds delicious smoky flavor. For the biscuit recipe, click on the link at left.
Ingredients:
Twelve 4-inch cream biscuits, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 lb. sliced smoky bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 yellow onions, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
8 oz. white button mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
5 cups chicken stock
Directions:
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350°F.
Spread the biscuits out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
In a deep sauté pan over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Pour off all but 3 Tbs. of the fat from the pan. Set the pan over medium heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, mushrooms, parsley, sage and thyme and cook until the celery is soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add the bacon to the bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the biscuits and stock and stir to combine.
Transfer the dressing to a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake until the dressing is lightly browned, about 20 minutes more. Serves 10.
Cornbread Dressing with Chestnuts (in the red baking dish)
This recipe calls for baking the dressing separately from the turkey, which allows for faster roasting and more accurate timing of the bird. Be sure to toast the corn bread before combining it with the other ingredients. Fresh untoasted bread would absorb too much liquid, producing a soggy dressing.
Ingredients:
8 cups corn bread (see related recipe at left),
cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups turkey or chicken stock
1 cup dried cherries
1 Tbs. olive oil
8 bacon slices, finely chopped
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 jar (14.8 oz.) French chestnuts
3 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 egg
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish.
Spread the corn bread out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 20 minutes. Set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the stock. Remove the pan from the heat and add the dried cherries. Let cool.
In a fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the bacon and fry, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.
Add the onion, celery and carrot to the pan and sauté until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, combine the corn bread, bacon, onion mixture, chestnuts, sage and parsley. Whisk the egg into the stock mixture and add to the corn bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper and stir gently to mix.
Transfer the dressing to the prepared baking dish and bake until browned and crispy, about 1 hour. Serves 10 to 12.
Note: If desired, you can pack the dressing loosely in the body and neck cavities of the turkey. Secure the neck flap with kitchen string or pin it to the back with toothpicks or trussing pins. Tying the legs together will help hold the stuffing in the body cavity. For turkeys weighing 16 lb. or less, add 30 minutes to the total roasting time. For turkeys weighing more than 16 lb., add 1 hour to the total roasting time.
Mushroom Bread Pudding (in the yellow baking dish)
For a boost in flavor, make this bread pudding with wild mushrooms. Some, such as shiitakes and oyster mushrooms, are no longer truly wild but are farm raised and now widely available. Cremini and portobellos, cousins of the common white button, are farmed for their slightly more robust flavor. Some wild mushrooms still grow only wild and must be hand harvested by trained foragers. Look for porcini (cèpes), morels, chicken-of-the-woods and lobster mushrooms.
The mushroom mixture can be sautéed the night before. Let cool, cover and refrigerate, returning it to room temperature before using. The pudding should be assembled just before baking. This is an exclusive online recipe from the Williams-Sonoma Collection series.
Ingredients:
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white
and tender green portions
2 tsp. minced fresh marjoram or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
marjoram, crumbled
1 lb. white button or cremini mushrooms, thinly
sliced
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup medium-dry sherry
7 eggs
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp. hot-pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1 baguette, cut into 1-inch-thick diagonal slices
(about 16 slices)
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 325°F. Generously butter a baking dish.
In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the green onions and marjoram and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and salt and cook, stirring once or twice, until the mushrooms release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the sherry and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk in the half-and-half and hot-pepper sauce. Add the bread slices and let stand, stirring gently once or twice, until the bread is moist and soft. Arrange half the bread slices in a single layer in the prepared dish. Spread half the mushrooms over the bread. Arrange the remaining bread slices over the mushroom layer, then top with the remaining mushrooms. Pour any egg mixture remaining in the bowl evenly over all.
Bake until the pudding is puffed and golden and the center is just set, about 45 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot or warm. Serves 8 to 10.
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