SHORT STORY:
What can I add to a stuffing recipe to make more delicious?

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LONG STORY:
Due to covid the usual family get togethers have all been cancelled. Which also means my aunt will not be bringing her family favorite stuffing. A recipe, she jokingly (not really) will not reveal to anybody.

So this year I will be making my own stuffing for the family.

I will start by using this Sausage and Herb stuffing recipe by Ina Garten (Food Network) as a base. Minus the dried cranberries. Amounts will be halved:
[www.foodnetwork.com]

Not expensive like truffles. Something everyday. Like adding grape jelly to meatballs. And not too deathly, like 6 sticks of butter.

16 cups 1-inch bread cubes, white or sourdough (1 1/2 pound loaf)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup dried cranberries

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2020 08:04AM by d4.

You could put the dried cranberries in.

Perhaps add a splash of white wine? I'm looking for a source of acid à la salt fat acid heat - [www.saltfatacidheat.com]

>Like adding grape jelly to meatballs

What the hell??

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2020 08:21AM by mattkime.

Quote
mattkime
You could put the dried cranberries in

.....this......or raisins......or apples......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

We love chopped mushrooms in our celery stuffing. I think that would go well with the overall flavor mix yours is.

Apples
Reduced wine
Smoke flavor
Mushrooms
Green onions
Tamari
Fresh Ginger juice
Balsamic vinegar
Roasted acorn squash

Obviously, not all of these.

I make a cornbread sausage stuffing. Consider adding nuts. I suggest low sodium broth. Green onions are a good idea. This Thanksgiving I added crawfish.

I second the nuts idea. I love either pecans or walnut in my stuffing.
Adds a nice bit of crunch and some flavor.
Some people like to add chestnuts, too.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

D4,

Bacon. 'course, I'd also remove the pesky apple and celery. Neither adds anything to stuff. Celery especially. Tasteless and a gross feeling cross between stringy and mushy.

Robert

While scrounging around the wife's workshop (kitchen) I found these hidden gems:





Maybe half a packet of chicken instant ramen seasoning for a dash of MSG?
If everyone devours the stuffing and loves it not knowing the secret ingredient was a half pack of chicken ramen seasoning packet. I would reveal it to everyone on my deathbed. And die with a laugh. LOL!

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MSG

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d4,

How old are the spices? They're still usable even after many years. You just have to use more of each spice to get flavor out of it.

<[www.healthline.com];

Definitely time to replace a bunch of spices we have in the cubbard. Actually, it's more like just toss and not replace since we haven't used the majority of them in well over a decade.

Robert

Bacon and pecans

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

....what about....jaw breakers......???

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Sage Sage poultry seasoning leave out the black pepper .

Chestnuts.

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Asheville, NC Area

Diced pears

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

Chopped pecans. Delicious!

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

Marty,

Yum! And, this is a good time of the year for them in the Northeast!

Robert

My mom is suggesting shiitake mushrooms. Just a little bit to add some mystery flavor. Too much and it'll taste like "Asian style stuffing."

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fish sauce

....butterscotch candies.....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

I like stuffing/dressing but without the bread.
Bread = meaningless filler, and the carbs won't do you any favor.

Your recipe sounds good as is. What's typically missing in terms of taste? I was going to suggest sausage but that's in there. I *might* suggest leaving out the Italian sausage (could be heretical, I know how that works) and substituting a smoked sausage like andouille. That will give you a smokey-ness that's not overpowering but adds nicely overall

Oh, I'd def leave berries and nuts out of this. Save those for the dessert course! And i like Robert's idea of bacon which would also achieve a smokey flavor.

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Mischievous and Deceitful
Chicanerous and Deplorable



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2020 12:49PM by mrbigstuff.

.....creamed corn......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

It's missing carrot to be a classic mirepoix but it could be the apples is substituting some of that. My mom used to toast blanched almonds and then dice very finely, pecans is is a good alternate. She used six cups of her own vegetable stock (add giblets from the turkey if is the main course) reduce it 2/3rds. Poultry seasoning can replace some of the stock if you don't want to take the time to reduce it.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

I would have agreed, either or both of chestnuts and mushroom. Mushroom gives a nice slightly smoky flavor, and chestnut adds texture and flavor as well.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

.....anchovies....make everything taste better......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Emeril looks so young.
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Quote
srf1957
Sage Sage poultry seasoning leave out the black pepper .

+1 on Sage

Diced turkey gizzards and livers. Toss in a few chicken hearts.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Sage. It's useless without sage.

Quote
Dennis S
Sage. It's useless without sage.

This!!!!

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-Bill

....so this is....sage.......advice.....???

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!