Getting Dressed for Thankgiving

According to the poll on the right side of this page, 25% of you think that stuffing is the best part of Thanksgiving dinner.  Of course, only 4 of you have voted (come on, people!), but still, a lot of folks like stuffing more than anything.  It's Mary Beth's favorite--"Just one more little taste" is her most common line on Tgiving Day. 



Photo courtesy of gourmetsleuth.com.



I like stuffing, too.  Here's my problem, though.  Despite being very tasty, it's always the same--every year.  There are loads of interesting and delicious recipes for stuffing (or dressing, as some call it).  I guess I'll just have to try them at non-holiday times.

But in case you're not caught in that situation, here's a recipe for a Wild Rice Dressing from Cook's Country magazine (yes, them again).  I'll have to try it sometime, but if you do, let me know what you think!

WILD RICE DRESSING
Serves 10-12
Depending on the brand, wild rice absorbs varying quantities of liquid.  If you have less than 1 1/2 cups of leftover cooking liquid, make up the difference with additional low-sodium chicken broth.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 cups wild rice
10 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 onions, chopped fine
3 celery ribs, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. COOK RICE:  Bring broth, water, and bay leaf to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add rice, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, 35-45 minutes.  Strain contents of pan through fine-mesh strainer into large liquid measuring cup.  Transfer rice to medium bowl; discard bay leaf.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.
2. TOAST BREAD:  Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees.  Pulse half of the bread in food processor until pea-size pieces remain and transfer to rimmed baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining bread and another rimm3ed baking sheet.  Bake bread crumbs until golden, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking.  Cool completely, about 10 minutes.
3. SAUTE AROMATICS:  Melt 4 Tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Cook onions and celery until golden, 8-10 minutes.  Add garlic, sage, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in reserved cooking liquid, remove from heat, and cool 5 minutes.
4. ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:  Whisk cream, eggs, salt, and pepper in large bowl.  Slowly whisk in warm broth mixture.  Stir in rice and toasted bread  crumbs and transfer to 13x9" baking dish.  Melt remaining butter in now-empty skillet and drizzle evenly over dressing.  Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake on lower-middle rack until set, 45-55 minutes.  Remove foil and let cool 15 minutes.  Serve.

You can save some time on Thanksgiving Day by making this dish ahead of time.  Before baking, the assembled dressing can be refrigerated in the baking dish, covered for 1 day.  To finish, melt remaining butter, drizzle over dressing, and proceed with recipe, adding 20 minutes to the baking time.

Here are a couple variations to jazz the dish up even more:

DRIED FRUIT AND NUT WILD RICE DRESSING
Prepare Wild Rice Dressing, adding 1 1/2 cups chopped dried apricots, cranberries, or cherries and 1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans with the bread crumbs in Step 4.

LEEK AND MUSHROOM WILD RICE DRESSING
Prepare Wild Rice Dressing, replacing onions and celery with 4 leeks (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise and sliced thin, and 10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced thin.