Thursday, December 4, 2008

Nonna's stuffing

As mentioned in my last post, which was all of two minutes ago, I have four kids, only two of whom are still at home. (Well, my son still technically lives here, but he is in the military and so he is here only about two weeks at a time. I'll get to see him at Christmas for two and a half weeks and then send him to Iraq. Oh, boy, won't that be fun.) Anyway, my daughter recently bought a house with her fiancee and is now busy becoming domesticated. She calls me all the time for recipes. And in a panic, "I don't have olive oil, what should I do?" Well, go buy some olive oil. She is going to be making a turkey this weekend and although she is planning on following all of my turkey tips, she needs her Nonna's stuffing recipe. Now, Nonna wrote this recipe down for her in a memoir, but can my daughter locate the book her grandmother spent about two years writing? Not at the moment. Besides, it is easier to get it from Mom. I realize this is too late for Thanksgiving, but I thought if I had to write it down anyway, I might as well share it with the world. Or at least my seven followers.

Nonna's stuffing

1/2 bag cornbread stuffing mix
1/2 bag seasoned stuffing mix
1 T brown sugar
20 or so chestnuts, roasted, peeled, and chopped
3 roasted Italian sausages, cut into pieces
1 onion
1 c celery
1 apple, peeled and diced
Sage
Thyme
Parsley
Wine
Chicken stock
1 stick of butter

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion, celery, and apple and saute until soft. Add wine and simmer for a minute. Put stuffing mixes in a large bowl. Add chestnuts, sausage, and herbs. Mix in onion mixture and toss to combine. Add enough chicken stock to moisten. Add two beaten eggs and freshly ground pepper. Stuff inside your turkey.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would it be terrible to add dried cranberries or cherries to this?

The Mendon Foodie said...

Yes!!! It would be terrible. It already has apples for fruity goodness. Leave well enough alone.

Anonymous said...

(*asking nervously*) What about substituting cranberries for apples? Sometimes the apple flavor seems to get lost in the mix.

The Mendon Foodie said...

Well, if you want to ruin it, go ahead, I don't care. Just don't invite me for dinner. And don't call it Nonna's stuffing, because it will just be *your* stuffing. But hey, feel free. Who am I to criticize? Oh yeah, that's right, I am the GODDESS OF FOOD!

Anonymous said...

I never had this stuffing (that I can remember!). Could I use cornbread from scratch and let it dry out, the same for the bread crumbs?