My mom used to make a really good stuffing for the Thanksgiving holiday. I embellished on it even further. I would add chopped chestnuts and a few other things to give it even more flavor.

The chestnuts (French or Italian) get a slit or two on the sides with the tip of a sharp knife, then placed in water and brought to a boil. I will boil them a minute or two and then remove them from the heat. I add a bit of cold water to cool the cooking water down just a little below 'ouch point', and cut open the shells to expose the brown husk skin. That skin is a bit fiberous, so I carefully remove it all. The chestnuts need a bit of hot water and heat to peel off the skin easily. If the chestnuts cool too much the skins will not come off as easily, so reheat them a little. I usually do a pound of them, and run them, through a food processor to coursly chop them. The task can take an hour, so prepare them days before if necessary.

Next, I cook up and brown about 12 to 16 ounces of breakfast sausage meat, crumbled into small pieces, and set aside.

Saute about 2-3 garlic cloves, 6-8 ribs of celery diced, and 2-3 medium onions coursly chopped. I use a little olive oil for the saute.

Once cool, the saute, cooked sausage meat, and chestnuts get added to prepackaged dried bread stuffing mix, or your choice of stuffing. I add about 2-3 eggs, and some turkey broth either canned, or from previously simmered and cooked stock of parts like the wing tips, fat, excess skin, neck, and insides like, giblet, liver, etc. The broth also has bayleaf, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and thyme added to spike up the flavor a bit. Sometimes I also add a good quality chicken bullion, provided its not all salt.

Next, the cooled and strained broth is poured into the bread stuffing mixture, and add only enough liquid to soften and moisten the bread mixture. You can also taste it to see if it needs any more seasoning, like Bells poultry seasoning (my favorite) or sage, rosemary, parsley, ground pepper, salt, etc. I don't stuff this in the bird, but instead put it in a big casserole like a large Corning Ware or other, with a glass cover. Its baked (375) before the bird is put in, and if its too dry after cooking (about 45 minutes), add a bit more of the broth and leave it in the oven, covered for about 10 more minutes. If its too wet, remove the cover and let it bake a bit longer, about 10-15 more miniutes. It should have a little browning on the top. The rest of the broth is used as the gravy base, along with the turkey juices collected once its roasted. I prefer to make a slurry with Clear Jel and water, and pour in some of that, while the gravy is starting to boil. If it needs a bit more thickening, I will add a bit more of the slurry. Too much Clear Jel will give you a big glob! Many years ago, before using Clear Jel, I would make a flour and butter rue, but its just too much extra work. Once the turkey is done, place the cooled stuffing back in the oven for a few minutes to heat it back up again.

One year, I added partially cooked wild rice to the stuffing. Another time, I added some dried cranberries (Craisins). The cranberries made it have just a bit of fruity tartness, and even though my family didn't expect it in stuffing the cranberries were a big hit with everyone.

The pumpkin cheese cake I also made was not something my brother thought would taste good, but he went home wth all the rest of it, once he tasted it.

The stuffing I make would more than fill two medium sized turkeys, but I prefer it to be safer, cooked outside the bird. Please feel free to add or delete what you like. This fancy stufing is only made once a year, so why not make it very special..