Lady Druid's Favorite Recipes

        I spent most of my young life, hating stuffing UNTIL, I found this one.  If you've always hated the way stuffing tastes and you have a bit of a sweet tooth, then look no further.  You'll love it. 

Patty's Patented

Stuffing Hater's Favorite Stuffing

(enough for a 20-25lb Turkey and a 9x13 pan)

            dry stuff

8 cups of bread cubes ( about 2 boxes)

1 1/2  sticks of butter  (melted)

2 onions ( 1 cup chopped)  (plus 1 whole for cooking bag)

1 small bunch of celery (chopped)

2 cups walnuts (broken or chopped coarse)

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

salt (lightly salt inside of turkey cavity)

Fresh herbs - one handful (little plastic bag) each of

            Parsley, Sage, Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano

                        (check the fresh produce section for little bags of each) (Note: Fresh herbs are highly recommended. If one

                         is not available, then use 2 tablespoons of dry herb. )

            wet stuff

1 large box of raisins (preferably white or golden)

4 cups of water

1 Tablespoon Cloves - as desired (ground) 

Cinnamon – 1-2 sticks - as desired (if stick remove before mixing)

2 jiggers of cognac

2 chicken bullion cubes

optional misc items

Turkey cooking bag                              cotton cord

Turkey pop-up timer                             9x13 aluminum pan (for extra dressing)

Turkey lacers

Turkey stuffing bag (cheesecloth)

Combine all the "wet stuff" in a saucepan and let simmer over a low flame at least 15 minutes, but longer is better.  Take this time to finish cleaning the turkey and preparing the dry stuff. 

Prepare herbs.  Remove woody stems, keeping only the leafy parts of the herbs. Chop fine.  Chop onions and celery coarse. In a frying pan place the butter, onions and celery.  Cook until onions are almost clear.  Add chopped herbs and cook another 2 minutes.  Leave on burner to cool for a bit.

In an extra large bowl, place the rest of the dry ingredients.  Mix dry items completely.   Take the pan with the butter, onions, etc and slowly add this to the dry ingredients while mixing well.

Now back to the plumped raisins.  Drain any of the remaining liquid into a cup.  Keep this aside.  Add the raisins to the dry ingredients and mix well.  Add enough of the remaining 'raisin water' and/or additional water to moisten the bread cube mixture. 

That's it.  Happy Stuffing!! 

Whatever you can't get stuffed into the turkey should be placed in a shallow baking pan and placed in the fridge.  At the end of cooking the turkey (while turkey is resting), siphon off some turkey juices (about 1/2 - 1 cup) and pour over the pan of stuffing.  Cover with foil and heat 15-20 mins.

Have a great Thanksgiving

       Patty

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