Kale And Caramelized Onion Stuffing (freezable)

A great way to get a jumpstart on Thanksgiving preparations is to make stuffing and freeze it. This kale and caramelized onion stuffing is a crowd pleaser and personal favorite.

Below is the recipe I love, an adaptation of the stuffing in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs, and includes kale and caramelized onions. After 45 minutes in the oven, it emerges with a crisp golden exterior and a creamy center, flavorful enough to eat on its own, but welcoming to many a relish, sauce, gravy, or anything else the Thanksgiving plate has to offer.

If you’re looking for a more classic stuffing, find that recipe here: Classic Bread Stuffing

Know you can customize the seasonings and add-ins to your liking.

These are the steps I always follow:

• Remove any super-thick crusts from the loaf of bread. If you are using the peasant bread, you can leave the crust on.
• Tear the bread into pieces or cut into cubes, toss with a generous amount of olive oil and a good pinch of salt, and toast until golden.
• Add mix-ins of choice. Sautéed onions are essential for me, and I love greens, like chard or kale. I also prefer to keep stuffing meatless, but if you like sausage or oyster or whatever (a little bacon or pancetta never hurts), go for it.
• Taste and make sure the mixture of bread and mix-ins is well seasoned. Whisk a good amount of stock with 1 egg, which helps bind the stuffing, toss with your stuffing mix, then bake until golden.

How to Make Freezable Stuffing

Gather your ingredients: I love my mother’s peasant bread for stuffing. The crust is crisp and buttery, but not super thick. If you are using an extra-crusty loaf, remove the crust. For this recipe, you’ll need kale, onions, an egg, chicken stock, butter, and olive oil.

Tear or cube up the bread and toss with olive oil and salt.

Transfer to a sheet pan and …

… bake until golden.

Meanwhile, prepare the onions: Slice the onions …

… and sauté them until they are somewhat caramelized:

Remove the tough stems from the kale leaves; cut the kale leaves into small pieces or ribbons.

Pile the onions on top of the kale and toss to combine.

Toss kale and onions with bread, stock, salt, and pepper: If you want to keep this vegetarian, use vegetable stock . Otherwise, use chicken stock or turkey stock. Once the kale, onions, bread, stock, salt, and pepper are all tossed together, taste it. This is when it’s important to get the seasoning right: the mixture should taste well seasoned, almost like a panzanella salad—it should taste so good, in fact, you wouldn’t mind stopping right then and there, calling the dish done. But keep going!

Whisk together an egg with a little bit more stock, then add to the bowl of greens/bread. The addition of an egg helps bind the stuffing together.

Transfer mixture to a 9×13-inch pan.

Cover with foil. At this point, you can either freeze the pan or transfer to the oven.

The stuffing bakes covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Ta-da!

PS: I know prefer to tear my bread into irregular pieces as opposed to cut it into neat cubes — I find it more visually appealing:

Description

A great way to get a jumpstart on Thanksgiving preparations is to make stuffing and freeze it. This kale and caramelized onion stuffing is a crowd pleaser and personal favorite.

This is adapted from the stuffing recipe in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs .

Notes:

• When I use the peasant bread , I do not remove the crust, because it is not super thick. If you are using a store-bought or homemade bread with a super-thick crust, remove it.

• Kale: Tuscan or curly kale is fine.

• Freezing/Baking Instructions: I like to freeze stuffing uncooked. To do so, after you transfer the stuffing to the 9×13-inch pan, cover it with foil, then transfer to the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake stuffing covered directly from the freezer for 1 hour. Increase the temperature to 400°F and bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

• 1 pound peasant bread or other French/Italian bread, torn into 1 – to 2-inch pieces (8-10 cups ), see notes above

• 1 / 2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• kosher salt and pepper to taste

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 cups sliced onions (from 1 to 2 onions)

• 8 ounces kale, see notes above, rough stems discarded, leaves sliced into ½ -inch ribbons

• 1.5 cups homemade chicken stock or store-bought

• 1 egg

• softened butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the bread with 1/4 cup of the oil; the bread will feel saturated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Taste a cube of bread—it should be nicely seasoned. Spread bread onto a sheet pan in a single layer, reserving the bowl. Transfer to the oven and toast for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool briefly.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat. Add the onions, season with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onions are soft and beginning to caramelize.
3. Meanwhile, place the kale in the reserved bowl, and when the onions have finished cooking, scrape them into the bowl over the kale, and toss to combine. Add the bread, and toss again. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Taste. This is when it’s important to get the seasoning right — this should taste well seasoned, so adjust with more salt and pepper as needed. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of stock with the egg and add to the bowl. Toss to combine.
4. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with the softened butter and spread the mixture into it. Cover the pan with foil, transfer it to the oven (or see notes above for freezing), and bake the stuffing for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and bake the stuffing for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the bread is golden and the kale is beginning to crisp. Remove the pan from the oven and let the stuffing stand for 10 minutes before serving it.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Category: Stuffing
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Description

A great way to get a jumpstart on Thanksgiving preparations is to make stuffing and freeze it. This kale and caramelized onion stuffing is a crowd pleaser and personal favorite.

This is adapted from the stuffing recipe in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs .

Notes:

• When I use the peasant bread , I do not remove the crust, because it is not super thick. If you are using a store-bought or homemade bread with a super-thick crust, remove it.

• Kale: Tuscan or curly kale is fine.

• Freezing/Baking Instructions: I like to freeze stuffing uncooked. To do so, after you transfer the stuffing to the 9×13-inch pan, cover it with foil, then transfer to the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake stuffing covered directly from the freezer for 1 hour. Increase the temperature to 400°F and bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

• 1 pound peasant bread or other French/Italian bread, torn into 1 - to 2-inch pieces (8-10 cups ), see notes above

• 1 / 2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• kosher salt and pepper to taste

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 cups sliced onions (from 1 to 2 onions)

• 8 ounces kale, see notes above, rough stems discarded, leaves sliced into ½ -inch ribbons

• 1.5 cups homemade chicken stock or store-bought

• 1 egg

• softened butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the bread with 1/4 cup of the oil; the bread will feel saturated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Taste a cube of bread—it should be nicely seasoned. Spread bread onto a sheet pan in a single layer, reserving the bowl. Transfer to the oven and toast for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool briefly.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil over medium heat. Add the onions, season with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onions are soft and beginning to caramelize.
3. Meanwhile, place the kale in the reserved bowl, and when the onions have finished cooking, scrape them into the bowl over the kale, and toss to combine. Add the bread, and toss again. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Taste. This is when it’s important to get the seasoning right — this should taste well seasoned, so adjust with more salt and pepper as needed. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of stock with the egg and add to the bowl. Toss to combine.
4. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with the softened butter and spread the mixture into it. Cover the pan with foil, transfer it to the oven (or see notes above for freezing), and bake the stuffing for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and bake the stuffing for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the bread is golden and the kale is beginning to crisp. Remove the pan from the oven and let the stuffing stand for 10 minutes before serving it.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Category: Stuffing
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2019/11/15/freezable-stuffing-with-kale-and-caramelized-onions/

Save yourself the stress and hassle of making gravy on Thanksgiving morning: make it ahead! This is a very simple recipe, which will leave you with a quart of rich, flavorful gravy you can have at the ready when the bird is cooked. Warm it gently on the stovetop before serving, and fortify it with this year’s drippings for even more flavor.

A few weeks ago, when I began thinking about Thanksgiving, I logged in here, to my Alexandra’s Kitchen dashboard, hoping to find a Thanksgiving 2018 “After Action Report”, a draft I thought — hoped! — I had created with notes from last year’s feast.

Incredibly, it existed. Truly a Thanksgiving miracle. Included in those notes was a recipe for a make-ahead gravy, which I made earlier this week based on this one sentence:

“Made the gravy: 4 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup Sherry, 5-6 cups stock (turkey stock frozen from last year), salt, pepper, simmer.”

That’s truly all the instruction you need to make a simple gravy, but I’ve included a recipe below. What is especially nice about having a gravy on hand before the bird is even roasted is the mental assurance that as soon as the bird is done, you can (after it rests) serve it without too much of a last-minute scramble.

Make Ahead Gravy How-To

Gather your ingredients: Homemade chicken (or other) stock is best. If you have turkey stock made from last year’s (or other) bird on hand, use that.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter.

Add 1/4 cup flour and whisk to combine. Love this sauce whisk .

Whisk until it begins to turn light brown, 2 – 4 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup Sherry, and whisk to combine…

it will seize up…

Add 5 cups of stock, a teaspoon of kosher salt, pepper to taste, a few sprigs sage or thyme, and …

… bring to a simmer:

Reduce heat, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste. It should taste nicely seasoned. Keep it on the thin side: it thickens up as it rests, and furthermore you’ll be simmering it again on Thanksgiving morning, which will reduce it further.

Store in the fridge (or freeze) until Thanksgiving. Warm gently stovetop before serving.

Description

Save yourself the stress and hassle of making gravy on Thanksgiving morning: make it ahead! This is a very simple recipe, which will leave you with a quart of rich, flavorful gravy you can have at the ready when the bird is cooked. Warm it gently on the stovetop before serving, and fortify it with this year’s drippings for even more flavor.

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Sherry, such as Harvey’s Bristol Cream
• 5 to 6 cups chicken stock or turkey stock , preferably homemade
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• a few sprigs fresh sage or thyme

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Continue whisking for 2 to 4 minutes or until the mixture begins to turn light brown. Add the sherry, and whisk to combine. Add 5 cups of the stock, the 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, and the few springs herbs.
2. Bring to a simmer, watching closely — it will bubble way up. Adjust the heat so the mixture is just barely simmering. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Extract the herbs using tongs. Taste the gravy. Add the additional cup of stock if you wish to thin the texture if it is too thick. Adjust flavor with more salt or pepper to taste. Simmer to reach the desired consistency. Suggestion: Keep the gravy on the thin side because you will be simmering it further on Thanksgiving morning.
3. Straing the gravy; then store it in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to serve. Before serving, gently reheat stovetop until hot. Add drippings from the current year’s turkey for an even more flavorful gravy.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American