Favorite Stuffing Food

"SIMPLE IS BEST" DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Butter a 13x9x2" baking dish and set aside. Scatter bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool; transfer to a very large bowl.
• Meanwhile, melt 3/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and celery. Stir often until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread; stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in 1 1/4 cups broth and toss gently. Let cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk 1 1/4 cups broth and eggs in a small bowl. Add to bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly combined. Transfer to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 40 minutes. (Note: Dressing can be made one day ahead up to this point. Uncover the dressing, let cool, then cover again and chill. The next day, proceed with the final bake as described below.)
• Bake dressing, uncovered, until set and top is browned and crisp, 40-45 minutes longer (if chilled, add 10-15 minutes).

THE BEST STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon and breaking up any clumps, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage with a slotted spoon to a large bowl.
• Add the wine to the skillet and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, scraping up any browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet, and then add the mushrooms. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms brown and have cooked down to about half their original volume, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the sausage.
• Melt the remaining 7 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Then add the celery, onions, sage and thyme and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer.
• Beat the eggs and parsley in another large bowl. Add the bread cubes and toss. Add the reserved sausage and mushrooms and toss together. Pour in the vegetables and broth and toss again until evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and continue to bake until golden, about 30 minutes more. Garnish with celery leaves if using.

FAVORITE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the challah and cornbread on separate baking sheets and bake until lightly toasted and dry; transfer to a large bowl.
• Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and celery and cook until the onions are translucent, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the sage, parsley and 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste and 1 teaspoon pepper.
• Pour the broth mixture over the bread in the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth with the egg in a small bowl; add to the stuffing mixture and toss to combine. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, pressing it down gently so it is evenly distributed. Bake until dry on top and golden brown, about 1 hour.

TEST KITCHEN'S FAVORITE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Divide bread between 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread in a single layer. Bake, stirring a few times, until crisp and dry, about 40 minutes. Let cool. Break a piece open to make sure it's dried all the way through; if not, bake a few more minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onions, celery, and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and golden in places, 7 to 9 minutes. Add garlic, sage, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 1 minute. Pour in wine; cook until mostly evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Brush a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with butter. Transfer onion mixture to bowl with toasted bread; add parsley. Drizzle with stock, stirring to combine. Stir in eggs to evenly coat. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Top with buttered parchment; loosely wrap with foil. (If making ahead, refrigerate at this point until you're ready to bake.) Bake 20 minutes. Uncover; continue cooking until golden on top, about 20 minutes more. Serve, with more parsley sprinkled on top.

CORNBREAD SAUSAGE STUFFING FOR THANKSGIVING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter baking dish; set aside. Arrange bread and cornbread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, until completely dried out, 35-50 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet, then transfer to a very large bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high. Break sausage into ½" pieces and cook, stirring and breaking up into smaller (about ¼") pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread but do not stir.
• Heat remaining 1 stick butter in same skillet over medium-high. Cook onions and celery, stirring often and scraping browned bits off bottom of pan, until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread mixture and let cool.
• Whisk eggs, broth, parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add to bread mixture and fold gently until thoroughly combined.
• Increase oven temperature to 350°F. Transfer mixture to prepared dish, cover with foil, and bake stuffing until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 160°F, 40-45 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until set and top is browned and crisped, 45-50 minutes more.
• DO AHEAD: Stuffing can be assembled, but not baked, 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. When ready to bake, bring to room temperature and bake according to recipe. Stuffing can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool completely, then cover with foil and chill. Keep covered and bake in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 25-30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is crisped, 7-10 minutes more.