~ Sweet Potato & Apple Stuffing for Poultry or Pork ~

October and November is the time of year when many of us switch gears to gravy.  We've transitioned from grilled chicken or pork chops to roasted chicken or braised pork chops and we're craving them drizzled with creamy gravy.  While mashed potatoes and gravy go together like salt and pepper, if given the choice between stuffing or mashed potatoes, my fork is in the stuffing.  Because of my love affair with stuffing, I have a few stuffing recipes in my repertoire, but: this is my favorite Fall stuffing recipe.  It doesn't contain anything fancy, but it does contain two of my favorite foods:  crisp Fall apples and prime sweet potatoes.  It is perfect to serve with any type of roasted poultry, from the smallest game hen to the largest turkey or just a chicken breast.  It is equally delicious served as an accompaniment to many pork dishes or chops!

I say, "stuffing", and you say, "dressing".  Who's right?

We both are.  The terms are used interchangeably.  The Food Lover's Companion defines both  as "a mixture used to stuff poultry, fish, meat and some vegetables."  I did not always know this:

Where I grew up in Eastern Pennsylvania:  If someone said, "please pass the dressing", you got handed the salad dressing.  When someone said my grandmother was "dressing the turkey", it meant she was preparing it for roasting (which in her younger years included removing its innards and plucking the feathers).  Stuffing was the stuff she stuffed into the bird.  The stuff that didn't fit in the bird (or the extra stuffing she made so she'd have enough to feed all of us) got baked in a buttered casserole dish alongside the bird.  Neither turned into "dressing" when it went on the table.  Stuffing went into her oven, stuffing came out of her oven and stuffing went onto her table.  I spent the first fourteen years of my life completely unaware that stuffing had any other name!

It happened while I was having an after-school dinner at my classmate Susie's house.  Susie's mom Jeanne was born and raised in the South and talked with one of those great accents I had only ever heard on Andy of Mayberry.  Susie's mom served a delicious chicken dinner that night, with cornbread dressing.  I was a pretty picky eater back then and wanted to know what I was eating before I put in on my plate (because according to my family's rules, once it was on my plate I was required to eat it).  So I asked, "is this dressing the same thing as stuffing?"  In a lovely, ladylike, upbeat Southern drawl, I was told, "Oo honn-ey!  It's jus the same!  We'all jus call it dressin' down South!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8  ounces butter

2  teaspoons fennel seed

1/2  teaspoon nutmeg

1  teaspoon poultry seasoning

2  packets from 1 box of G. Washington's Golden Seasoning and Broth Mix

1/2  teaspoon salt

1  teaspoon white pepper

8-10  ounces diced yellow or sweet onion

8-10  ounces diced celery

1 1/2  pounds peeled sweet potatoes, chopped into 1/2"-3/4" bite-sized pieces

12  ounces peeled Granny Smith apples, chopped into 1/2"-3/4" bite-sized pieces

8  ounces golden raisins

8  jumbo eggs

1 1/2  cups milk, plus 1/2 cup additional milk, more or less, if necessasry

2  1-pound loaves cubed potato bread

no-stick cooking spray

~ Step 1.  In a large 12"-14" skillet melt the butter over low heat.  Add the fennel seed, nutmeg, poultry seasoning, seasoning packets salt and white pepper.  Stir, to thoroughly combine the seasonings with the butter.

~ Step 2.  Remove from heat.  You don't want the butter to brown.

~ Step 3.  Prep the onion, celery and sweet potatoes as directed, placing them in the skillet as you work.

~ Step 4.  Increase heat to saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the sweet potatoes begin to soften, about 10-12 minutes.

While the vegetables are sauteing:

~ Step 5.  Peel and dice the apples as directed.  When the above vegetables are cooked as directed, add the apples and raisins to the skillet.  Continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until apples just begin to soften, about 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly, about 5-10 minutes.

~ Step 6.  In a 1-quart measuring container, whisk together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk.

~ Step 7.  Using a serrated bread knife, cut the potato bread into 3/4" cubes.  I do not use the end slices from either loaf, as the additional crust on these two slices has a tendency to burn.

Place the bread cubes in a VERY large bowl as you work.

~ Step 8.  Using a large rubber spatula, transfer and thoroughly incorporate the sweet potato/apple mixture to the bread cubes.

~ Step 9.  Add the milk/egg mixture to the bowl.  Using the spatula, fold until bread has soaked up all liquid. Add up to 1/2 cup of additional milk, in small amounts, until a very moist consistency is reached.  The bread should be very wet with no puddle of liquid in the bottom of the bowl.

~ Step 10.  Transfer the stuffing to a 4-quart glass casserole that has been sprayed with no-stick spray. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake on center rack of 350 degree oven 45 minutes.  Remove foil and and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned:

Sweet Potato & Apple Stuffing for Poultry or Pork:  Recipe yields 16 cups or 10-12 servings.

Special Equipment List:  12"-14" skillet; cutting board; chef's knife; vegetable peeler; serrated bread knife; very large mixing bowl; large rubber spatula; 4-quart casserole; aluminum foil

Cook's Note:  As a general rule, to judge the amount of stuffing you need to prepare, plan on:  one-third cup for each pound of poultry being stuffed, or, 1-1 1/2 cups of cooked stuffing per person when being served as an accompaniment.  My recipe while large, was written so you can easily divide it in half (to make less) or double it (to make more) to accommodate the quantity you need.  In Melanie's Kitchen we need/want leftovers!

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe commentary and photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2011)

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