Michael Jones - 2nd Place Winner - Mrs. Cubbison's Recipe Contest 2009
Los Angeles Trade Tech Culinary School's 12th Annual Student Chef Thanksgiving Stuffing Cook-Off
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Simmer stock in a sauce pan – keep warm, don't boil. (If using store bought stock, add a bay leaf, ¼ cup finely chopped carrots and celery).
3.Heat 1 Tbls of oil and cook sausage in large sauté pan until fully cooked. Drain fat. Remove sausage and set aside.
4. Heat butter and 1 Tbls oil in same pan over medium heat until butter melts and is liquid is hot. Add mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned. Remove mushrooms and set aside. Leave any remaining oil in pan.
5. Add 1 Tbls oil to pan and wait until it gets hot. Add carrots and sauté until corners begin to slightly caramelize. Add celery and onions. Stir briefly until all vegetables are well mixed. Add thyme, sage, black pepper, anchovies and garlic and sauté until onions begin to turn opaque. If pan is too dry, add a few Tbls of stock.
6. Add wine and reduce liquid by half. Remove pan from heat.
7.Strain stock and set aside.
8.In a large bowl, add sausage and mushrooms. Add vegetable mixture from pan. Fold in Mrs. Cubbison's Cube Stuffing in batches of 1-2 cups until the entire package has been added. While adding stuffing mix, alternately ladle stock, ½ -1 cup at a time. The end product should be moist, but not soaking wet. There should not be any dry stuffing mix in the bowl. (It may not be necessary to use all of the stock.)
9.Spoon mixture into a casserole dish. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes to brown the top.
Serves 10.