Chestnut Stuffing (Page 381)

RECIPE #1057

• Date: Thursday, November 26, 2009 -- 5pm
• Location: Westerville, OH
• Kitchen: Karen and Dave's House
• Dining Companions: Matty, Dave, Karen H, Brad, Deniz, Penny, Kenny, Gail, Danae, Eddie, Evelyn, Sandy, etc...
• Recipe Rating: A-
  

I made this stuffing as part of the Thanksgiving dinner feast. I started by cubing some crusty bread and drying out the bread cubes in the oven. Then I cooked onions, celery, sage, thyme, rosemary, and savory in a skillet until the onion was softened. I added chopped bottled chestnuts and cooked another minute. I added the mixture to the bread cubes, and added chicken stock, parsley, salt, and pepper. I assembled the stuffing a day ahead and refrigerated it. On Thanksgiving day, I let it come to room temperature, then baked it in a baking dish. This stuffing was delicious! It had a great texture (not too soggy, not too dry!) and the flavor was just wonderful. The combination of herbs was beautifully balanced and the chestnuts added a lot, both texturally and to the flavor of the dish. I made two stuffings from The Book for this meal, this one and the Herbed Bread Stuffing, and almost everyone agreed that this Chestnut Stuffing was the winner. Indeed I think it was one of the best stuffings I have had. The flavors were traditional, but still interesting. By the end of the meal there was not a forkful left of it in the dish!

The recipe in The Book is similar to this one, except the one in The Book has chicken stock in it, and calls for bottled chestnuts rather than fresh.

It's Sunday evening and I am waiting for my husband's delayed flight to arrive (actually, I am still waiting for it to take off from New York...). It has been a busy, busy weekend! On Saturday Nola and I threw our dear friend Teresa a baby shower! My jobs were the food (of course!) and the games. I made lots of finger-food. On the menu: Parmasan Walnut Salad in Endive Leaves, Tarragon Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Smoked Almonds, Cheddar Cheese Straws, Mini Gruyere Quiche, Mini Bacon Quiche, Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles, and Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes. I was happy with how it all turned out. Nola hosted the shower at her house and I thought it was very festive and fun!

Today I spent the day at the office. My students have their final tomorrow morning, so I held a review session today for a couple hours in one of the big lecture halls, followed by several hours of office hours in my office. It was exhausting, but I like the students to be able to get the help they need before the exam. The department was pretty empty (it being Sunday and all) but the hall outside my office was lined with students all afternoon. About 7 or 8 students could fit into my office at a time, and as soon as one of the students left a new student would come in! I stood at the board in my office the whole time, doing problems on demand.

Tomorrow will be another busy day, filled with proctoring, grading, and assigning course grades. But then my semester will be over! It's very exciting!