French Chestnut Heirloom Stuffing

French Chestnut Heirloom Stuffing

Serves 12-18

Ingredients:

1 loaf white country bread (if you can find it Pepperidge Farms thin slice white bread works best)

1 can Marie Callendar's Cornbread with 4 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, added

make according to package directions. *I like to bake this in a large sheet pan to yield more browned surface.*

3 stalks celery, prefer inner stalks with leaves on them. Leaves add so much flavor.

1 large yellow sweet onion

1/2 to 1 stick butter - your choice

3/4 lb. sage sausage - Jimmy Dean has an easy one to find at the markets. I am searching for a sustainable, humanly treated animal brand. I'll let you know if I find one.

1/2 cup chestnuts (I found mine at Williams Sonoma--these are not Asian water chestnuts, but a starchy, almost sweet delicacy)

2 eggs

3/4 to 1 cup milk

1 tablespoon Kosher or sea salt

poultry seasoning to taste

Important Technique:

**This step is a must!!!***Do this a couple of days before making your stuffing!!**

What sets this stuffing apart from almost all others is that the white bread is layed out in a single layer directly on the oven rack positioned in the very center of your oven. The temperature is low--250-275 degrees depending on if your oven is calibrated accurately. Let the bread toast to a light caramel brown on one side and then turn it over and do the same on the other side of your bread slices. You may need to move some of the bread slices around if your oven cooks them unevenly. Make sure the bread is cooked light brown all the way through with no blonde spots left. Many ovens have hot spots-you will discover where they are while you melba toast your bread. This can be done several days before making your stuffing. Save the wrapper your bread came in and put all the pieces back in, twist closed and set aside until needed. Some of my students like to use sourdough as their bread of choice.

Why do this?? You get the lightest texture, not glue-like consistency, the bread is a lovely caramel flavor, it sets this dressing apart from all others. This is a secret passed on from one generation to the next in some southern families. Everyone who tries this recipe is hooked.

**A day or two before making this recipe, also make your cornbread adding the 4 tablespoons sugar and minced fresh sage. Store in a ziplock.**

To make stuffing:

Before you begin, give attention to the turkey you are going to stuff. I wash mine with Kosher salt, giving it a good scrub inside and out. Pull off any bitsy feathers and quill pieces, remove the giblets and neck from inside the bird and neck area, I discard mine. Pat the turkey dry and season. Set aside and make stuffing.

Have ready a large saute pan and 2 large bowls or large dutch oven type pans.

1. Fill the large bowl or dutch oven with warm water. Place the melba toasted bread in the water. Squeeze out water from bread and lightly shred the bread into the 2nd bowl. Continue with all the toasted bread.

2. Now add the prepared cornbread to the melba toasted bread. Add the 1 tablespoon salt and lightly sprinkle a small amount of poultry season over stuffing. Gently mix. Taste and adjust poultry seasoning, use a light hand--a little goes a long way. You will not need more salt.

3. Finely chop the onion. I like to use a processor for this - pulse until finely chopped.

4. Add 2-3 tablespoons butter to a large saute pan. Add onions and saute until the onions are translucent but not browned. Remove and add to stuffing mixture.

5. Repeat this step with the finely chopped celery. When softened, but not brown, remove from heat and add to stuffing.

6. Slice or chop chestnuts, warm in a little butter. (chestnuts are optional)

7. Cut cold sausage into tiny pieces or mash it in a saute pan. Lightly brown. Add to stuffing.

8. Mix eggs with 3/4 cup milk. Add to stuffing. If you need more liquid, add a bit more, you usually don't though.

9. Combine all stuffing ingredients and gently mix.

10. Now you are ready to stuff your turkey. I always put some in the neck and fold the wings behind the bird to hold the neck skin down over the stuffing. Next I lightly fill the inside cavity of the bird. I use a little foil square placed over the opening to ensure the stuffing is not exposed and dries out. Any leftover stuffing can go in a casserole dish and be baked separately. It's okay if you don't want to put your stuffing inside the turkey, you can also bake it by itself. If you do, place in a buttered casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake. Remove foil at the end and bake a few minutes longer to get a crusty top.