Stuffing and Solitude

This year instead of heading north to see my parents or to a local Philly friend's house to chow down on a turkey and all the fixings with a new set of somebody else's relatives,  I opted to spend the day quietly reading, writing and drinking tea and pinot noir. The most important goal for me today was to be completely alone.  I've been constantly surrounded by people lately, which has surely been great, but it's allowed me very little time to reflect. It certainly wasn't a self-pitying day of solitude; I like to think of it more as a meditation in gratitude. Of course I am lucky to have a day to spend to myself, as I am lucky to have many friends and family to pass most other days with. But, sometimes I feel when I am astir in this whirlwind of  socialization I rarely have the opportunity to reflect on these relationships and be truly grateful.

I should also add that today, in the comfort of my solitude, I feasted upon copious amounts of homemade stuffing. That's right my friends, just stuffing, sans turkey, sans potatoes, sans pie. It's sort of a long story, but I suppose I'll tell you anyway. I had a "friendsgiving" potluck to attend last night for which I was to supply the stuffing. Personally, I consider stuffing the most important of all thanksgiving foods, because let's face it, it tastes way better than turkey, and we really don't get to eat it much during the rest of the year.

Needless to say, I took my role as supplier of stuffing very seriously and awoke yesterday to begin my preparations for the two batches of stuffing I had planned for the occasion (sweet sausage and vegan mushroom). Tuesday night i perused the marketplace for fresh ingredients, crispy celery, aromatic herbs, dense Italian bread all piled in my cart. I sauteed onions and celery together in olive and earth balance for the vegan stuffing, and threw browned de-cased sweet italian sausages in with a similar mixture for the meat stuffing. I sliced and tore off chunks of spongy italian bread and toasted them in the oven until crispy and golden before dressing them with their respective mixtures along with plenty of fresh thyme and sage. I tucked the mixtures into the fridge and headed out the door to run some errands.

Of course as it turned out I locked myself out of the house, and my keys and all that mouthwatering stuffing for the night in my house. With my roommates gone for the night and no spare key I felt a bit panicked. I debated calling a locksmith, which I realized would have cost about a 135 dollars for the first lock, and 35 for each additional lock.  Eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I would not bring homemade stuffing to the potluck after all, and so I picked some up at whole foods, along with a magnum sized bottle of wine hoping it would some how compensate for the dearth of homemade stuffing and console myself a bit.

Today, all of my meals consisted of little more than oven warmed stuffing, and there's a lot more where that came from. I've been brainstorming some other creative uses for stuffing for ya'll since I'm sure I'm not the only one with an excess of the carby goodness around. Here's what I've got for you, please feel free to comment with additional suggestions:

Eat stuffing for breakfast topped with a sunny egg or two
Nestled in the cavity of a squash and roasted
Mushed into a ball and topped with steaming broth similarly to matzo ball soup
Topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese like a mushy pizza with some nice herbal overtones
Crumbled into a chunky bowl of chili or stew

And here are the recipes:

Dressing for Vegan Stuffing with Mushrooms

1 white or yellow onion
3 cups mushrooms of choice chopped (white, bello, shitake or a mixture of your favorites)
1 cup celery
2 tablespoons fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 tsp dried ground cumin
S and P to taste
1/2 Earth Balance
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
3/4 cup vegetable stock (low sodium)
1 1/2 hearty Italian bread

Dressing for Sweet Italian Sausage Stuffing

1 white or yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/2 butter stick unsalted butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fresh sweet italian sausage (i used pork, but i am sure turkey, chicken or veggie varieties would work well too)
1 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup chicken stock (low sodium)
Pepper to taste (the sausage adds enough salt that additional is unnecessary)
2 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
1 1/2 loaves hearty Italian bread

Method

Slice Italian bread and then tear slices into small bits, place on a metal oven sheet or casserole dish and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until crispy and dry. Set aside in a large casserole dish.

In a large skilled add butter/earth balance and olive oil and heat at medium until melted. Incorporate onion, celery and garlic and saute until soft and translucent. Then add mushrooms or sausage (squeezed out of casings and eased apart with a fork as it cooks) until browned and tender. Sprinkle herbs and seasonings, sauteing for a minute or two  and remove from heat.

Pour the dressing atop the croutons and toss until well mixed. Gently fold stock into stuffing mixture to ensure even moistening of bread. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-45 minutes or until top is golden and crisp.