This Thanksgiving, try some sage sausage stuffing

Thanksgiving will be much harder this year, but even if I’m just cooking for two with some scraps for the pets, there are a few staples that will be on the table: Turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes and most importantly, sage sausage stuffing.

I take some solace in the control I have over the meal, the cooking process and what to cook, even if I cannot control who sits at the table, the conversation, or much of anything else.

One thing I can certainly control is making sure there is a delicious stuffing on the table, which is probably my favorite Thanksgiving dish.

The stuffing is sort of your regular fare — bread, sausage, vegetables, parsley — all thrown together, then baked, either inside a turkey, outside, or both.

Except it’s not.

The sausage is sage, which adds its own incredible taste. When it comes to the bread, I advocate for sourdough. I find it elevates the stuffing with its flavor. While others might suggest stale bread, I find the natural toughness of most sourdough to do the trick. If that’s not available, consider either hearty-flavor breads like rye or whole wheat.

If you do use a soft or pliable bread, consider baking it for a few minutes so it firms up, before cutting it into cubes. I find the baking does much the same that using stale bread does for loaves that are otherwise very soft.

As for the vegetables, I substitute bok choy for celery. I find the celery flavor off-putting and its cellulose to be far too much. Instead, I chop bok choy and then throw it in a pan to briefly brown, before adding it to the stuffing. However, there is no reason not to experiment, or even throw in similar greens that you have available. Chiles come to mind.

When it comes to experimenting, I usually drink a glass of red wine while I cook and whatever bottle is open usually gets poured on top of the stuffing as its being mixed, and before it goes into the oven.

I’ve included instructions here for how to make your own sage sausage (if that’s your thing). When I lived in Germany as an au pair, I had to do it out of necessity. Although I was living in the land of sausage, sage was not one of the types they made. I find it a lot easier to just buy sage sausage, if for no other reason, than it saves time shopping and making it.

This year, I will raise a glass of something bubbly and

make a toast, to those I can celebrate with — and to those I can’t.

SAGE SAUSAGE Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork or beef or

other ground meat(s) ½ teaspoon ground coriander

seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1-3 teaspoons dried, rubbed

sage

½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

If drying fresh sage, put sage leaves on a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper for 1-2 hours at 150-180 degrees fahrenheit.

Mix the meat and spices, possibly by hand, until well combined.

Refrigerate overnight or cook immediately.

SAGE SAUSAGE STUFFING Ingredients

8 cups sourdough bread cubes, dime- to quarter-sized pieces, which is a little under a poundand-a-half. (Rye or whole wheat also make for good

stuffing).

1 lb. sage sausage

1 cup bok choy (or other vegetable of one’s choosing, such as celery) 2 chopped medium onions 1-2 cups minced parsley Optional: ½+ cup red wine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees if any of the stuffing is to be baked.

In a large skillet (12 inches), cook the sausage, separating it into quarter-sized pieces. Once it is almost done cooking, remove the sausage into a bowl.

Brown the onions and bok choy (or other vegetables as desired).

Add the sausage back into the skillet, as well as the cubed bread. Mix and continue to cook over medium-high to medium heat, until the bread begins to heat through.

Stuff the turkey with the stuffing or put the stuffing into baking dishes.

Optional: If using red wine, pour over the top and mix it in before putting it in the oven.

If baking the stuffing alone, bake at 350 fahrenheit for 40 minutes with a tinfoil covering.

Remove the tin foil covering and continue to bake for 20 minutes, creating a crisp top.