Not Your Typical Stuffings

Most families have a favorite stuffing recipe for the holiday. But why not shake up your Thanksgiving meal a little this year and try something new?

Cookbook author Tori Ritchie offers some great suggestions in The Early Show's special series, "Perfect Thanksgiving," with Williams-Sonoma.

Stuffing and dressing are interchangeable terms, only stuffing is often cooked inside the bird while dressing is baked on the side. Yet, Ritchie does not recommend cooking the stuffing inside the turkey.

"You have to roast the turkey for so long to ensure the stuffing is safely baked through that the bird often dries out," she says. "An un-stuffed bird will roast more evenly and quickly, thus being juicier and moister."

The following are her recipes for Sausage Corn Bread Stuffing, Apple Shallot Dressing and Wild Rice Dressing.

Sausage, Corn Bread And Chestnut Dressing

This dressing recipe is designed for advance preparation. You can chop the vegetables the day before and refrigerate them in sealable plastic bags. The bread cubes can also be toasted in advance; then stored in airtight containers at room temperature. You can use store-bought corn bread or bake your own.

Ingredients:
8 cups cubed day-old corn bread (1-inch cubes)
2 cups cubed day-old country-style white bread, crusts removed (1-inch cubes)
1 1/2 lb. mild Italian pork sausage, casings removed
1 to 2 Tbs. olive oil, if needed
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup French chestnuts, quartered
1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as sage, rosemary and thyme
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock

Method:

1. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Butter a shallow gratin pan.
2. Spread the corn bread and white bread out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until light golden brown and dry to the touch, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a sauté pan over medium heat, brown the sausage, stirring and crumbling with a fork, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Return the pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil to the accumulated fat in the pan, if needed. Add the onion and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the bowl with the sausage. Add the corn bread and white bread, the chestnuts, herbs and stock. Season with salt and pepper and stir gently to combine.
5. Transfer the dressing to the prepared gratin pan, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until browned and crispy, 35 to 40 minutes more.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
Apple, Shallot And Herb Dressing

Whether to call the starch dish dressing or stuffing is a perennial debate at Thanksgiving tables. The term stuffing is usually used when it is cooked inside the turkey, while dressing is typically cooked in a baking dish. But the name also varies depending on what part of the United States you are from. People who hail from the East and South are more likely to call it dressing. Whatever term you use, the dish is a favorite on Thanksgiving menus from coast to coast.

Ingredients:
1 lb. loaf French bread, torn into 1/2-inch pieces
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
10 shallots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 Fuji or McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. finely ground coriander
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
1 cup golden raisins
3 to 4 cups milk

Method:

1. 
   Spread the bread out on a baking sheet and let dry overnight.
2. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish.
3. In a fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the fennel, celery root, walnuts and apples and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.
4. In a large bowl, combine the bread and the shallot mixture. Add the coriander, thyme, sage, raisins and the 3 cups milk and stir gently to mix. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the milk is absorbed, about 30 minutes. If the dressing seems dry, add more milk as needed. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer the dressing to the prepared baking dish and bake until browned and crispy, about 1 hour.

Serves 10 to 12

Note: If desired, you can pack the dressing loosely in the body and neck cavities of the turkey. Secure the neck flap with kitchen string or pin it to the back with toothpicks or trussing pins. Tying the legs together will help hold the stuffing in the body cavity. For turkeys weighing 16 lb. or less, add 30 minutes to the total roasting time. For turkeys weighing more than 16 lb., add 1 hour to the total roasting time.

Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
Wild Rice And Chestnut Dressing

Wild rice is not rice at all, but the seed of an aquatic grass. Although much of it is now cultivated and harvested by machine, it can still be found wild along the shorelines of lakes and rivers in the American Midwest, particularly in Minnesota. There, Native Americans working from canoes still gather the rice by hand. Jumbo-grade grains are the longest and most desirable for this dressing. Doneness is a matter of personal taste. Some cooks prefer the rice still slightly crunchy, while others like it cooked until it is tender and the ends of the grains have split.

Ingredients:
3 cups water
3/4 cup jumbo-grade wild rice, rinsed
3 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
2 cups finely chopped fennel bulb
1 Tbs. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 lb. sliced whole wheat bread, 2 to 3 days old, toasted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 jar (15 oz.) steamed chestnuts
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups turkey stock
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. In a heavy pot, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the wild rice and 1 tsp. of the salt. Cover partially, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Drain the rice and let cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 325°F. Generously butter a large, shallow baking dish.
3. In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, chopped fennel, poultry seasoning, thyme and fennel seeds. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
4. In a large bowl, combine the bread, chestnuts, the onion mixture and the wild rice. In another bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk the stock into the eggs, and then stir the egg mixture into the bowl with the bread mixture. Stir in the parsley, the remaining 2 tsp. salt and the pepper.
5. Spoon the dressing into the prepared baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until the dressing is lightly browned on top, 20 to 30 minutes more.

Note: This dish can also be packed loosely in the body and neck cavities of the turkey and served as a stuffing. Secure the neck flap with kitchen string or pin it to the back with toothpicks or trussing pins. Tying the legs together will help hold the stuffing in the body cavity. For turkeys weighing 16 lb. or less, add 30 minutes to the total roasting time. For turkeys weighing more than 16 lb., add 1 hour to the total roasting time.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Thanksgiving, by Michael McLaughlin (Simon & Schuster, 2001).