Turkey and Chestnut Stuffing

Tips for making your Thanksgiving Roasted Turkey

• If you don’t want to stuff your turkey, make the stuffing and cook it separately as dressing. If so, then ‘stuff’ the turkey with one orange or lemon, one head of garlic, and one onion, all cut in half or quartered. Also salt the cavity generously with sea salt.
• If you have a roasting pan with a rack, set your turkey on the rack and this in the bottom: 4 cups water, one onion (quartered), the turkey neck and gizzards. By the time the turkey is done, you will have a nice stock to use as your base for gravy. Or just simmer this on the stove while your turkey is cooking on the rack.

Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 16-20 pound turkey

8 cups whole grain bread crumbs

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 medium onions, peeled and chopped

1 bunch celery, chopped

1/2 cup butter

2 cups chestnuts, coarsely chopped

2 onions, peeled and sliced

1 cup unbleached flour

4-6 cups turkey stock (or see note above for ‘instant’ turkey stock)

cooked giblets, finely chopped (optional)

Preparation:

Remove neck and giblets from turkey and use for making stock. Sauté onions and celery in butter in a large skillet until softened. Mix with bread crumbs, seasonings and chopped chestnuts. The stuffing may be made ahead of time, but you should wait until you are ready to cook to stuff the turkey.

Stuff the neck cavity loosely and use turkey skewers to close. Strew sliced onions in a large roasting pan. Set a rack over the onions and set turkey on the rack. Rub skin with salt and pepper and bake at 350 degrees for about 5 hours, basting frequently.

Remove the turkey to a carving board. Sprinkle flour in the drippings and cook over a medium flame about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and blend with a whisk. Bring to a boil and cook several minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain gravy into a saucepan and allow to simmer for 1/2 hour or so until it reduces and thickens. Stir in optional giblets. If gravy gets too thick, thin with a little water..

SOURCE: http://networkedblogs.com/aS4Mj

Gluten Free Dairy Free Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing

Cornbread Stuffing with Homemade Sausage (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free)

• gluten-free casein-free cornbread - 12 muffins or 1 mix
• I use corn flour instead of cornmeal so the texture is softer but to each his own!)
• ~2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lbs of ground pork
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 1 celery stalk chopped fine

Make the cornbread in advance. Let it sit out and get stale if you want a more crumbly harder stuffing. No worries on this one because if you are like me and really aren't that organized then you make the cornbread the same day and cook it in the pan with the pork to get rid of excess moisture. :-)

Heat the oil in a big pan on medium-high heat. Brown the pork breaking it up as it browns. Add the sage, oregano, salt and pepper. Taste, taste, taste, adjust. Dump the cooked ground pork into a strainer reserving a little bit of fat in the pan. Return the pan to the stove and add the onions and celery. Cook until transparent and fragrant. Add the pork back in. Taste, taste, taste. Turn off the heat and crumble the cornbread into the pan. Add as much cornbread as you want. Heat the whole mixture if the cornbread is too damp, add chicken or turkey broth if the mixture is too dry.

Makes 12 side-dish servings

Gluten-Free / Casein-Free Cornbread

That humble yet enticing basket of cornbread typically serves as an evil temptress for those with food allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities. The versions you are likely to find at family holiday gatherings are rich with butter, milk, and all-purpose flour. But, Allergy Cooks has the recipe solution to this dilemma with a cornbread recipe that is free from dairy and gluten, and optionally free from eggs (and consequently vegan) and soy. So this year, you can offer to bake the cornbread (recipe below) and show the rest of your family how delicious "free-from" can be ...

Cornbread (Recipe from Allergy Cooks)

Makes: 12-15 slices
Cooking Temperature: 160ºC [320ºF]
Cooking Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:
150g polenta or fine cornmeal [1 cup] (you can also use corn flour for a lighter texture)
125g gluten-free plain white flour [1 cup]
30g light brown sugar [2 tablespoons, packed]
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda [baking soda]
1 tsp cream of tartar
½ tsp salt
2 eggs’ worth of egg replacer
300ml soya milk, warmed* [1-1/4 cups] (I use almond or hemp milk)
50ml vegetable oil [3-1/2 tablespoons]

Method:
Measure all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warmed milk and vegetable oil. Beat well to make a smooth batter.

Pour the mixture into a 20 x 20cm [8-inch] shallow cake tin and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Leave the cornbread to cool slightly, then cut it into squares or fingers. Serve warm with soup, or cold with spread and jam for breakfast!

Cook’s notes: To avoid using soya, replace with nut milk or rice milk.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe (Can Be Made Gluten Free or Vegan)

For those of us who have grown up loving stuffing with all of the other Thanksgiving goodies and have since gone gluten free, vegan etc the dilemma of how we can eat stuffing safely is a trickly one. I was happy to see this recipe on Wasabimon.com which uses flavors I've never tried before so I get my stuffing and a flavor adventure too. I don't think I've ever eaten a persimmon, so this should be interesting.

You can find the recipe here: http://www.wasabimon.com/archive/thanksgiving-stuffing-recipe/

Be sure to tell them that I sent you.

Silvana Nardone’s Gluten-Free Apple-Pecan Cornbread Stuffing

Silvana Nardone’s
Gluten-Free Apple-Pecan Cornbread Stuffing

Instead of toasting the cornbread, you can spread out the pieces on a baking sheet and let them sit on your counter top overnight, uncovered, to dry out.

Double Corn Cornbread:
1 cup rice milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal, preferably medium grind
1 cup store-bought gluten-free flour blend
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup corn kernels (from about 1 ear of corn)

Stuffing:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
4 cups Double Corn Cornbread (see recipe above), toasted and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried herb blend, such as McCormick Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Prepare the cornbread. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 4 1/2-inch by 8 1/2-inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the milk mixture, eggs and oil until just blended; fold in the corn kernels. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

2. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

3. Prepare the stuffing. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch square pan with olive oil. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about five minutes; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste.

4. In a large bowl, toss together the onion mixture, cornbread, apple and herb blend. Transfer to the prepared pan. Scatter the pecans on top and cover with foil; bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil; bake until crispy and golden, about 20 minutes more.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8.