There was a time, in the Dark and Tasteless Ages, when food blogs were nonexistent in my life, until a foodie friend enlightened me and pointed me down the "path." One of her favorites is 101 Cookbooks, and my first click there revealed a most interesting stuffing recipe. With Thanksgiving imminent, I planned to bring it to our annual Orphan's potluck, only to find that another genuine vegetarian was already bringing vegetarian stuffing. So this got filed away until the perfect opportunity: Christmas.
One thing I didn't read in the blog post was a comment about how most of the components can be prepped ahead of time, then all tossed together before baking. So it was after a big breakfast, gift-opening, a nap and much lollygagging on Christmas morning that I discovered how many aspects there were to this recipe. Fortunately, my most excellent sister-in-law served as sous-chef, though she did most of the work.
As every recipe must endure in my limited kitchen, we had numerous technical problems. The sugared walnuts were a lot of work and somehow didn't get crispy or sweet (next time, I'll just buy candied walnuts at Trader Joe's). I lost track of the cranberries and overcooked them. Chopping a cup of dried figs was a time-sink I just didn't need (see previous note about overcooking cranberries). My feeble oven was preoccupied with a turkey, so this had to get baked in an 8x8 glass dish in a toaster oven, and expanded until it hit the top! It was barely moist enough, though that could have been due to any number of previous technical issues.
Despite all these challenges, it was fabulous. Rich in flavor, and stunning in its variety of colors and shapes. The sweet infusion of the figs contrasted with the slightly-sour punch of the cranberries made each bite delightful and surprising. The rosemary bread my sister-in-law bought for the base was perfect. Next time, I'd use more sage, and not chop the figs so finely, since it was easy to lose my meticulously infinitesmal fig pieces. I'd also try the suggestion to use a slightly herb vegetable stock (from an herb boullion) for yet another herb layer.
My photo isn't nearly as pretty as the one on the blog site, but the stuffing really was. We (well, the Royal "we") also made some bagged Pepperidge Farm stuffing, since the sage stuffing contained a double-whammy no-no for my husband (cranberries! figs!). What a contrast. The bagged stuff literally paled next to it, and there was no comparison in flavor or good ol' homey feeling. Or in preparation work, ahem.
This is such a special holiday sort of recipe that it's hard to picture an occasion worthy enough before next Thanksgiving or Christmas. I think I'll just have to make it twice next year!
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