Actually, my Nana and my mom have both confessed to me they don’t really have a recipe for stuffing. They just put in a little of this and a little of that. It’s comforting to know I come by it honestly.
Anyway, this is Nana’s best estimate for how she would have made the walnut stuffing I remember from childhood, loosely based on the favorite cookbook she has referred to for 62 years, the Woman’s Home Companion Cook Book.
Submitted by Dorothy Goodnough
- 1 ½ cups butter (3 sticks)
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped celery (optional)
- 1 lg loaf 2-day old bread, cut into ½” cubes
- 1 Tbsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 ½ tsp poultry seasoning (or about ½ tsp each thyme, marjoram, sage, and savory)
- 1 to 2 cups walnut pieces (or almonds, brazil nuts, chestnuts, pecans, or pine nuts)
- 1 to 2 cups water, milk, cream, or chicken broth (optional)
Melt butter in skillet or pot large enough to hold all the bread. Add onions and celery, if using, and saute until tender. Stir in walnuts and toast for a few minutes.
Add bread cubes and seasoning. Heat until butter is completely absorbed and cubes are toasted, stirring constantly. If stuffing is more dry and crumbly than you like, add a little liquid at a time until it is the way you like it.
Note: When I make this recipe for Thanksgiving, I will use hearty whole grain bread plus a couple tablespoons of wheat germ, probably substitute extra light olive oil for at least a third of the butter, and use chicken broth for the liquid (I love moist stuffing).