I‘m married, so I get my thrill for variety sated in food options. I’ll never abandon the traditional stuffing of my youth: apple, sausage, celery, sage and walnuts. Sometimes golden raisins will plump up in wine or stock, that, or the nut might change to a pine nut—crazy, I know. But that’s never enough. Not when I know there are so many other ways to go! If I had to commit, that would be marriage, with the addition of mushrooms, too. But, since the turkey hasn’t put a ring on my finger, I’ll be three-timing this year.

People ask me if having twins is hard. “I have nothing to compare it to,” is my bullshit answer. The truth is, I’ve always loved having twins, figuring that if I was going to lose sleep and be elbows deep in diapers and ‘rhea, I might as well suffer all at once. Why on earth would I voluntarily choose to prolong any of that? For the joy of a cooing baby? I don’t like babies. There it is. My own babies, nah, not really. I’m just not a lover of babies! They do nothing for me. I much prefer puppies. I never stop and stare at babies or want to hold one. I’d rather chat with a temper-prone three-year-old. What does this have to do with stuffing a bird?

If you’re up to your elbows in chopping onions and celery and peeling apples and coring them, you might as well go at it in bulk, all at once, just as you do with twins. Double the work, but all at once. You’re doing it anyway, so it’s really no big bother to just alter the type of bread, and alternate the sage for the thyme. The bulk of the recipes are pretty much the same, see?

DO-AHEAD TIP: YOU CAN MAKE ANY THANKSGIVING DRESSING RIGHT NOW
1 month in advance, actually. Whisk the egg and broth together, the final step before cooking, but then instead of cooking, freeze. Then, when you’re ready to make it, bring it back to room temperature, and follow directions to preheat your oven, butter your baking dish, transfer to that dish, and bake it, basting with turkey drippings halfway through if desired. WHY would anyone leave all this work to do at the last minute when you can be so ready ahead of schedule?

NEW ENGLAND APPLE WALNUT SOURDOUGH DRESSING WITH SAUSAGE AND CURRANTS

I’ve bought the currants, and it will be a game-time decision, if I forge ahead with them, or if I go for the golden raisins. Today, I purchased all my ingredients, cubed the organic sourdough boule from Whole Foods and have it sitting out for the next two days on baking sheets. Workhorse Phil volunteered to chop all the onions, my least favorite part. I love him for this, the man who also always was first to pick up the baby with the poopy diaper. I’ve got LOVE ACTUALLY on here in the kitchen as I chop all the celery.

NEW ORLEANS CORNBREAD DRESSING WITH ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE & CRAWFISH

Although this is such a Louisiana style stuffing, to me it screams Austin, TX. We shipped in pecan-smoked Andouille sausage from Texas, and with some creole seasoning, a little green pepper, some cayenne and those crawfish, it should be interesting. I’m debating on weather or not to add toasted pecans. I’m not a fan of pecans, in general. I find them too soft for my liking, but we’ll see.

TRIPLE MUSHROOM CHALLAH DRESSING WITH HERBS

I picked up cremini, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms today, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Though sage likely won’t make it into this recipe, only because I want the sage to differentiate the New England recipe above. I’ve cubed my challah, and the celery, like I said, is being chopped anyway, onions done. This is a vegetarian option, so I’m using vegetable broth in lieu of chicken or turkey stock. If I was a total nut, I would use leeks instead of onions to also differentiate from the other stuffings. Mushrooms pair beautifully with parsley, shallots, fresh thyme, and even a hint of sherry. Shiitake mushrooms, in particular, work well with rosemary and sage.

I love how regional stuffing and dressing are, and I love to hear what people put in theirs.
Please share in my obsession and tell me, where are you from, and what’s in yours?!

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THE RECIPES

NEW ENGLAND APPLE WALNUT SOURDOUGH DRESSING WITH SAUSAGE AND CURRANTS
1 ½ lb. loaf sourdough, cut into ½ inch cubes (~13 cups)
2 lbs bulk pork breakfast sausage
2 large onions, chopped (about 4 generous cups)
2 cups chopped celery (about 5 stalks)
4 tablespoons ( ½ stick) butter, divided
6 cups ½ -inch cubes peeled Granny Smith apples (about 28 ounces)
3/4 cup golden raisins (about 4 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 large eggs

• Position rack center oven, preheat 350°F. Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer bread to very large bowl.
• Sauté sausage in large skillet, medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking into small pieces with back of fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to bowl with bread cubes.
• Add onions and celery to drippings in skillet; sauté until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread-sausage mixture (do not clean skillet).
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add to bowl with bread mixture; mix in raisins.
• Melt remaining 2 tbl. butter in same skillet over low heat. Add 2 tbl. sage; stir 30 seconds. Add sage butter to bowl with bread-sausage mixture; toss to blend. Season stuffing with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Whisk broth and eggs in medium bowl; add to stuffing and toss to mix.

DO AHEAD: FREEZE, BRING BACK TO ROOM TEMP & CONTINUE

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Generously butter 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
• Bake stuffing uncovered until top is golden and crisp in spots, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes and serve. Baste with turkey drippings halfway through if desired.

NEW ORLEANS CORNBREAD DRESSING WITH ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE & CRAWFISH
Make 2 boxes of jiffy cornbread (8 cups crumbled cornbread), following directions on box
½ lb Andouille sausage, finely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter
1 c chopped onion
½ c chopped green pepper
1 c chopped celery
Pinch cayenne
2 Tbl finely chopped fresh sage
½ lb cooked shelled crawfish tails
1- 1½ cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper + Creole Seasoning

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until the fat is rendered, Drain.
• Add butter, then onion, celery, pepper, cayenne, and sage. Cook 5 min, until onion is translucent and veggies are softened.
• Add crawfish and 1 cup broth. Season. The mixture should be highly seasoned. I used salt, pepper, cayenne and also creole seasoning.
• Crumble cornbread into large bowl and pour mixture over it.
• Add egg, stirring to blend. The stuffing should be slightly moist but now wet; add more broth if it seems too dry. Stir in parsley, then transfer to prepared dish (see below) or, if freezing, transfer to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container, marking the bag with the following instructions.

AT THIS POINT, YOU CAN COVER AND REFRIGERATE FOR UP TO 2 DAYS, OR FREEZE 1 MONTH. BRING TO ROOM TEMP BEFORE NEXT STEP.

• Preheat oven 350°F. Coat 13×9 baking dish with nonstick spray.
• Bake the stuffing until the top is golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Let rest 5-10 min before serving.

TRIPLE MUSHROOM CHALLAH DRESSING WITH ROSEMARY & THYME
1 ½ loaves of challah
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups onion, diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced or quartered (use a variety: shitake, cremini, porcini, oyster, button, baby bella)
1 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (optional)
1 cup golden raisins (optional)
10-12 sprigs thyme, chop leaves only
4-5 sprigs rosemary, chop needles only
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
1 ¾ sticks of butter
1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

• Cut or hand tear challah into 1″ pieces or cubes. Leave the cubes out on a baking sheet to get stale for 2 days OR Position rack center oven, preheat 350°F. Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Melt 6 Tbls. butter in a large heavy sauté pan. Sauté the onions until translucent, add herbs, celery and mushrooms, cooking until slightly cooked through.
• In a large bowl, combine bread and veggies, adding pine nuts and raisins if using.
• Add 8 Tbl. melted butter and vegetable stock, then adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
• DO AHEAD: FREEZE IN FREEZER BAG FOR UP TO 1 MONTH, BRING BACK TO ROOM TEMPERATURE & CONTINUE…
• Press room-temperature stuffing into a large buttered baking dish. Cover with buttered parchment, and then foil.
• Bake at 350°F for 45-55 minutes, the last 10-15 minutes uncovered to crisp the top.