Caramelized Onion And Chestnut Stuffing Recipes

BRIOCHE CHESTNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Arrange brioche pieces in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Let them dry out overnight, or place them in a 200-degree oven for an hour or two. (They'll be ready when they feel stale to the touch but haven't taken on any color.)
• Heat oven to 375 degrees, and butter a shallow, 2-quart casserole or gratin dish. On a pot on the stove or in the microwave, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Put bread in the prepared baking dish and toss with melted butter. Bake until golden and toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then transfer toast to a large bowl. (Don't wash the baking dish; you'll use it again for the stuffing.)
• In a 12-inch skillet, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in onion, celery, fennel and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until soft and just starting to brown, about 12 minutes. Stir in thyme and sage, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to bowl with brioche. Gently fold in chestnuts and pepper and let cool.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups stock, eggs, parsley and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Fold gently into bread mixture, then scrape it all back into prepared baking dish. Drizzle on remaining 1 cup stock until the mixture is moist but not squishy; you may not need all the stock.
• Cover dish with foil and bake until lightly springy, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden brown, another 20 to 30 minutes.

CHESTNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Spread bread cubes in single layers on baking sheets. Let dry at room temperature, uncovered, overnight.
• Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add chestnuts; cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain; let cool slightly. Peel and quarter chestnuts; set aside. Peeled chestnuts can be refrigerated in an airtight container 2 to 3 days.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery; cook, stirring, until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add sage; cook 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup stock; cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer onion mixture to a large bowl. Add remaining 4 1/2 cups stock, the chestnuts, bread, salt, and parsley; season with pepper. Toss to combine. If not stuffing turkey, transfer to a buttered 17-by-12-inch baking dish. Cover; bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake until hot and golden brown, 30 minutes more.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. Add sage and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornbread pieces, season well with salt and pepper, and give it a good toss until it's well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, and stock, and pour that over the cornbread. Stir the stuffing together and stuff the cavity of the turkey. You could also spoon it into a buttered baking dish and put it in the oven along with the turkey. Bake until hot and crusty on top, about 30 minutes.

SAUSAGE STUFFING WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Steps:

• Place sausage in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until browned, turning frequently, 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and transfer sausage to paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve fat in pan. Cool sausage, then chop. Return pan to stove. Add fennel, carrot, celery, leek, onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place fennel seeds in a small skillet and toast over medium heat, tossing frequently, until fragrant and lightly colored, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and 2 cups chicken broth together. Add bread and stir until coated evenly. Add sausage, sautéed vegetables, raisins, thyme, sage and fennel seeds. If bread cubes seem dry, add additional chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn into a 3-quart gratin dish and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until stuffing is brown, about 10 minutes more.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND MUSHROOM STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spread bread cubes in single layer on a large baking sheet.
• Bake, stirring occasionally about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Transfer to a large bowl.
• In a large, heavy frying pan, melt the butter over medium high heat.
• When hot, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown.
• About 20 minute.
• Reduce heat to medium and add the mushrooms and celery.
• Cook and stir until tender, about 8 minutes.
• Add this mixture to the bread cubes along with the parsley and tarragon.
• Add the stock to the pan you used to cook the onions, and bring to a boil scraping up any browned pieces.
• Add hot stock to the bread mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Mix in the eggs.
• Either stuff the turkey and bake as usual or butter a 13X9 pan and spoon stuffing into pan.
• Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes longer.
• I think this is better baked in a pan by itself than stuffed into the turkey-- but to each his own!

CHESTNUT, ONION, AND CURRANT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• In a large shallow baking pan toast bread in middle of oven until just dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Halve onions lengthwise and cut each half into 8 wedges. In a large heavy skillet cook onions in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• If using canned chestnuts, rinse and drain. In a saucepan simmer vacuum-packed or canned chestnuts in 2 cups broth 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in currants. Let mixture stand 5 minutes.
• Chop parsley. In a large bowl toss together bread, onions, chestnut mixture, remaining 1 1/2 cups broth, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste and cool completely. Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.
• For cooking stuffing inside poultry:
• Any frozen poultry destined for stuffing should be completely thawed, and the stuffing itself brought to room temperature before it's put into the turkey. Do not stuff your bird the night before you cook it; such a seeming time-saver can have dangerous results. Instead, it is best to loosely fill the bird's neck and body cavities immediately before roasting. And always use a meat or instant-read thermometer: The meat is done when the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh (be careful not to touch the bones) reaches 180°F.; the stuffing baked inside the bird is done at 160°-165°F. After roasting, let your stuffed poultry stand 15 to 20 minutes, a double assurance that the requisite temperatures for food safety have been reached.
• For cooking all or part of stuffing outside poultry:
• In a shallow baking dish bake stuffing in preheated 325° F. oven 45 minutes (for moist stuffing, bake covered entire time; for less moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top, uncover halfway through baking time).
• Garnish stuffing with parsley.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND CHESTNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; cool.
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 10 minutes. Add rosemary; sauté until onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes longer. Add celery and sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chestnuts and stir to blend. Transfer onion mixture to medium bowl. Mix in parsley. Add broth to skillet and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add to onion mixture. (Bread and onion mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature; refrigerate onion mixture.) Stir onion mixture into bread. Season with salt and pepper. Mix eggs into stuffing.
• To bake stuffing in turkey:
• Loosely fill main cavity with cool stuffing. Butter glass baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish alongside turkey until heated through, about 20 minutes.
• To bake all of stuffing in baking dish:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes.