There are times in your life when you are faced with situations that yank you out of your comfort zone. On Christmas Eve, many years ago, my dad found himself in such a position. My mum was curled up in bed, covers pulled tightly around her, trying to banish a bad case of bronchitis. The next night, we were due to host the annual family Christmas feast and neither my dad nor I had ever cooked anything more complicated than sandwiches or scrambled eggs.
I walked into the dining room to find my dad surrounded by open cookbooks, diligently searching for a holiday-worthy stuffing recipe. He looked like a college student hunkering down for a long night of cramming for a tough exam. Thankfully, our angels of the kitchen, Fannie Farmer, Betty Crocker,and Julia Child, were all there to lend a hand. Pulling from five or six recipes, my dad concocted a recipe that immediately became a family classic for our Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey feasts.
From that day forward, my dad took charge of the stuffing for every major holiday. The search for the perfect bread starts one day in advance. He looks for loaves of whole wheat and white bread, preferably unsliced, that are fresh, but not too soft. On cooking day, he diligently tears the bread with a fork into rough, rustic pieces. The kitchen then fills with the aroma of celery, green onion, sage, marjoram, and parsley cooking in butter. The mixture is tossed with the bread and some chicken stock, and baked in the oven. Doused in gravy and eaten with homemade cranberry sauce, this stuffing is easily my favorite part of the feast.
Now, why mess with perfection, right? Believe me, my dad’s stuffing is perfect in every way. Just for kicks, I added some browned Italian sausage and freshly grated nutmeg for a slightly different take on our classic favorite. If you prefer a vegetarian bread stuffing, leave out the sausage and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Either way, you will be treated to a savory stuffing, filled with all of the flavors of the holidays.
The recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add yellow onion and sausage. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink, crumbling with a wooden spoon. In a large bowl, combine the sausage mixture with torn bread pieces.
Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and turn the heat to medium. Melt butter, then add chopped celery, green onion, sage, marjoram, parsley, and ground nutmeg.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the celery is soft, about 5 minutes.
Toss with the bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and toss again. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. This photo shows the stuffing in an 8 x 8-inch pan because I made a smaller portion for my pre-Thanksgiving test run.
Transfer the stuffing to the baking dish and bake until the stuffing is heated through and a light crust forms on top, 20 to 25 minutes.
Other bread stuffing recipes:
Pinch My Salt’s Sourdough Stuffing with Apples & Bacon
Artisan Bread in Five’s Thanksgiving Stuffing from Homemade Bread
Recipe Girl’s Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing
What We’re Eating’s Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
Savory Bread Stuffing with Herbs & Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 links mild Italian sausage
- 1 large yellow onion cut in half and thinly sliced (use the whole onion)
- 6 cups torn white sandwich bread crusts removed
- 6 cups torn whole wheat sandwich bread crusts removed
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup sliced scallions green onions
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh marjoram
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add yellow onion and sausage. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink, crumbling with a wooden spoon. In a large bowl, combine the sausage mixture with torn bread pieces.
- Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and turn the heat to medium. Melt butter, then add chopped celery, green onion, sage, marjoram, parsley, and ground nutmeg. Cook, stirring frequently, until the celery is soft, about 5 minutes. Toss with the bread mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and toss again.
- Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the stuffing to the baking dish and bake until the stuffing is heated through and a light crust forms on top, 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Mary
This looks great. For the holidays I love to make cornbread stuffing with apples and sausage!