Thanksgiving Recipes: Thanksgiving Stuffing

I have to admit, stuffing is not my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. Why fill up on carbs when there's turkey and veggies to eat? Even so, I know most people love it and I needed a great recipe for my first year hosting. My friend Melissa recommended this Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe from the Pioneer Woman.


Unfortunately my supermarket was out of cornbread so I had to make this with just hearty white bread. I think the cornbread would have added a whole other dimension to this stuffing and next year I'll either make my own or go out of my way to buy some. This was good, but I can only imagine how much better it'll be with the cornbread.

Thanksgiving Stuffing
Adapted from Pioneer Woman

2 loaves hearty bread
1 stick butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups celery, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons (to 3 Teaspoons) fresh rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Chop bread into 1-inch cubes. Spread them out on two baking sheets and let them dry for approximately 24 hours.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add butter. When it’s melted add the onion and celery and cook for a few minutes until onions are almost translucent. While it’s cooking chop up any fresh herbs you will be using.

Add 4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of basil, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, a few teaspoons of fresh chopped rosemary and 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley. Stir until combined.

Place dried bread cubes into a large bowl. Gradually ladle the broth mixture into the bread, tossing lightly as you go. Keep gradually adding the broth mixture, tasting as you go and adding more seasoning and herbs if needed. Add salt carefully. You don’t want to over-salt your stuffing. If the mixture is not quite moist enough add a bit more chicken broth and stir.

Butter a large baking dish. Add stuffing and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Make Ahead - The bread should be air-dried at least 24 hours ahead so it has plenty of time to stale. Cook the veggies the night before and put the stuffing in a greased baking dish, covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge. Moisten with additional chicken stock before baking.

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Turkey Day! Yes, I know this post is a little late but things are hectic around here, as you can imagine. This year we decided to keep things very low-key. We still went to my parent's house, but SP did some of the cooking (veggie sides and dessert) and my mom did the turkey and the rest of the sides. It was a great time and Baby Girl slept through the whole meal, allowing everyone to enjoy a hot meal together.

Here's the turkey, fresh from the oven:


And here it is after my stepdad worked his carving magic:


Glorious, fluffy mashed potatoes:


SP made the stuffing, with a little help from me:


...with a hint of apple from apple cider. Delish! He also made green bean casserole:


Yes, it had cream of mushroom soup, but the beans were fresh. Cranberry sauce:


Glazed carrots:


... were the surprise hit of the year. It was a simple recipe using brown sugar, sherry and baby carrots and butter. Plenty of gravy made from the turkey drippings:


The table all laid out:


My plate with lots of everything.


I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Next year maybe Baby Girl will be helping out in the kitchen.

Mini Thanksgiving Dinner

Just look at this gorgeous plate:


No, it's not the fourth Thursday in November, but this is a Thanksgiving meal. Our friends C & D came over for a pre-Thanksgiving meal to get us ready for the big day in a few weeks. We split the menu so neither of us was cooking the whole meal. D made the turkey:


...which he carved before bringing it over to make reheating it easier. He told us he rubbed the turkey with a bunch of seasonings and then cooked it at high heat to seal in the juices and brown the skin and then finished it low and slow to keep it moist, basting it with apple cider along the way. It was sensational - moist, tender and very flavorful. He also made the stuffing:


... and the gravy:


I was in charge of sides, including a fresh take on green bean casserole:


... where everything was fresh instead of canned. Green bean casserole isn't a staple on our holiday table, but I've been interested in trying a fresh version and this didn't disappoint. Even D, who isn't a fan of green bean casserole, had two huge helpings. I also did mashed potatoes:


... roasted sweet potatoes:


... two kinds of cranberry sauce (jellied and jellied with whole fruit):


... and SP's famous biscuits:


I actually made this batch of biscuits since SP had been cleaning the house all day and didn't want to get any chemical residue in the dough. He walked me through each step and the biscuits were really good, with a nice tang from the buttermilk. C & D were also in charge of dessert, and C made a double chocolate cake:


She even made chocolate leaves to go on top of the cake. It was decadent and very good. After all this food we needed a long walk around the neighborhood. I think we're all sufficiently ready for Turkey Day on the 27th.

Family Christmas Party

My mother's family came for our annual post-Christmas gathering on Friday and my mom cooked another turkey dinner for the occasion. My plate, from the bottom left - turkey, candy cane breadstick, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce and a yam in the middle:


Everything was delectable, even better than Thanksgiving dinner. This is one of my all-time favorite meals. I just love all the components together.

While we exchanged gifts we noshed on some cheese and crackers:


... as well as some olives and mozzarella balls marinated with spices and sundried tomatoes:


The turkey after it came out of the oven all golden-brown and delicious:


... and after my stepfather carved it. For longhairman - we ate some of the skin but most people preferred just the meat:


Everyone was very hungry by the time dinner was ready so I didn't take pictures of the individual serving pieces except for the candy cane breadsticks:


I love these things. The recipe is so easy - take refrigerated breadsticks and twist to shape into a candy cane. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan and dried dill. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 and you're done.

A friend of my mom's gave her two traditional Italian desserts:


... and we also had pumpkin pie: