Stuffing

The Thanksgiving turkey conundrum: How to keep the breast meat from drying out while the dark meat finishes cooking? By roasting a bone-in turkey breast by itself, we've eliminated the stress and cut the cooking time by several hours. What you get is perfectly moist, tender white meat with crisp, salty skin—all in under an hour. If you don't have time to make the gravy, skip it. This succulent bird doesn't need it.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Crescent Dragonwagon's book Passionate Vegetarian. Dragonwagon also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. This is my favorite Thanksgiving stuffing — in fact, this is my only Thanksgiving stuffing. I've made it for at least twenty-five years, and it's always pleased me, friends, family, and inn guests. To my taste, it wouldn't be right with margarine or oil, just butter. But probably it wouldn't be bad with less fat or a different one. I make the vegetarian version with vegetable stock, for use in a pumpkin; when I cooked at the inn, where the majority of the guests were meat eaters, I also did a batch with turkey stock. I dedicate this recipe to the memory of Sondra Krecker, a friend from my earliest years in Eureka Springs. Every Thanksgiving as I make it I hear her telling me again, earnestly, "You have to toast it dry, bone dry, hard dry." You'll need to do a lot of tossing and tasting to get the seasonings just right. Stuffing can be made ahead of time, but don't stuff it into the pumpkin until you're ready to bake it.

Many corn bread dressings are made with sausage, but because those dressings tend to be greasy, I prefer a good lean bacon cooked until crisp and brown. This dressing is fairly light—not too moist, not too dry. I always bake it separately because I think this method safer. If you want to stuff the bird, do so just before you shove it into the oven. Spoon the dressing lightly into the body and neck cavities, then truss the bird. If there's extra dressing—and there usually is—bundle it in aluminum foil and bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F. It's important to make the corn bread a day or two before you use it. I split it horizontally, spread it on a baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature, turning the pieces several times as they dry. I also set the slices of white bread out to dry. Note: To toast the pecans, spread in a jelly- roll pan or rimmed baking sheet, then set on the middle shelf of a 350°F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring well at half-time.

A light variation that’s a nice counterpoint to the many rich dishes on the Thanksgiving table.

Use a mix of the best wild mushrooms available. They elevate the stuffing from simple to sensational.

The richness of the sausage is a great match for bright, fresh fennel and sweet squash.

This classic stuffing (or any of the stuffings here) is also good made with six cups of cubed cornbread in place of six cups of the pain rustique.

This sweet and savory stuffing can be made two weeks ahead and frozen. Defrost it in the refrigerator the night before Thanksgiving.

In the world of stuffing, this one is relatively light, though no less satisfying than a more traditional mix. And it tastes like a gift from the forest, with hearty cremini mushrooms, fresh sage, and the crunch of toasted hazelnuts.

This recipe was created by chef Traci Des Jardins of San Francisco's Jardinière. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

This dense and savory stuffing resembles the filling inside a tamale. This recipe makes enough to stuff the Mole-Roasted Turkey with Masa Stuffing and Chile Gravy, or to serve eight people when baked as a side dish.

Roasted carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas add great depth of flavor.

Mushroom fans, this one's for you: a hearty rosemary-bread dressing made with dried porcini as well as shiitake and button mushrooms.

The cornbread needs to dry overnight, so start this at least one day ahead.

If crawfish are hard to find, shrimp make a good stand-in.

Here's a classic stuffing to suit all tastes. For a vegetarian version, substitute vegetable or mushroom broth.