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| This is a turkey made out of ginger snaps, a donut hole, and an orange tic tac. Maybe you don’t have a boyfriend because you're too busy eating things like this. |
On the other hand, it is a holiday wholly and absolutely devoted to food. My God, and slap me if it isn't the best kind of food. Mashed potatoes! Pumpkin pie! Sweet potatoes covered in freaking marshmallows! A turkey the size of a two year old!
Since moving to New York about five years ago from the best coast (yeah, I said it), I've had my share of vagabond Thanksgivings. This year, I not only hosted my first orphan lunch, I also made my first honest to goodness homemade stuffing.
My initial plan was to recreate my mom's sausage and apple stuffing, but my new found appreciation for mushrooms lead me in a different direction.
First order of business, stale bread. On Thanksgiving Eve, I bought a crusty loaf of sourdough (pre-sliced to aid with the cubing process). The recipe called for 8 cups, which to me sounded like an outrageous amount. Instead, I dumped my chopped bread into the casserole dish that my stuffing would one day (the next day) call home, and I stopped once it was full, level with the top edge of the dish. I suppose if you're actually stuffing a bird, you should chop more bread accordingly, but this year wasn't my year yet for performing a full turkey cavity search.
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| The sourdoughs were nestled all snug in their beds / While visions of mushrooms danced in their heads |
There, the bread spent the night, getting stale, preparing itself for the next morning when it would fulfill its stuffing destiny.
Next day! Saute diced celery and onions until translucent and fragrant. 5 and 2, respectively. I tossed in 4 cloves of minced garlic too because I literally do not know how to cook anything without it. My fingernails smelled awful for most of my young adulthood until I learned the stainless steel trick.
Meanwhile, toast a cup or so of walnuts on a baking sheet in the oven. 350° for 10 minutes, or in my case, until you start wondering God, why is the kitchen so hot all of a sudden and where is that awesome roasty smell coming from.
And then! Time to get the star player into its party clothes. Brown a pint and a half of diced button mushrooms with a few tablespoons of finely chopped sage leaves. When they've got a nice tan, theoretically you should add half a cup of dry white wine. And while I am a huge proponent of booze in food (and vice versa), I was plum out of wine at 10am on Thanksgiving day. (This was not the case several hours later.) As a substitute for that depth of flavor boost, I bathed the mushrooms in chicken stock spiked with a splash each of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
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| Ta da! |
When the wine/chicken stock has mostly cooked off, it is time for assembly. In your biggest bowl, combine the stale bread cubes, celery and onion, mushrooms and sage, and walnuts. Glue it all together with one more cup of chicken stock and two lightly beaten eggs.
Replace the whole gang back into your casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 400°.
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| We're ready! |
Mushroom Walnut Stuffing (makes 8 servings)
adapted from Martha Stewart
1-2 onions, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ pints mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons sage leaves, finely chopped
½ cup white wine (or chicken stock with balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce)
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
6-8 cups of stale sourdough bread, cubed
1 cup chicken stock
2 eggs, beaten
Saute onions, celery, and garlic. Saute mushrooms and sage. When browned, add white wine or chicken stock. Cook until evaporated. Add sauteed ingredients and walnuts to bread. Toss with chicken stock and eggs. Bake at 400°, 30 minutes.
Please excuse this crooked photo. I was way too excited to stuff my face with food to worry about making things look pretty.
Hooray Thanksgiving! Hope yours was as lovely and gut-busting as mine.
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| I made other food too! That's my blurry sister in the corner. See, she went straight for the stuffing. |
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